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All this rest is to look upon the Son of God. This indeed also causes one to be glorified; as Paul also says: Beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord with unveiled face. For just as those who look at the rays of the sun and enjoy the purest air, have their enjoyment from the sight; so also then, and much more, will this work pleasure for us. And at the same time it also shows that it is not this which is seen, but some awesome substance. O righteous Father, the world has not known You. What does this mean? What is the connection? He shows here that no one knows God, except only those who have come to know the Son. But what He says is something like this: I wished all to be this, but they have not known You, though they have nothing to accuse. For this is, 'O righteous Father'. Here it seems to me He says these things also with indignation, that they did not want to recognize One so good and righteous. For since the Jews said they knew God, but did not know Him, He directs His speech to this, saying, 'You loved Me before the foundation of the world,' composing a defense against the accusations of the Jews. For how could He who received glory, who was loved before the foundation of the world, who wished to have them as witnesses of that glory, be opposed to the Father? Therefore, it is not as the Jews say, that they know You, but I am ignorant; but the opposite, I know You, but others have not known You. And these have known that You sent Me. Do you see that He alludes to those who say that He is not from God, and for this reason He sums everything up? And I have made known Your name to them, and will make it known. And yet You say that perfect knowledge is of the Spirit; but the things of the Spirit are Mine. That the love with which You loved Me may remain in them, and I in them. For if they learn who You are, then they will know that I am not separated, but am one of those greatly loved, and a genuine and united Son. And being persuaded of this as is right, they will maintain their faith in Me and their love with exactness. And when they love as they should, I will remain in them. Do you see how He has arrived at a good end, at love, the mother of all good things, having completed the discourse? Let us believe, therefore, and let us love God, lest it be said also of us: They profess to know God, but by their deeds they deny Him; and again, 'He has denied the faith, and is worse than an unbeliever.' For when that man helps servants and relatives and strangers, but you do not even care for those related to you by blood, what defense will be left for you, when God is blasphemed and insulted because of you? For consider