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hearing. Then, since what had been said seemed harsh, see how He comforts them by what follows, and sets prizes surpassing their labors; and not only prizes, but also the penalties for wickedness. For He dwells more on these than on those; since it is not so much the gift of good things, as the threat of stern things, that is wont to bring the many to their senses. See, at any rate, how He begins from this point, and ends with this. For whosoever will save his life shall lose it, He says; but whosoever shall lose his life for my sake shall find it. For what shall a man be profited, if he shall gain the whole world, and be injured in his soul? Or what shall a man give as an exchange for his soul? What He is saying is this: Not by being unsparing with you, but by being very sparing, do I command these things. For he that spares his child, destroys it; but he that does not spare, saves it. Which a certain wise man also said, that If you strike your son with a rod, he will not die; but you will deliver his soul from death; and again, He that coddles his son will bind up his wounds. This also happens in a military camp. For if a general, sparing his soldiers, orders them to remain within at all times, he will also lose to them those who are within. So that this may not happen in your case, He says: You must be drawn up in battle against perpetual death. For even now a harsh war is about to be kindled. Do not, therefore, sit inside, but go out and fight; and if you fall in the battle line, then you have lived. For if in perceptible wars the one arrayed for slaughter is more renowned than the others and less likely to be captured, and more fearsome to the enemy, although after death the king, for whom he takes up arms, does not have the power to raise him up; much more in these wars, when there are so many hopes of resurrection, he who exposes his own soul to death will find it; in one way, because he will not be captured quickly; and in a second way, because even if he falls, he will lead it to a greater life. 3. Then, since He said, that He who wishes to save, shall lose it, but he who loses, shall save it, and He has posited salvation and loss there, and salvation and loss here; so that no one should think this loss and that one, and this salvation and that one, are equal, but might learn clearly that the difference between that salvation and this one is as great as between loss and salvation; and He introduces these things by constructing them entirely from their opposites. For what is a man profited, He says, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul? Did you see how its salvation, contrary to what is right, is destruction, and worse