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to deliver those who do these things from the punishment laid up for them. For He also sent the apostles for their salvation. At least you hear them saying, that "We know that you acted in ignorance," and through these words drawing them to repentance. Let us also emulate these things. For nothing makes God so merciful as loving our enemies and doing good to those who insult us. When someone insults you, do not look at him, but at the demon that moves him, and vent all your anger against that one; but pity the one who is moved by him. For if falsehood is from the devil, much more so is being angry without a cause from there. When you see someone jesting, consider that it is the devil who is moving him. For jests are not for Christians. For one who is commanded to mourn, and hears, "Woe to you who laugh!" and then reproaches and jests and is inflamed, is not worthy of being reviled by us, but of being lamented, since Christ also was troubled when he thought of Judas. Let us therefore practice all these things in our deeds. For if we do not accomplish these things, we have come into the world in vain and to no purpose; or rather, even for our harm. For faith is not sufficient to bring us into the kingdom, but by this especially it will condemn those who display a wicked life. For "he who knew his master's will, and did not do it, shall be beaten with many stripes;" and again, "If I had not come," He says, "and spoken to them, they would not have sin." What excuse, then, shall we have, being within the palace, and counted worthy to peer into the sanctuary, and having become partakers of mysteries that deliver from sins, if we become worse than the Greeks who have shared in none of these things? For if they for the sake of vainglory displayed so much philosophy, much more ought we, for the sake of what pleases God, to pursue all virtue. But now we do not even despise money; but they often even disregarded their own soul, and gave up their children in wars to the madness of demons, and despised nature for the sake of demons; but we do not despise even silver for Christ's sake, nor anger for the sake of what pleases 59.459 God, but we are inflamed, and are in no better condition than those suffering from a fever. And just as they, being possessed by evil, are inflamed, so also we, as if choked by some fire, are nowhere able to stop our desire, but increase our anger and love of money. For these reasons I am ashamed and astonished, seeing among the Greeks men who despise money, but among us all men are mad for it. For even if we should find some who despise these things, yet they are caught by others, by anger and envy; and