how many 59.446 opportunities for well-doing God has given us. Have mercy, he says, on one as a relative, another as a friend, another as a neighbor, another as a citizen, another as a human being. But if none of these things restrains you, but you break all the bonds, you will hear from Paul that you are worse than an unbeliever; because he, having heard nothing about almsgiving, nor of the things in heaven, has surpassed you in philanthropy; while you, though commanded to love your enemies, see your own family as enemies, and spare money more than bodies. And yet the money spent will suffer no harm; but this person, being neglected, will perish. What then is this madness to spare money, and not spare relatives? from where has this desire entered in? from where this inhumanity and cruelty? For if someone, sitting as if on the highest part of a theater, could survey the whole world—or rather, if you wish, let us for now take a single city. 4. If someone, therefore, sitting on high, could look down upon all human affairs, consider how much irrationality he would condemn, how many tears he would bring forth, how much laughter he would laugh, how much hatred he would hate. For we do such things as are worthy of laughter, and folly, and tears, and hatred. Such-and-such a man raises dogs, in order to hunt wild beasts, himself falling into beastliness; another, donkeys and bulls, in order to move stones; but he neglects human beings wasting away with hunger. And he spends infinite gold to make men of stone; but he overlooks the real men who have become like stone from hardship. Another golden tiles
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πᾶσα ἀνάπαυσις αὕτη ἐστὶ, τὸ θεωρεῖν εἰς τὸν Υἱὸν τοῦ Θεοῦ. Τοῦτο γοῦν καὶ δοξάζεσθαι ποιεῖ· ὃ καὶ Παῦλός φησιν· Ἀνακεκαλυμμένῳ προσώπῳ τὴν δόξαν Κυρίου κατοπτριζόμενοι. Ὥσπερ γὰρ οἱ πρὸς ἀκτῖνας θεωροῦντες καὶ ἀέρος ἀπολαύοντες λεπτοτάτου, ἀπὸ τῆς ὄψεως ἔχουσιν τὴν ἀπόλαυσιν· οὕτω καὶ τότε, καὶ πολλῷ πλεῖον τοῦτο ἡμῖν ἐργάσεται τὴν ἡδονήν. Ἅμα δὲ καὶ δείκνυσιν, ὅτι οὐ τοῦτό ἐστι τὸ ὁρώμενον, ἀλλὰ φρικτή τις οὐσία. Πάτερ δίκαιε, καὶ ὁ κόσμος σε οὐκ ἔγνω. Τί βούλεται τοῦτο; ποίαν ἔχει τὴν ἀκολουθίαν; ∆είκνυσιν ἐνταῦθα μηδένα εἰδότα Θεὸν, ἀλλ' ἢ μόνον τοὺς τὸν Υἱὸν ἐπεγνωκότας. Ὃ δὲ λέγει, τοιοῦτόν ἐστιν· Ἐβουλόμην ἅπαντας τοῦτο εἶναι, Ἀλλ' οὐκ ἔγνωσάν σε, καίτοι οὐδὲν ἔχοντες ἐγκαλεῖν. Τοῦτο γάρ ἐστι, Πάτερ δίκαιε. Ἐνταῦθά μοι δοκεῖ καὶ δυσχεραίνων ταῦτα λέγειν, ὅτι τὸν οὕτως ἀγαθὸν καὶ δίκαιον οὐκ ἠθέλησαν ἐπιγνῶναι. Ἐπειδὴ γὰρ Ἰουδαῖοι ἔλεγον τὸν Θεὸν εἰδέναι, αὐτὸν δὲ μὴ εἰδέναι, πρὸς τοῦτο ἀποτείνεται λέγων, ὅτι Ἠγάπησάς με πρὸ καταβολῆς κόσμου, ἀπολογίαν συντιθεὶς πρὸς τὰς κατηγορίας τὰς Ἰουδαϊκάς. Ὁ γὰρ δόξαν λαβὼν, ὁ ἀγαπηθεὶς πρὸ καταβολῆς