than any destruction, since it is also incurable, because there is nothing left 58.544 to buy it back? For do not say this to me, He says, that he who has escaped such dangers has saved his soul, but consider the whole world along with his soul, and what more does he get from this when that soul is being destroyed? For tell me, if you were to see your servants in luxury, but yourself in extreme evils, would you gain anything from being their master? Not at all. Therefore, consider this also in the case of the soul, when, while the flesh lives in luxury and is rich, the soul awaits its future destruction. What shall a man give in exchange for his soul? Again He insists on the same point. For do you have another soul to give in place of a soul? He says. For if you lose money, you will be able to give money; or a house, or slaves, or any other of your possessions; but if you lose a soul, you will not be able to give another soul in its place; but even if you possess the world, even if you are king of the inhabited earth, you will not be able, by paying down all the things of the world along with the world itself, to purchase one soul. And what wonder is it if this happens in the case of a soul? For one might see this happening in the case of the body also. Even if you are wearing countless diadems, but have a body that is sickly by nature and incurably so, you will not be able, even if you were to give your whole kingdom, to correct this body, even if you add countless bodies, and cities, and money. Thus, therefore, reason also in the case of the soul; or rather, much more so in the case of the soul; and all things

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ἀκούοντες. Εἶτα, ἐπειδὴ σφοδρὸν ἐδόκει εἶναι τὸ εἰρημένον, ὅρα πῶς αὐτὸ διὰ τῶν ἑξῆς παραμυθεῖται, καὶ τίθησιν ἔπαθλα ὑπερβάλλοντα τοὺς ἱδρῶτας· καὶ οὐκ ἔπαθλα μόνον, ἀλλὰ καὶ τὰ τῆς κακίας ἐπίχειρα. Καὶ γὰρ τούτοις ἐνδιατρίβει μᾶλλον, ἢ ἐκείνοις· ἐπειδήπερ οὐχ οὕτως ἡ τῶν ἀγαθῶν δόσις, ὡς ἡ τῶν αὐστηρῶν ἀπειλὴ τοὺς πολλοὺς σωφρονίζειν εἴωθε. Σκόπει γοῦν πῶς καὶ ἐντεῦθεν ἄρχεται, καὶ εἰς τοῦτο τελευτᾷ. Ὃς γὰρ ἂν θέλῃ τὴν ψυχὴν αὐτοῦ σῶσαι, ἀπολέσει, φησὶν, αὐτήν· ὃς δ' ἂν ἀπολέσῃ τὴν ἑαυτοῦ ψυχὴν ἕνεκεν ἐμοῦ, εὑρήσει αὐτήν. Τί γὰρ ὠφεληθήσεται ἄνθρωπος, ἐὰν τὸν κόσμον ὅλον κερδήσῃ, καὶ ζημιωθῇ τὴν ψυχὴν αὐτοῦ; ἢ τί δώσει ἄνθρωπος ἀντάλλαγμα ὑπὲρ τῆς ψυχῆς αὐτοῦ; Ὃ δὲ λέγει, τοιοῦτόν ἐστιν· Οὐκ ἀφειδῶν ὑμῶν, ἀλλὰ καὶ σφόδρα φειδόμενος, ταῦτα ἐπιτάττω. Καὶ γὰρ ὁ φειδόμενος τοῦ παιδίου αὐτοῦ, ἀπόλλυσιν αὐτό· ὁ δὲ μὴ φειδόμενος, διασώζει. Ὃ καί τις σοφὸς ἔλεγεν, ὅτι Ἐὰν παίσῃς τὸν υἱόν σου ῥάβδῳ, οὐ μὴ ἀποθάνῃ· τὴν δὲ ψυχὴν αὐτοῦ ἐκ θανάτου ῥύσῃ· καὶ πάλιν, Ὁ περιψύχων τὸν υἱὸν αὐτοῦ, καταδήσει τραύματα αὐτοῦ. Τοῦτο καὶ ἐπὶ στρατοπέδου γίνεται. Ἂν