it is a difficult thing to find a pure philosophy. And the reason is that we are not eager to receive the remedies from the Scriptures, nor do we pay attention to them with compunction, and pain, and groaning, but simply, whenever we might have leisure. Because of this, when a great torrent of worldly affairs comes, it overwhelms everything, and destroys whatever gain has been made. For neither, if someone has a wound, and then applying a remedy, should not bind it with care, but should allow it to fall off, and should expose himself to water, and dust, and dryness, and countless other things capable of irritating the sore, will any benefit come to him; but it is not from the weakness of the remedies, but from his own carelessness. This is also what is accustomed to happen to us, 59.460 whenever we pay little attention to the divine oracles, but give ourselves over to worldly things all at once and continuously. For thus all the seed is choked, and all things become unfruitful. That this may not happen, therefore, let us look about a little, let us look up to heaven, and let us look down into the tombs and the coffins of the departed. For the same end awaits us too, and the very necessity of our departure will often come upon us before evening. Let us prepare ourselves, therefore, for this departure. For we need many provisions; since the heat there is great, the drought great, the desolation great. It is not possible to stay at an inn anymore; it is not possible to buy anything, without having taken everything from here. Hear, at least, what the virgins say: "Go to those who sell;"

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ἀπαλλάξαι τοὺς ταῦτα ποιοῦντας τῆς ἀποκειμένης κολάσεως. Καὶ γὰρ καὶ τοὺς ἀποστόλους ἐπὶ τῇ τούτων ἔπεμψε σωτηρίᾳ. Ἀκούεις γοῦν αὐτῶν λεγόντων, ὅτι «Οἴδαμεν ὅτι κατὰ ἄγνοιαν ἐπράξατε,» καὶ διὰ τούτων εἰς μετάνοιαν αὐτοὺς ἑλκόντων. Ταῦτα καὶ ἡμεῖς ζηλώσωμεν. Οὐδὲν γὰρ οὕτω τὸν Θεὸν ἵλεω ποιεῖ, ὡς τὸ ἀγαπᾷν τοὺς ἐχθροὺς, καὶ εὖ ποιεῖν τοὺς ἐπηρεάζοντας. Ὅταν τις ἐπηρεάζῃ, μὴ πρὸς αὐτὸν ἴδῃς, ἀλλὰ πρὸς τὸν κινοῦντα δαίμονα, καὶ τὴν ὀργὴν ἅπασαν κατ' ἐκείνου κένωσον· αὐτὸν δὲ καὶ ἐλέει τὸν ὑπ' ἐκείνου κινούμενον. Εἰ γὰρ τὸ ψεῦδος ἀπὸ τοῦ διαβόλου, καὶ τὸ ὀργίζεσθαι εἰκῆ πολλῷ μᾶλλον ἐκεῖθεν. Ὅταν κωμῳδοῦντα ἴδῃς, ἐννόησον ὅτι ὁ διάβολός ἐστιν αὐτὸν ὁ κινῶν. Οὐ γὰρ Χριστιανῶν τὰ σκώμματα. Ὁ γὰρ κελευσθεὶς πενθεῖν, καὶ ἀκούων, Οὐαὶ οἱ γελῶντες! εἶτα ὀνειδίζων καὶ σκώπτων καὶ διακαιόμενος, οὐ τοῦ λοιδορεῖσθαι παρ' ἡμῶν, ἀλλὰ θρηνεῖσθαι ἄξιος, ἐπεὶ καὶ ὁ Χριστὸς ἐταράχθη τὸν Ἰούδαν ἐννοήσας. Ταῦτα οὖν ἅπαντα μελετῶμεν ἐπὶ τῶν ἔργων. Ἂν γὰρ ταῦτα μὴ κατορθώσωμεν, εἰκῆ καὶ μάτην εἰς τὸν κόσμον ἤλθομεν· μᾶλλον δὲ καὶ ἐπὶ κακῷ. Οὐ γάρ ἐστιν ἡ πίστις