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holding the universe together. It is not, then, without reason that we have called it the heart of virtue. But this heart, if it does not supply spirit to all, is quickly extinguished. For just as a spring, if it holds its waters within itself, becomes foul; so also do the rich, when they keep their possessions to themselves. For this reason also in common parlance we say, "Great is the rottenness of wealth with so-and-so;" and we do not say, "Great is the abundance, great is the treasure." For it is a rottenness not only of those who possess it, but also of wealth itself. For garments lying stored up are ruined, and gold is tarnished, and grain is eaten through; and the soul of the one having these things, more than all of these, is both tarnished and corrupted by cares. And if you would bring forth the soul of a covetous man into the midst, like a garment eaten by a thousand worms, having nothing sound, so you will find it pierced through on all sides by cares, corrupted by sins, tarnished. But not so is the soul of the poor man, of the one who is willingly poor; but it shines like gold, it gleams like a pearl, it blossoms like a rose. For there is no moth there, there is no thief there, there is no worldly care; but they live as angels. Do you wish to see the beauty of this soul? Do you wish to understand the wealth of poverty? It does not command men, but it commands demons; it does not stand beside a king, but it stands by God; it does not serve in an army with men, but it serves in an army with angels; it does not have two and three and twenty chests, but such abundance as to consider the whole world as nothing. It does not have a treasure, but heaven; it does not need slaves, but rather it has as slaves the passions, it has as slaves the thoughts that master kings. For the one who gives orders to the man clothed in purple, this thought has terrified him, and he does not dare to look him in the face. But at kingdom and gold and all such things, he laughs as at children's toys, and like hoops and knuckle-bones and tops and balls, so he considers all these things to be contemptible. For he has a world, which those who play with these things cannot even see. What then could be better than this poor man? At least he has heaven for a floor. And if the floor is such, consider the roof. But he does not have horses and chariots? For what need has he of these, who is about to be carried on the clouds, and to be with Christ? Considering these things, therefore, both men and women, let us seek that wealth, and the inexhaustible abundance, so that we may attain the kingdom of heaven, by the grace and loving-kindness of our Lord Jesus Christ, to whom be the glory and the power for ever and ever. Amen. 58.487 HOMILY 48. And it came to pass, when Jesus had finished these parables, He departed from there. 