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Did the Prophet not know this, and does he now boast, not over two, or three, or ten, but over the whole world, and does he boast saying, I am humble and moderate, and humble in the extreme, and simple? For this is the meaning of, As a weaned child on its mother. For what reason, then, does he do this? Because the thing is not forbidden everywhere, but there are times when it is necessary, or rather, there are times when, not by boasting, but by not boasting, we become foolish. Therefore Paul also says: He who boasts, let him boast in the Lord. For indeed, he who does not boast in the cross is the most foolish and most lawless of all; he who does not boast in the faith is the most wretched of all; he who does not boast and speak boldly in these things will surely perish. For this reason, the Apostle boldly said: But far be it from me to boast, except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ. And again: Let not the rich man boast in his riches, nor the wise man in his wisdom, but let him who boasts, boast in this, in understanding and knowing the Lord. But how is boasting evil? If we do it as the Pharisee did. And why, he says, did Paul say, I have become a fool in boasting; you have compelled me? Because he recounted his achievements in life and conduct, which he should not have brought forth when there was no necessity. But elsewhere he says: For if I should wish to boast, I will not be a fool, for I will speak the truth. So he who speaks the truth, when the occasion calls for it, is not a fool. Therefore, neither is the Prophet a fool for boasting; for he was speaking the truth. But what is the reason for which he led his discourse to this point? So as to teach his hearers not to return to arrogance after deliverance from evils, nor, having been freed from bondage, to leap away again, and fall into the necessity of another captivity. For this reason, indeed, in recounting his own affairs he corrects his hearer; and he does not say that I was exalted, but I restrained the passion, but what? My heart was not exalted; that is, wickedness did not even touch 55.378 my soul. For his mind was like a waveless harbor, not receiving the waves of the disease, which is the cause of all evils, and the root of the utmost lawlessness. What does he mean when he says, Lord, my heart was not exalted, nor were my eyes lifted up? I did not raise my eyebrows, he says, nor did I stretch out my neck. For the disease, overflowing from the inner source of passion, also conforms the body to the inner