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we will suffer nothing for the sake of the pleasures here, nor will we bear sorrowful things heavily; but we will laugh at both these and similar things, and nothing will be able to either enslave us or lift us up, if only we direct our longing there, if we look to that love. And why do I say, we will not feel pain at present troubles? For we shall not even seem to see them anymore. For such is love. At any rate, those who are not with us, but are absent, yet longed for, we imagine every day. For great is the tyranny of love; it draws one away from all things, and binds the soul to the one longed for. If we love Christ so, all things here will appear a shadow, all an image and a dream. We too will say: Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress? He did not say, money, or wealth, or beauty (for these are exceedingly worthless and ridiculous); but he set down those things that seem to be heavy: famines, persecutions, deaths. Then he scorned even these things as being nothing; but we for the sake of money are separated from our life, and are torn away from the light. And Paul prefers neither death, nor life, nor things present, nor things to come, nor any other creature to his love for him; but if we see a little gold, we are inflamed and trample his 59.477 laws. But if these things are unbearable when spoken, much more so are those when they are not being done. For the terrible thing is this, that hearing we shudder, but doing we do not shudder, but we both swear readily, and commit perjury, and seize things, and demand interest, and neglect sobriety, and have departed from most exact prayer, and transgress the greater part of the commandments, and for the sake of money we take no account of our own members. For the one who loves money will inflict countless evils on his neighbor, and on himself with him. For he will be angered easily, and will revile, and will call someone a fool, and will swear, and will commit perjury, and will not even keep the measures of the old law; for he who loves gold will not love his neighbor. And yet we are commanded to love even our enemies for the sake of the kingdom. For if, fulfilling the old commandments, we will not be able to enter the kingdom of heaven, unless our righteousness exceeds theirs; we who transgress even those, what defense will we obtain? The one who loves money not only will not love his enemies, but will also treat his friends as enemies. 4. And why do I say friends? For often those who love money have ignored nature itself. Such a person knows no kinship, remembers no familiarity, respects no age, has no friend, but will be hostile towards all, and before all others, towards himself; not only by destroying his own soul, but also by wearing himself out with countless cares, and toils, and sorrows. For he will endure journeys abroad, and hostilities, and dangers, and plots, and anything whatsoever, only that he might have the root of evils with him, and count much gold. What then could be more grievous than this disease? For he is deprived of all luxury and pleasure, for which many people sin, and of glory and honor; For the one who loves money both suspects countless people, and has many accusers, and those who envy, and those who slander, and those who plot against