1. For what reason did he say, these? Because he was about to speak others also. And for what reason does he also move on? Wishing to sow the word everywhere. And when He had come into His own country, He taught them in their synagogue. And what does he now call his own country? It seems to me, Nazareth. For he did not do many mighty works there, it says; but in Capernaum he did signs; for which reason he also said: And you, Capernaum, who are exalted to heaven, will be brought down to Hades; for if the mighty works which were done in you had been done in Sodom, it would have remained until this day. And when he came there, he held back from signs, so as not to inflame them to greater envy, nor to condemn them more severely, as their unbelief increased; but he puts forward a teaching having no less wonder than the signs. For they, being altogether foolish, when they ought to have marveled and been astonished at the power of what was said, on the contrary belittle him because of his supposed father; although they had many examples of this in former times, and had seen noble children of obscure fathers. For David was the son of a certain humble farmer, Jesse; and Amos was the son of a goatherd and himself a goatherd; and Moses the lawgiver had a father far inferior to him. Therefore, it was necessary for this reason especially to worship and be astonished, that being from such parents, such things

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συνεχόντων τὸ πᾶν. Οὐκ ἄρα ἀπεικότως καρδίαν αὐτὸ κεκλήκαμεν ἀρετῆς. Ἀλλ' ἡ καρδία αὕτη, ἐὰν μὴ πᾶσι χορηγῇ πνεῦμα, ταχέως σβέννυται. Ὥσπερ οὖν καὶ ἡ πηγὴ, ἐὰν συνέχῃ τὰ νάματα παρ' ἑαυτῇ, σήπεται· οὕτω καὶ οἱ πλουτοῦντες, ὅταν παρ' ἑαυτοῖς τὰ ὄντα κατέχωσι. ∆ιὰ τοῦτο καὶ ἐν τῇ κοινῇ συνηθείᾳ λέγομεν, Πολλὴ ἡ σῆψις τοῦ πλούτου παρὰ τῷ δεῖνι· καὶ οὐ λέγομεν, Πολλὴ ἡ ἀφθονία, πολὺς ὁ θησαυρός. Καὶ γὰρ σῆψίς ἐστιν οὐχὶ τῶν κεκτημένων, ἀλλὰ καὶ αὐτοῦ τοῦ πλούτου. Καὶ γὰρ τὰ ἱμάτια κείμενα φθείρεται, καὶ τὸ χρυσίον ἰοῦται, καὶ ὁ σῖτος διαβιβρώσκεται· καὶ ἡ ψυχὴ δὲ τοῦ ταῦτα ἔχοντος τούτων ἁπάντων μᾶλλον ταῖς φροντίσι καὶ ἰοῦται καὶ σήπεται. Κἂν ἐθέλῃς φιλαργύρου ψυχὴν εἰς τὸ μέσον ἐξενεγκεῖν καθάπερ ἱμάτιον ὑπὸ μυρίων βρωθὲν σκωλήκων, καὶ οὐκ ἔχον οὐδὲν ὑγιὲς, οὕτως εὑρήσεις διατετρυπημένην πάντοθεν αὐτὴν ὑπὸ φροντίδων, ὑπὸ τῶν ἁμαρτημάτων σεσηπυῖαν, ἰωμένην. Ἀλλ' οὐχὶ τοῦ πένητος τοιαύτη, τοῦ πένητος τοῦ ἑκόντος· ἀλλ' ἀποστίλβει μὲν ὡς χρυσίον, λάμπει δὲ ὥσπερ μαργαρίτης, ἀνθεῖ δὲ ὥσπερ ῥόδον. Οὐ γάρ ἐστιν ἐκεῖ σὴς, οὐκ ἔστιν ἐκεῖ κλέπτης, οὐκ ἔστι φροντὶς