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he struggled in a manner befitting a man for the commandment of love; and having seized the perfect victory against the devil, he bound on for our sakes the crown of the resurrection; and thus the new Adam renewed the old; And this is what the divine Apostle says: Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus, etc.

13. This then was the purpose of the Lord, that He might obey the Father unto death as a man for our sakes, keeping the commandment of love; and that He might defend Himself against the devil by suffering under him, through the Scribes and Pharisees who were moved by him; and thus He conquered by being willingly conquered, him who hoped to conquer, and He delivered the world from his dominion. In this way Christ was crucified out of weakness; through which weakness He put death to death, and abolished him who had the power of death. In this way Paul also was weak in himself, and gloried in his weaknesses, that the power of Christ might rest upon him.

14. Having learned the manner of this victory, he said, writing to the Ephesians: Our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the principalities, against the powers, and the rest. And he says to take up the breastplate of righteousness, and the helmet of hope, and the shield of faith, and the sword of the spirit, that they may be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked one, they who have their war against invisible enemies; and showing by deed [Fr. al. M. Nob. deeds] the manner of the struggle, he said: I therefore so run, not as uncertainly; so I fight, not as one that beats the air: but I discipline my body and bring it into subjection, lest that by any means, when I have preached to others, I myself should be a castaway. And again: Even to this present hour we both hunger, and thirst, and are naked, and are buffeted. And again: In weariness and toil; in watchings often, in cold and nakedness, beside those things that are without.

(924) 15. And he wrestled this struggle against the demons who work pleasures in the flesh, driving them out through the weakness of his own body; but against those who make war with hatred, and for this reason move the more careless of men against the pious, so that being tempted by them, they might hate them, and transgress the commandment of love; again showing us the manner of victory by his works, he said: Being reviled, we bless; being persecuted, we suffer it; being defamed, we entreat: we are made as the filth of the world, and are the offscouring of all things unto this day. For the demons instigated reviling and blaspheming and persecuting for this reason, that they might move him to hatred of the one reviling and blaspheming and persecuting; having as their purpose the transgression of the commandment of love. But the Apostle, not being ignorant of their devices, blessed those who reviled him, and endured those who persecuted him, and entreated those who blasphemed him, that those who did these things might turn away from the demons and be reconciled to the good God; and he defended himself against the demons who wrought these things by this manner of struggle, always overcoming evil with good, in imitation of the Savior, and thus having caused the whole world to turn from the demons, he and the other apostles reconciled it to God, conquering through defeat those who hoped to conquer [al. and having overcome, those hoping to overcome. Fr. having conquered, those wishing to overcome]. If therefore you also, Brother, hold to this purpose, you too can love those who hate you; but if not, it is otherwise impossible.

16. And the brother said: Truly, Father, it is so and not otherwise; and for this reason the Lord, being blasphemed and buffeted, and suffering the other things which He suffered from the Jews, endured them, sympathizing with them as being ignorant and deceived, wherefore He also said on the cross: Father, forgive them, for they know not [al. for they know not] what they do; but triumphing over the craftiness and deceit of the devil and his rulers on the cross; for the sake of the commandment of love, just as

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τῆς ἐντολῆς τῆς ἀγάπης ἀνθρωποπρεπῶς ἠγωνίσατο· καί τήν τελείαν νίκην κατά τοῦ διαβόλου ἀράμενος, τόν στέφανον τῆς ἀναστάσεως ὑπέρ ἡμῶν ἀνεδήσατο· καί οὕτως ὁ νέος Ἀδάμ, τόν παλαιόν ἀνενεώσατο· Καί τοῦτό ἐστιν ὅ λέγει ὁ θεῖος Ἀπόστολος· Τοῦτο φρονείσθω ἐν ὑμῖν, ὅ καί ἐν Χριστῷ Ἰησοῦ κ. τ. ἑξ.

ιγ΄. Οὗτος οὖν ἦν ὁ σκοπός τοῦ Κυρίου, ἵνα τῷ μέν Πατρί ὑπακούσῃ μέχρι θανάτου ὡς ἄνθρωπος ὑπέρ ἡμῶν, φυλάττων τήν ἐντολήν τῆς ἀγάπης· τόν δέ διάβολον ἀμύνηται τῷ πάσχειν ὑπ᾿ αὐτοῦ, διά τῶν ὑπ᾿ αὐτοῦ ἐνεργουμένων Γραμματέων καί Φαρισαίων· καί οὕτως ἐνίκησε τῷ νικᾶσθαι ἑκουσίως, τόν νικᾷν ἐλπίσαντα, καί τόν κόσμον ἐῤῥύσατο τῆς αὐτοῦ δυναστείας. Τοῦτον τόν τρόπον ὁ Χριστός ἐξ ἀσθενείας ἐσταυρώθη· δι᾿ ἧς ἀσθενείας τόν θάνατον ἐνέκρωσε, καί τόν τό κράτος ἔχοντα τοῦ θανάτου κατήργησε. Τοῦτον τόν τρόπον καί ὁ Παῦλος ἐν ἑαυτῷ ἠσθένει, καί ἐκαυχᾶτο ἐν ταῖς ἀσθενείαις, ἵνα ἐπισκηνώσῃ ἐν αὐτῷ ἡ δύναμις τοῦ Χριστοῦ.

ιδ΄. Ταύτης τῆς νίκης τόν τρόπον μαθών, ἔλεγεν Ἐφεσίοις γράφων· Οὐκ ἔστιν ὑμῖν ἡ πάλη πρός αἷμα καί σάρκα· ἀλλά πρός τάς ἀρχάς, πρός τάς ἐξουσίας, καί τά ἑξῆς. Τόν τε θώρακα τῆς δικαιοσύνης ἀναλαβεῖν φησι, καί τήν περικεφαλαίαν ἐλπίδος, καί τόν θυρεόν τῆς πίστεως, καί τήν μάχαιραν τοῦ πνεύματος, ἵνα δυνηθῶσι πάντα τά βέλη τοῦ πονηροῦ τά πεπυρωμένα σβέσαι, οἱ πρός τούς ἀοράτους ἐχθρούς τόν πόλεμον ἔχοντες· ἔργῳ [Fr. al. M. Nob. ἔργοις] δέ τόν τρόπον τῆς πάλης ἐπιδεικνύμενος, ἔλεγεν· Ἐγώ οὖν οὕτως τρέχω, ὡς οὐκ ἀδήλως· οὕτως πυκτεύω, ὡς οὐκ ἀέρα δαίρων· ἀλλ᾿ ὑποπιάζω μου τό σῶμα καί δουλαγωγῶ, μήπως ἄλλοις κηρύξας, αὐτός ἀδόκιμος γένωμαι. Καί πάλιν· Ἄχρι τῆς ἄρτι ὥρας καί πεινῶμεν καί διψῶμεν καί γυμνητεύομεν, καί κολαφιζόμεθα. Καί πάλιν· Ἐν κόπῳ καί μόχθῳ· ἐν ἀγρυπνίαις πολλάκις, ἐν ψύχει καί γυμνότητι, χωρίς τῶν παρεκτός.

(924) ιε΄. Καί ταύτην μέν τήν πάλην, πρός τούς ἡδονάς ἐν τῇ σαρκί ἐνεργοῦντας ἐπάλαιε δαίμονας διά τῆς ἀσθενείας τοῦ ἰδίου σώματος αὐτούς ἐπελαύνων· πρός δέ τούς εἰς μῖσος πολεμοῦντας, καί διά τοῦτο τούς τῶν ἀνθρώπων ἀμελεστέρους κατά τῶν εὐσεβῶν κινοῦντας, ἵνα δι᾿ αὐτῶν πειραζόμενοι, αὐτούς μισήσωσι, καί τήν ἐντολήν τῆς ἀγάπης παραβῶσι· πάλιν τόν τρόπον τῆς νίκης ἔργοις ἡμῖν ὑποδεικνύων, ἔλεγεν· Λοιδορούμενοι, εὐλογοῦμεν· διωκόμενοι, ἀνεχόμεθα· βλασφημούμενοι, παρακαλοῦμεν· ὡσπερεί καθάρματα τοῦ κόσμου ἐγενήθημεν, πάτων περίψημα ἕως ἄρτι. Οἱ μέν γάρ δαίμονες, διά τοῦτο λοιδορεῖν καί βλασφημεῖν καί διώκειν ὑπέβαλον, ἵνα εἰς μῖσος τοῦ λοιδοροῦντος καί βλασφημοῦντος καί διώκοντος αὐτόν κινήσωσι· τόν σκοπόν εἰς τήν παράβασιν τῆς ἐντολῆς τῆς ἀγάπης ἔχοντες. Ὁ δέ Ἀπόστολος μή ἀγνοῶν τά νοήματα αὐτῶν, τούς λοιδοροῦντας ηὐλόγει, καί τῶν διωκόντων ἠνείχετο, καί τούς βλασφημοῦντας περεκάλει, τῶν μέν ταῦτα ἐνεργούντων ἀποστῆναι δαιμόνων, τῷ δέ ἀγαθῷ οἰκοιωθῆναι Θεῷ· τούς δέ ταῦτα ἐνεργούντας δαίμονας, τούτῳ τῷ τρόπῳ τῆς πάλης ἠμύνετο, ἐν τῷ ἀγαθῷ ἀεί νικῶν τό κακόν, κατά τήν μίμησιν τοῦ Σωτῆρος, καί οὕτως ὅλον τόν κόσμον τῶν δαιμόνων ἀποστήσαντες τῷ Θεῷ ᾠκείωσαν, αὐτός τε καί οἱ λοιποί ἀπόστολοι, διά ἥττης νικήσαντες τούς νικᾷν ἐλπίσαντας [al. καί κρατήσαντες, τούς κρατεῖν ἐλπ. Fr. νικήσαντες, τούς κρατεῖν ἐθέλοντας]. Ἐάν οὖν καί σύ, Ἀδελφέ, τοῦτον κρατήσῃς τόν σκοπόν, δύνασαι καί σύ τούς μισοῦντας ἀγαπᾷν· εἰ δέ γε, ἄλλως ἀμήχανον.

ιστ΄. Καί ὁ ἀδελφός εἶπεν· Ἐπ᾿ ἀληθείας, Πάτερ, οὕτως ἐστί καί οὐκ ἄλλως· καί διά τοῦτο ὁ Κύριος βλασφημούμενος καί κολαφιζόμενος, καί τά ἄλλα πάσχων, ἅπερ ἔπαθεν ὑπό τῶν Ἰουδαίων, ἠνείχετο, ἐκείνοις μέν συμπάσχων ὡς ἀγνοῦσι καί πεπλανημένοις διό καί ἔλεγεν ἐπί τοῦ σταυροῦ· Πάτερ, ἄφες αὐτοῖς, ὅτι οὐκ [al. οὐ γάρ] οἴδασι τί ποιοῦσι· τοῦ δέ διαβόλου καί τῶν ἀρχόντων αὐτοῦ θριαμβεύων τήν πανουργίαν καί τήν ἀπάτην ἐπί τοῦ σταυροῦ· ὑπέρ τῆς ἐντολῆς τῆς ἀγάπης, καθώς