ἱκανὴ εἰς τὴν βασιλείαν εἰσαγαγεῖν, ἀλλὰ καὶ ταύτῃ μάλιστα κατακρῖναι τοὺς βίον φαῦλον ἐπιδεικνυμένους ἔχει. Ὁ γὰρ εἰδὼς τὸ θέλημα τοῦ κυρίου αὐτοῦ, καὶ μὴ ποιήσας, δαρήσεται πολλάς· καὶ πάλιν, Εἰ μὴ ἦλθον, φησὶ, καὶ ἐλάλησα αὐτοῖς, ἁμαρτίαν οὐκ εἶχον. Ποίαν οὖν ἕξομεν ἀπολογίαν, ἐντὸς τῶν βασιλείων γινόμενοι, καὶ εἰς τὰ ἄδυτα διακύψαι καταξιωθέντες, καὶ κοινωνοὶ καταστάντες μυστηρίων ἁμαρτιῶν ἀπαλλαττόντων, τῶν οὐδενὸς τούτων μετεσχηκότων Ἑλλήνων γινόμενοι χείρους; Εἰ γὰρ ἐκεῖνοι διὰ δόξαν κενὴν τοσαύτην ἐπεδείξαντο φιλοσοφίαν, πολλῷ μᾶλλον ἡμᾶς διὰ τὸ τῷ Θεῷ δοκοῦν χρὴ πᾶσαν ἀρετὴν ἐπιέναι. Νῦν δὲ οὐδὲ χρημάτων καταφρονοῦμεν· ἀλλ' ἐκεῖνοι μὲν καὶ τῆς ἑαυτῶν πολλάκις ὑπερεῖδον ψυχῆς, καὶ παῖδας ἐπέδωκαν ἐν πολέμοις τῇ τῶν δαιμόνων μανίᾳ, καὶ τῆς φύσεως κατεφρόνησαν διὰ τοὺς δαίμονας· ἡμεῖς δὲ οὐδὲ ἀργυρίου διὰ τὸν Χριστὸν, οὐδὲ ὀργῆς διὰ τὸ δοκοῦν τῷ 59.459 Θεῷ, ἀλλὰ φλεγμαίνομεν, καὶ πυρεττόντων οὐδὲν ἄμεινον διακείμεθα. Καὶ καθάπερ ἐκεῖνοι τῷ κακῷ κατεχόμενοι διακαεῖς εἰσιν, οὕτω καὶ ἡμεῖς, ὥσπερ ἀπὸ πυρός τινος ἀγχόμενοι, οὐδαμοῦ τῆς ἐπιθυμίας στῆναι δυνάμεθα, καὶ ὀργὴν καὶ φιλοχρηματίαν αὔξοντες. ∆ιὰ ταῦτα αἰσχύνομαι καὶ ἐκπλήττομαι, παρὰ μὲν Ἕλλησι βλέπων χρημάτων ὑπερορῶντας, παρὰ δὲ ἡμῖν μαινομένους ἅπαντας. Εἰ γὰρ καὶ τούτων εὕροιμέν τινας καταφρονοῦντας, ἀλλ' ἑτέροις ἁλίσκονται, θυμῷ καὶ βασκανίᾳ· καὶ πρᾶγμα δύσκολον, καθαρὰν φιλοσοφίαν εὑρεῖν. Τὸ δὲ αἴτιον, οὐ σπουδάζομεν τὰ φάρμακα λαβεῖν παρὰ τῶν Γραφῶν, οὐδὲ μετὰ κατανύξεως αὐταῖς προσέχομεν, καὶ ὀδύνης καὶ στεναγμοῦ, ἀλλ' ἁπλῶς, εἴποτε σχολὴν ἀγάγοιμεν. ∆ιὰ τοῦτο, ἐπειδὰν πολὺς φορυτὸς ἔλθῃ βιωτικῶν πραγμάτων, ἐπικλύζει πάντα, καὶ εἴ τι γέγονε κέρδος, ἀπόλλυσιν. Οὐδὲ γὰρ, εἴ τις τραῦμα ἔχων, εἶτα φάρμακον ἐπιτιθεὶς, μὴ μετὰ ἀκριβείας ἐπιδήσειεν, ἀλλ' ἐάσειεν ἐκπεσεῖν, καὶ ὕδατι, καὶ κόνει, καὶ αὐχμῷ, καὶ μυρίοις ἑτέροις τοῖς δυναμένοις ἐπιτρίψαι τὸ ἕλκος ἑαυτοῦ ἐκδοίη, γενήσεταί τι πλέον αὐτῷ· ἀλλὰ οὐ παρὰ τὴν τῶν φαρμάκων ἀσθένειαν, ἀλλὰ παρὰ τὴν οἰκείαν ῥᾳθυμίαν. Τοῦτο καὶ ἡμῖν συμβαίνειν εἴω 59.460 θεν, ὅταν τοῖς μὲν θείοις λογίοις μικρὸν προσέχωμεν, τοῖς δὲ βιωτικοῖς ἀθρόον ἑαυτοὺς ἐκδῶμεν καὶ διηνεκῶς. Οὕτω γὰρ ὁ σπόρος ἀποπνίγεται πᾶς, καὶ πάντα ἄκαρπα γίνεται. Ἵν' οὖν μὴ τοῦτο γένηται, μικρὸν διαβλέψωμεν, ἀναβλέψωμεν εἰς τὸν οὐρανὸν, καὶ κατανεύσωμεν εἰς τὰ μνήματα καὶ τὰς σοροὺς τῶν ἀπελθόντων. Καὶ ἡμᾶς γὰρ τὸ αὐτὸ μένει τέλος, καὶ αὐτὴ τῆς ἀποδημίας ἀνάγκη πολλάκις πρὸ τῆς ἑσπέρας ἡμῖν ἐπιστήσεται. Παρασκευαζώμεθα τοίνυν πρὸς τὴν ἔξοδον ταύτην. Καὶ γὰρ πολλῶν ἡμῖν δεῖ τῶν ἐφοδίων· ἐπεὶ καὶ πολὺ τὸ καῦμα ἐκεῖ, πολὺς ὁ αὐχμὸς, πολλὴ ἡ ἐρημία. Οὐκ ἔστιν εἰς πανδοχεῖον καταλῦσαι λοιπόν· οὐκ ἔστιν ἀγοράσαι τι, μὴ πάντα ἐντεῦθεν λαβόντα. Ἄκουσον γοῦν τί λέγουσιν αἱ παρθένοι· Ὑπάγετε πρὸς τοὺς πωλοῦντας·