βιωτική· ἀλλ' ὡς ἄγγελοι, οὕτω πολιτεύονται. Βούλει τῆς ψυχῆς ταύτης τὸ κάλλος ἰδεῖν; βούλει τῆς πενίας τὸν πλοῦτον καταμαθεῖν; Οὐκ ἐπιτάττει ἀνδράσιν, ἀλλὰ δαίμοσιν ἐπιτάττει· οὐ παρίσταται βασιλεῖ, ἀλλὰ παρέστηκε Θεῷ· οὐ στρατεύεται μετὰ ἀνθρώπων, ἀλλὰ στρατεύεται μετὰ ἀγγέλων· οὐκ ἔχει κιβώτια δύο καὶ τρία καὶ εἴκοσιν, ἀλλὰ τοιαύτην εὐπορίαν, ὡς τὸν κόσμον ἅπαντα μηδὲν εἶναι νομίζειν. Οὐκ ἔχει θησαυρὸν, ἀλλὰ τὸν οὐρανόν· οὐ δεῖται δούλων, μᾶλλον δὲ ἔχει δούλους τὰ πάθη, ἔχει δούλους τοὺς βασιλέων κρατοῦντας λογισμούς. Ὁ γὰρ ἐπιτάττων τῷ τὴν ἁλουργίδα περικειμένῳ, οὗτος αὐτὸν κατέπτηχεν ὁ λογισμὸς, καὶ ἀντιβλέψαι οὐ τολμᾷ. Βασιλείαν δὲ καὶ χρυσὸν καὶ πάντα τὰ τοιαῦτα, καθάπερ παίδων ἀθύρματα γελᾷ, καὶ καθάπερ τροχοὺς καὶ ἀστραγάλους καὶ κεφαλὰς καὶ σφαίρας, οὕτω ταῦτα πάντα ἡγεῖται εἶναι εὐκαταφρόνητα. Ἔχει γὰρ κόσμον, ὃν οὐδὲ ἰδεῖν οἱ ἐν τούτοις παίζοντες δύνανται. Τί τοίνυν τοῦ πένητος τούτου βέλτιον γένοιτ' ἄν; Ἔδαφος γοῦν ἔχει τὸν οὐρανόν. Εἰ δὲ τὸ ἔδαφος τοιοῦτον, ἐννόησον τὸν ὄροφον. Ἀλλ' οὐκ ἔχει ἵππους καὶ ὀχήματα; Τί γὰρ αὐτῷ τούτων χρεία, τῷ μέλλοντι ἐπὶ τῶν νεφελῶν ὀχεῖσθαι, καὶ μετὰ τοῦ Χριστοῦ εἶναι; Ταῦτ' οὖν ἐννοήσαντες, καὶ ἄνδρες καὶ γυναῖκες, ἐκεῖνον ζητῶμεν τὸν πλοῦτον, καὶ τὴν ἀνάλωτον εὐπορίαν, ἵνα καὶ τῆς βασιλείας τῶν οὐρανῶν ἐπιτύχωμεν, χάριτι καὶ φιλανθρωπίᾳ τοῦ Κυρίου ἡμῶν Ἰησοῦ Χριστοῦ, ᾧ ἡ δόξα καὶ τὸ κράτος εἰς τοὺς αἰῶνας τῶν αἰώνων. Ἀμήν. 58.487 ΟΜΙΛΙΑ ΜΗʹ. Καὶ ἐγένετο, ὅτε ἐτέλεσεν ὁ Ἰησοῦς τὰς παραβολὰς ταύτας, μετῆρεν ἐκεῖθεν. αʹ. Τίνος ἕνεκεν εἶπε, ταύτας; Ἐπειδὴ καὶ ἄλλας ἔμελλεν ἐρεῖν. Τίνος δὲ ἕνεκεν καὶ μεταβαίνει; Πανταχοῦ τὸν λόγον σπεῖραι βουλόμενος. Καὶ ἐλθὼν εἰς τὴν πατρίδα αὐτοῦ, ἐδίδασκεν αὐτοὺς ἐν τῇ συναγωγῇ αὐτῶν. Καὶ ποίαν πατρίδα αὐτοῦ καλεῖ νῦν; Ἐμοὶ δοκεῖ, τὴν Ναζαρέτ. Οὐ γὰρ ἐποίησεν ἐκεῖ δυνάμεις πολλὰς, φησίν· ἐν δὲ Καπερναοὺμ ἐποίησε σημεῖα· διὸ καὶ ἔλεγε· Καὶ σὺ, Καπερναοὺμ, ἡ ἕως τοῦ οὐρανοῦ ὑψωθεῖσα, ἕως ᾅδου καταβιβασθήσῃ· ὅτι εἰ ἐν Σοδόμοις ἐγένοντο αἱ δυνάμεις αἱ γενόμεναι ἐν σοὶ, ἔμειναν ἂν μέχρι τῆς σήμερον. Ἐλθὼν δὲ ἐκεῖ, τῶν μὲν σημείων καθυφίησιν, ὥστε μὴ εἰς πλείονα αὐτοὺς φθόνον ἐκκαῦσαι, μηδὲ κατακρῖναι μειζόνως, τῆς ἀπιστίας ἐπιτεινομένης· διδασκαλίαν δὲ προτείνεται τῶν σημείων οὐκ ἔλαττον θαῦμα ἔχουσαν. Οἱ γὰρ πάντα ἀνόητοι, δέον θαυμάσαι καὶ ἐκπλαγῆναι τῶν λεγομένων τὴν δύναμιν, οὗτοι δὲ τοὐναντίον ἐξευτελίζουσιν αὐτὸν ἀπὸ τοῦ δοκοῦντος εἶναι πατρός· καίτοιγε πολλὰ τούτων παραδείγματα ἔχοντες τοῖς ἔμπροσθεν χρόνοις, καὶ πατέρων ἀσήμων γενναίους ἑωρακότες παῖδας. Καὶ γὰρ ὁ ∆αυῒδ εὐτελοῦς τινος ἦν γεωργοῦ τοῦ Ἰεσσαί· καὶ ὁ Ἀμὼς αἰπόλου παῖς καὶ αὐτὸς αἰπόλος· καὶ ὁ Μωϋσῆς δὲ ὁ νομοθέτης σφόδρα αὐτοῦ ἀποδέοντα ἔσχε πατέρα. ∆έον οὖν διὰ τοῦτο μάλιστα προσκυνεῖν καὶ ἐκπλήττεσθαι, ὅτι τοιούτων ὢν τοιαῦτα