inflammation. Neither did I walk in great matters, nor in things too wonderful for me. What is, In great matters? With haughty men, with the rich, with the boastful, with the arrogant. Have you seen the precision of humility? Not only was he himself free from the disease, but he also fled from those who were so inflamed, and he leaped away from such gatherings because of his great hatred for arrogance. For since he was hostile to this wickedness, he not only leaped away from it, nor did he only make the region of his mind inaccessible to it, but he also fled from those pursuing it from a great distance, so as not to receive any defilement even from there. And this is no small achievement: to flee the haughty, to hate the boasters, to turn away from and detest them; it is the greatest security of virtue, the greatest guard of humility. Nor in things too wonderful for me. Another version, Nor in things exceeding me. If I was not humble-minded, but lifted up my heart, as a weaned child upon its mother, so you will repay my soul. Another version, So may it be repaid to my soul. What is said is by hyperbaton, for example, If I was not humble-minded, as a weaned child upon its mother, but lifted up my heart, so may it be repaid to my soul. What he says is something like this: not only was I pure from wickedness, I mean from arrogance, nor was I only a stranger to those who had it, but I also received the opposite virtue with great excess, namely, humility, moderation, the

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τοῦτο ἠγνόησεν ὁ Προφήτης καὶ καυχᾶται νῦν οὐκ ἐπὶ δύο, καὶ τριῶν, καὶ δέκα, ἀλλ' ἐπὶ τῆς οἰκουμένης ἁπάσης, καὶ καυχᾶται λέγων, Ταπεινός εἰμι καὶ μέτριος, καὶ ταπεινὸς καθ' ὑπερβολὴν, καὶ ἁπλοῦς; Τοῦτο γάρ ἐστι τὸ, Ὡς ἀπογεγαλακτισμένον ἐπὶ τὴν μητέρα αὐτοῦ. Τίνος οὖν ἕνεκεν τοῦτο ποιεῖ; Ὅτι οὐ πανταχοῦ τὸ πρᾶγμα κεκώλυται, ἀλλ' ἔστιν ὅπου καὶ ἀναγκαῖόν ἐστι, μᾶλλον δὲ ἔστιν ὅπου οὐ καυχώμενοι, ἀλλὰ μὴ καυχώμενοι, ἄφρονες γινόμεθα. ∆ιὸ καὶ ὁ Παῦλος λέγει· Ὁ καυχώμενος, ἐν Κυρίῳ καυχάσθω. Καὶ γὰρ ὁ ἐπὶ τῷ σταυρῷ μὴ καυχώμενος πάντων ἐστὶν ἀφρονέστατος καὶ παρανομώτατος· ὁ ἐπὶ τῇ πίστει μὴ καυχώμενος πάντων ἐστὶν ἀθλιώτερος· ὁ ἐπὶ τούτοις μὴ καυχώμενος καὶ παῤῥησιαζόμενος ἀπολεῖται πάντως. ∆ιὰ τοῦτο θαῤῥῶν ὁ Ἀπόστολος ἔλεγεν· Ἐμοὶ δὲ μὴ γένοιτο καυχᾶσθαι, εἰ μὴ ἐν τῷ σταυρῷ τοῦ Κυρίου ἡμῶν Ἰησοῦ Χριστοῦ. Καὶ πάλιν· Μὴ καυχάσθω ὁ πλούσιος ἐν τῷ πλούτῳ αὐτοῦ, μηδὲ ὁ σοφὸς ἐν τῇ σοφίᾳ αὐτοῦ, ἀλλ' ἐν τούτῳ καυχάσθω, ἐν τῷ συνιεῖν καὶ γινώσκειν τὸν Κύριον. Πῶς δὲ κακὸν τὸ καυχᾶσθαι; Ἐὰν ὡς ὁ Φαρισαῖος αὐτὸ ποιῶμεν. Καὶ διὰ τί, φησὶν, ὁ Παῦλος εἶπε, Γέγονα ἄφρων καυχώμενος· ὑμεῖς με ἠναγκάσατε; Ὅτι τὰ κατορθώματα αὐτοῦ διηγεῖτο τὰ ἐπὶ τοῦ βίου καὶ τῆς πολιτείας, ἅπερ οὐκ ἔδει προφέρειν ἀνάγκης μὴ οὔσης. Ἀλλαχοῦ δέ φησιν· Ἐὰν καὶ θελήσω καυχήσασθαι, οὐκ ἔσομαι ἄφρων· ἀλήθειαν γὰρ ἐρῶ. Ὥστε ὁ τὰ ἀληθῆ λέγων, τοῦ καιροῦ καλοῦντος, οὐκ ἔστιν ἄφρων. Οὐκ ἄρα οὐδὲ ὁ Προφήτης ἄφρων καυχώμενος· καὶ γὰρ ἀληθῆ ἔλεγεν. Ἀλλὰ τίς ἡ αἰτία, δι' ἣν εἰς τοῦτο κατήγαγε τὸν λόγον; Ὥστε παιδεῦσαι τοὺς ἀκροατὰς μὴ μετὰ τὴν ἀπαλλαγὴν τῶν κακῶν εἰς ἀπόνοιαν ἐπανελθεῖν, μηδὲ ἐλευθερωθέντας τοῦ δεσμοῦ ἀποσκιρτῆσαι πάλιν, καὶ εἰς ἀνάγκην ἐμπεσεῖν ἑτέρας αἰχμαλωσίας. ∆ιὰ δὴ τοῦτο ἐν τῷ τὰ οἰκεῖα διηγεῖσθαι διορθοῖ τὸν ἀκροατήν· καὶ οὐ λέγει, ὅτι Ὑψώθην μὲν, κατέσχον δὲ τοῦ πάθους, ἀλλὰ τί; Οὐχ ὑψώθη ἡ καρδία μου· τουτέστιν, οὐδὲ ἥψατό 55.378 μου τῆς ψυχῆς ἡ πονηρία. Οἷον γάρ τις λιμὴν ἀκύμαντος ἦν ἡ διάνοια, οὐ δεχομένη τὰ κύματα τοῦ νοσήματος, ὃ πάντων αἴτιον τῶν κακῶν, καὶ ῥίζα παρανομίας ἐσχάτης. Τί ἐστιν ὃ λέγει, Κύριε, οὐχ ὑψώθη ἡ καρδία μου, οὐδὲ ἐμετεωρίσθησαν οἱ ὀφθαλμοί μου; Οὐκ ἀνέσπασα, φησὶ, τὰς ὀφρῦς, οὐδὲ ἀνέτεινα τὸν αὐχένα. Ἀπὸ γὰρ τῆς ἔνδοθεν πηγῆς τοῦ πάθους ὑπερβλύζον τὸ νόσημα καὶ τὸ σῶμα συσχηματίζει πρὸς τὴν ἔνδοθεν φλεγμονήν. Οὐδὲ ἐπορεύθην ἐν μεγάλοις, οὐδὲ ἐν θαυμασίοις ὑπὲρ ἐμέ. Τί ἐστιν, Ἐν μεγάλοις; Τοῖς ὑπερόγκοις ἀνδράσι, τοῖς πλουτοῦσι, τοῖς ἀλαζόσι, τοῖς ὑπερηφάνοις. Εἶδες ἀκρίβειαν ταπεινοφροσύνης; Οὐ μόνον αὐτὸς ἦν ἐκτὸς τοῦ νοσήματος, ἀλλὰ καὶ τοὺς οὕτω φλεγμαίνοντας ἔφευγε, καὶ τῶν τοιούτων ἀπεπήδα συλλόγων διὰ τὸ πολὺ πρὸς τὴν ἀλαζονείαν μῖσος. Ἐπειδὴ γὰρ ἀπεχθῶς εἶχε πρὸς τὴν κακίαν ταύτην, οὐ μόνον αὐτῆς ἀπεπήδα, οὐδὲ ἄβατον αὐτῇ τὸ χωρίον τῆς διανοίας ἐποίει μόνον, ἀλλὰ καὶ τοὺς μετιόντας αὐτὴν ἐκ πολλοῦ τοῦ διαστήματος ἔφευγεν, ὥστε μηδὲ ἐκεῖθέν τινα δέξασθαι λύμην. Οὐ μικρὸν δὲ τοῦτο κατόρθωμα τὸ φεύγειν τοὺς ὑπερόγκους, τὸ μισεῖν τοὺς ἀλαζόνας, τὸ ἀποστρέφεσθαι καὶ βδελύσσεσθαι· μεγίστη ἀρετῆς ἀσφάλεια, μεγίστη ταπεινοφροσύνης φυλακή. Οὐδὲ ἐν θαυμασίοις ὑπὲρ ἐμέ. Ἄλλος, Οὐδὲ ὑπερβάλλουσιν ὑπὲρ ἐμέ. Εἰ μὴ ἐταπεινοφρόνουν, ἀλλὰ ὕψωσα τὴν καρδίαν μου, ὡς τὸ ἀπογεγαλακτισμένον ἐπὶ τὴν μητέρα αὐτοῦ, ὡς ἀνταποδώσεις ἐπὶ τὴν ψυχήν μου. Ἄλλος, Οὕτως ἀνταποδοθείη τῇ ψυχῇ μου. Καθ' ὑπερβατόν ἐστι τὸ εἰρημένον, οἷον, Εἰ μὴ ἐταπεινοφρόνουν, ὡς τὸ ἀπογεγαλακτισμένον ἐπὶ τὴν μητέρα αὐτοῦ, ἀλλ' ὕψωσα τὴν καρδίαν μου, οὕτως ἀνταποδοθείη τῇ ψυχῇ μου. Ὃ δὲ λέγει, τοιοῦτόν ἐστιν· οὐ μόνον τῆς κακίας καθαρὸς ἤμην, τῆς ἀλαζονείας λέγω, οὐδὲ μόνον τῶν ἐχόντων αὐτὴν ἀλλότριος, ἀλλὰ καὶ τὴν ἀρετὴν τὴν ἐναντίαν αὐτῇ μετὰ πολλῆς ἐδεξάμην τῆς ὑπερβολῆς, τὴν ταπεινοφροσύνην, τὸ μετριάζειν, τὸ