γὰρ ὁ στρατηγὸς, φειδόμενος τῶν στρατιωτῶν, ἔνδον κελεύῃ μένειν διαπαντὸς, καὶ τοὺς ἔνδον αὐτοῖς προσαπολεῖ. Ἵν' οὖν μὴ καὶ ἐφ' ὑμῶν τοῦτο συμβαίνῃ, φησί· ∆εῖ πρὸς τὸν διηνεκῆ θάνατον ὑμᾶς παρατετάχθαι. Καὶ γὰρ καὶ νῦν πόλεμος ἀναῤῥιπίζεσθαι μέλλει χαλεπός. Μὴ τοίνυν καθίσῃς ἔνδον, ἀλλ' ἐξέρχου καὶ πολέμει· κἂν πέσῃς ἐν τῇ παρατάξει, τότε ἔζησας. Εἰ γὰρ ἐπὶ τῶν αἰσθητῶν πολέμων ὁ παρατεταγμένος εἰς σφαγὴν, οὗτος τῶν ἄλλων εὐδοκιμώτερος καὶ ἀνάλωτος μᾶλλον, καὶ τοῖς πολεμίοις φοβερώτερος, καίτοιγε μετὰ θάνατον οὐκ ἰσχύοντος αὐτὸν ἀναστῆσαι τοῦ βασιλέως, ὑπὲρ οὗ τὰ ὅπλα τίθεται· πολλῷ μᾶλλον ἐπὶ τῶν πολέμων τούτων, ὅτε καὶ ἀναστάσεως ἐλπίδες τοσαῦται, ὁ προβαλλόμενος εἰς θάνατον τὴν ἑαυτοῦ ψυχὴν, εὑρήσει αὐτήν· ἑνὶ μὲν τρόπῳ, ὅτι οὐ ταχέως ἁλώσεται· δευτέρῳ δὲ, ὅτι κἂν πέσῃ, ἐπὶ μείζονα αὐτὴν χειραγωγήσει ζωήν. γʹ. Εἶτα ἐπειδὴ εἶπεν, ὅτι Ὁ θέλων σῶσαι, ἀπολέσει αὐτὴν, ὃς δ' ἂν ἀπολέσῃ, σώσει, κἀκεῖ σωτηρίαν καὶ ἀπώλειαν, καὶ ἐνταῦθα σωτηρίαν καὶ ἀπώλειαν τέθεικεν· ἵνα μὴ νομίσῃ τις ἴσην εἶναι τὴν ἀπώλειαν ταύτην κἀκείνην, καὶ τὴν σωτηρίαν, ἀλλὰ μάθῃ σαφῶς, ὅτι τοσοῦτον ἐκείνης τῆς σωτηρίας καὶ ταύτης τὸ μέσον, ὅσον ἀπωλείας καὶ σωτηρίας· καὶ ἐκ τῶν ἐναντίων καθάπαξ ἐπάγει ταῦτα κατασκευάζων. Τί γὰρ ὠφελεῖται ἄνθρωπος, φησὶν, ἐὰν τὸν κόσμον ὅλον κερδήσῃ, τὴν δὲ ψυχὴν αὐτοῦ ζημιωθῇ; Εἶδες πῶς ἡ παρὰ τὸ δέον αὐτῆς σωτηρία, ἀπώλεια, καὶ ἀπωλείας ἁπάσης χείρων, ἅτε καὶ ἀνίατος οὖσα, τῷ μηδὲν εἶναι λοιπὸν 58.544 τὸ ἐξωνούμενον αὐτήν; Μὴ γάρ μοι λέγε τοῦτο, φησὶν, ὅτι τὴν ψυχὴν αὐτοῦ ἔσωσεν ὁ κινδύνους διαφυγὼν τοὺς τοιούτους, ἀλλὰ μετὰ τῆς ψυχῆς αὐτοῦ θὲς καὶ τὴν οἰκουμένην ἅπασαν, καὶ τί τὸ πλέον ἐντεῦθεν αὐτῷ ἐκείνης ἀπολλυμένης; Εἰπὲ γάρ μοι, εἰ τοὺς οἰκέτας ἴδοις τοὺς σοὺς ἐν τρυφῇ, σαυτὸν δὲ ἐν κακοῖς ἐσχάτοις, ἆρα κερδανεῖς ἐκ τοῦ δεσπότης εἶναί τι; Οὐδαμῶς. Τοῦτο τοίνυν καὶ ἐπὶ τῆς ψυχῆς λογίζου, ὅταν τῆς σαρκὸς τρυφώσης καὶ πλουτούσης, αὕτη τὴν μέλλουσαν ἀπώλειαν ἀναμένῃ. Τί δώσει ἄνθρωπος ἀντάλλαγμα τῆς ψυχῆς αὐτοῦ; Πάλιν ἐπιμένει τῷ αὐτῷ. Μὴ γὰρ ἑτέραν ψυχὴν ἔχεις δοῦναι ἀντὶ ψυχῆς; φησί. Χρήματα μὲν γὰρ ἂν ἀπολέσῃς, δυνήσῃ δοῦναι χρήματα· κἂν οἰκίαν, κἂν ἀνδράποδα, κἂν ὁτιοῦν ἕτερον τῶν κτημάτων· ψυχὴν δὲ ἂν ἀπολέσῃς, ἑτέραν οὐ δυνήσῃ ἐπιδοῦναι ψυχήν· ἀλλὰ κἂν τὸν κόσμον ἔχῃς, κἂν βασιλεὺς τῆς οἰκουμένης ᾖς, οὐχ οἷός τε ἔσῃ τὰ τῆς οἰκουμένης πάντα καταβαλὼν μετὰ τῆς οἰκουμένης αὐτῆς, ψυχὴν ἀγοράσαι μίαν. Καὶ τί θαυμαστὸν εἰ ἐπὶ ψυχῆς τοῦτο συμβαίνει; Καὶ γὰρ καὶ ἐπὶ σώματος τοῦτο γινόμενον ἴδοι τις ἄν. Κἂν μυρία διαδήματα περικείμενος ᾖς, σῶμα δὲ ἔχῃς ἐπίνοσον φύσει καὶ ἀνιάτως ἔχον, οὐ δυνήσῃ, κἂν τὴν βασιλείαν ἅπασαν ἐπιδῷς, τὸ σῶμα διορθῶσαι τοῦτο, κἂν μυρία σώματα προσθῇς, καὶ πόλεις, καὶ χρήματα. Οὕτω τοίνυν καὶ ἐπὶ τῆς ψυχῆς λογίζου· μᾶλλον δὲ καὶ πολλῷ πλέον ἐπὶ τῆς ψυχῆς· καὶ πάντα τὰ