κόσμου, ὁ μάρτυρας βουλόμενος ἔχειν αὐτοὺς τῆς δόξης ἐκείνης, πῶς ἐναντίος ἦν τῷ Πατρί; Οὐ τοίνυν τοῦτό ἐστιν ὅπερ φασὶν οἱ Ἰουδαῖοι, ὅτι αὐτοὶ μέν σε γινώσκουσιν, ἐγὼ δὲ ἀγνοῶ· ἀλλὰ τοὐναντίον, ἐγὼ μέν σε οἶδα, ἄλλοι δέ σε οὐκ ἔγνωσαν. Καὶ οὗτοι δὲ ἔγνωσαν, ὅτι σύ με ἀπέστειλας. Ὁρᾷς ὅτι αὐτοὺς αἰνίττεται τοὺς λέγοντας μὴ εἶναι αὐτὸν ἐκ τοῦ Θεοῦ, καὶ πρὸς τοῦτον τὸν λόγον ἀνακεφαλαιοῦται πάντα; Καὶ ἐγνώρισα αὐτοῖς τὸ ὄνομά σου, καὶ γνωρίσω. Καὶ μὴν τοῦ Πνεύματος φὴς τὴν τελείαν γνῶσιν· ἀλλὰ τὰ τοῦ Πνεύματος ἐμά ἐστιν. Ἵνα ἡ ἀγάπη, ἣν ἠγάπησάς με, ἐν αὐτοῖς μένῃ, κἀγὼ ἐν αὐτοῖς. Ἐὰν γὰρ μάθωσι, τίς σὺ, τότε εἴσονται, ὅτι οὐκ ἀπεσχισμένος ἐγὼ, ἀλλὰ τῶν σφόδρα ἠγαπημένων, καὶ γνήσιος Υἱὸς καὶ συνημμένος. Τοῦτο δὲ πεισθέντες ὡς χρὴ, καὶ τὴν πίστιν τὴν εἰς ἐμὲ καὶ τὴν ἀγάπην διατηρήσουσιν ἀκριβῆ. Ἀγαπώντων δὲ αὐτῶν ὡς χρὴ, ἐγὼ μενῶ ἐν αὐτοῖς. Ὁρᾷς πῶς εἰς καλὸν τέλος ἀπήντησεν, εἰς ἀγάπην, τὴν πάντων μητέρα τῶν ἀγαθῶν, ἀπαρτίσας τὸν λόγον; Πιστεύωμεν τοίνυν, καὶ ἀγαπῶμεν τὸν Θεὸν, ἵνα μὴ καὶ περὶ ἡμῶν λέγηται· Θεὸν ὁμολογοῦσιν εἰδέναι, τοῖς δὲ ἔργοις ἀρνοῦνται· καὶ πάλιν, Τὴν πίστιν ἤρνηται, καὶ ἔστιν ἀπίστου χείρων. Ὅταν γὰρ ἐκεῖνος μὲν καὶ οἰκέταις καὶ συγγενέσι καὶ ἀλλοτρίοις ἐπικουρῇ· σὺ δὲ μηδὲ τοὺς πρὸς γένος προσήκοντας θεραπεύῃς, τίς ἔσται σοι λοιπὸν ἀπολογία, τοῦ Θεοῦ βλασφημουμένου καὶ ὑβριζομένου διὰ σέ; Σκόπει γὰρ πόσας 59.446 ἔδωκεν ἡμῖν ἀφορμὰς εὐποιίας ὁ Θεός. Τὸν μὲν ὡς συγγενῆ, τὸν δὲ ὡς φίλον, τὸν δὲ ὡς γείτονα, τὸν δὲ ὡς πολίτην, τὸν δὲ ὡς ἄνθρωπον ἐλέει, φησίν. Ἂν δὲ μηδέν σε τούτων κατέχῃ, ἀλλὰ πάντα διαῤῥήξῃς τὰ δεσμὰ, ἀκούσῃ τοῦ Παύλου, ὅτι ἀπίστου εἶ χείρων· ὅτι ἐκεῖνος μὲν οὐδὲν περὶ ἐλεημοσύνης ἀκούσας, οὐδὲ τῶν ἐν οὐρανῷ, ὑπερηκόντισέ σε τῇ φιλανθρωπίᾳ· σὺ δὲ αὐτοὺς τοὺς ἐχθροὺς ἀγαπᾷν κελευσθεὶς, τοὺς οἰκείους, ὡς ἐχθροὺς ὁρᾷς, καὶ χρημάτων φείδῃ μᾶλλον ἢ σωμάτων. Καίτοι τὰ μὲν ἀναλισκόμενα οὐδὲν πείσεται δεινόν· οὗτος δὲ περιορώμενος οἰχήσεται. Τίς οὖν ἡ μανία χρημάτων φείδεσθαι, καὶ ἀφειδεῖν συγγενῶν; πόθεν οὗτος ὁ πόθος εἰσεκώμασε; πόθεν ἡ ἀπανθρωπία καὶ ἡ ὠμότης; Εἰ γάρ τις ὥσπερ ἐπὶ θεάτρου κορυφῆς καθίσας, τὸν κόσμον κατοπτεύσειε πάντα, μᾶλλον δὲ εἰ βούλεσθε, μίαν τέως μεταχειρισώμεθα πόλιν. δʹ. Εἴ τις τοίνυν ἐφ' ὑψηλοῦ καθίσας πάντα κατιδεῖν δυνηθείη τὰ ἀνθρώπινα, ἐννόησον ὅσην καταγνώσεται ἀλογίαν, ὅσα δάκρυα οἴσει, ὅσον γελάσεται γέλωτα, ὅσον μισήσει μῖσος. Τοιαῦτα γὰρ πράττομεν, ὡς καὶ γέλωτος, καὶ ἀνοίας, καὶ δακρύων, καὶ μίσους εἶναι ἄξια. Ὁ δεῖνα τρέφει κύνας, ἵνα θηρία ἄγρια σαγηνεύσῃ, αὐτὸς εἰς θηριωδίαν ἐμπίπτων· ἕτερος ὄνους καὶ ταύρους, ἵνα μετακομίζῃ λίθους· ἀνθρώπους δὲ περιορᾷ, λιμῷ τηκομένους. Καὶ χρυσίον μὲν ἄπειρον δαπανᾷ, ἵνα λιθίνους ἀνθρώπους ἐργάσηται· τοὺς δὲ ὄντως ἀνθρώπους λιθίνους γενομένους ὑπὸ τῆς κακουχίας, ὑπερορᾷ. Ἕτερος ψηφῖδας χρυσᾶς