him. For those who are wronged hate him, since they have suffered evil; and those who have not yet suffered, fearing that they might suffer, and sympathizing with those who have suffered, show the same hostility; and the greater and more powerful, being vexed and indignant on behalf of the more humble, and furthermore also being envious, are likewise enemies and hate him. And why do I speak of men? For when someone has even God at war with him, what hope will be left for him? what comfort? what consolation? 59.478 The one who loves money will never be able to use it, but will be its slave and guard, not its master. For always striving to make more, he will nowhere be willing to spend it; but he will exhaust himself, and will be poorer than all the poor, as his desire never comes to a halt. And yet money is not in order that

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οὐ πρὸς τὰ ἡδέα τὰ ἐνταῦθα πεισόμεθά τι, οὐ τὰ λυπηρὰ βαρέως οἴσομεν· ἀλλὰ καὶ τούτων καὶ τῶν ὁμοίων καταγελασόμεθα, καὶ οὐδὲν ἡμᾶς οὔτε δουλῶσαι, οὔτε ἐπᾶραι δυνήσεται, μόνον ἂν τὸν πόθον ἐκεῖ τείνωμεν, ἂν πρὸς τὴν ἀγάπην ἐκείνην βλέπωμεν. Καὶ τί λέγω, οὐκ ἀλγήσομεν τοῖς παροῦσι δεινοῖς; Οὔτε γὰρ ὁρᾷν δόξομεν αὐτὰ λοιπόν. Τοιοῦτον γάρ ἐστιν ὁ ἔρως. Τοὺς γοῦν μὴ συμπαρόντας ἡμῖν, ἀλλ' ἀπόντας, ποθουμένους δὲ, καθ' ἑκάστην φανταζόμεθα τὴν ἡμέραν. Μεγάλη γὰρ τῆς ἀγάπης ἡ τυραννίς· πάντων ἀφίστησι, καὶ τῷ ποθουμένῳ προσδεσμεῖ τὴν ψυχήν. Ἂν οὕτω τὸν Χριστὸν ἀγαπήσωμεν, πάντα τὰ ἐνταῦθα σκιὰ, πάντα εἰκὼν φανεῖται καὶ ὄναρ. Ἐροῦμεν καὶ ἡμεῖς· Τίς ἡμᾶς χωρίσει ἀπὸ τῆς ἀγάπης τοῦ Χριστοῦ; Θλίψις ἢ στενοχωρία; Οὐκ εἶπε, χρήματα, ἢ πλοῦτος, ἢ κάλλος (ταῦτα γὰρ σφόδρα εὐτελῆ καὶ καταγέλαστα)· ἀλλὰ τὰ δοκοῦντα εἶναι βαρέα τέθεικε, λιμοὺς, διωγμοὺς, θανάτους. Εἶτα ἐκεῖνος μὲν ὡς οὐδὲν ὄντα καὶ ταῦτα διέπτυσεν· ἡμεῖς δὲ διὰ χρήματα χωριζόμεθα τῆς ζωῆς τῆς ἡμετέρας, καὶ τοῦ φωτὸς ἀποσχιζόμεθα. Καὶ Παῦλος μὲν οὐ θάνατον, οὐδὲ ζωὴν, οὐδὲ ἐνεστῶτα, οὐ μέλλοντα, οὐ κτίσιν ἑτέραν προτιμᾷ τῆς εἰς αὐτὸν ἀγάπης· ἡμεῖς δὲ χρυσίον ὀλίγον ἂν ἴδωμεν, ἐκκαιόμεθα καὶ τοὺς αὐτοῦ πατοῦμεν 59.477 νόμους. Εἰ δὲ οὐκ ἀνεκτὰ ταῦτα λεγόμενα, πολλῷ μᾶλλον ἐκεῖνα μὴ γινόμενα. Τὸ γὰρ δεινὸν τοῦτό ἐστιν, ὅτι ἀκούοντες μὲν φρίττομεν, πράττοντες δὲ οὐ φρίττομεν, ἀλλὰ καὶ ὄμνυμεν εὐκόλως, καὶ ἐπιορκοῦμεν, καὶ ἁρπάζομεν, καὶ τόκους ἀπαιτοῦμεν, καὶ σωφροσύνης ἀμελοῦμεν, καὶ εὐχῆς ἀκριβεστάτης ἀφεστήκαμεν, καὶ τὰ πλείονα παραβαίνομεν τῶν ἐπιταγμάτων, καὶ χρημάτων ἕνεκεν τῶν μελῶν τῶν ἡμετέρων οὐδένα ποιούμεθα λόγον. Ὁ γὰρ χρημάτων ἐρῶν, μυρία τὸν πλησίον διαθήσει κακὰ, καὶ ἑαυτὸν μετ' ἐκείνου. Καὶ γὰρ ὀργιεῖται ῥᾳδίως, καὶ λοιδορήσεται, καὶ μωρὸν καλέσει, καὶ ὀμεῖται, καὶ ἐπιορκήσει, καὶ οὐδὲ τοῦ παλαιοῦ τὰ μέτρα διατηρεῖ νόμου· οὐ γὰρ ἀγαπήσει τὸν πλησίον ὁ τὸ χρυσίον ἀγαπῶν. Καίτοι γε καὶ ἡμεῖς καὶ τοὺς ἐχθροὺς κελευόμεθα διὰ τὴν βασιλείαν φιλεῖν. Εἰ γὰρ τὰ παλαιὰ ἐπιτάγματα πληροῦντες, οὐ δυνησόμεθα ἐπιβῆναι τῆς βασιλείας τῶν οὐρανῶν, ἐὰν μὴ περισσεύσῃ ἡ δικαιοσύνη ἡμῶν πλέον ἐκείνων· οἱ καὶ ἐκεῖνα παραβαίνοντες, τίνος τευξόμεθα ἀπολογίας; Ὁ χρημάτων ἐρῶν, οὐ μόνον ἐχθροὺς οὐκ ἀγαπήσει, ἀλλὰ καὶ φίλοις ὡς ἐχθροῖς χρήσεται. δʹ. Καὶ τί λέγω φίλους; Καὶ γὰρ αὐτὴν πολλάκις τὴν φύσιν ἠγνόησαν οἱ χρημάτων ἐρῶντες. Ὁ τοιοῦτος, οὐ συγγένειαν οἶδε, οὐ συνηθείας μέμνηται, οὐχ ἡλικίαν αἰδεῖται, οὐ φίλον ἔχει τινὰ, ἀλλὰ πρὸς πάντας ἀπεχθῶς διακείσεται, καὶ πρὸ τῶν ἄλλων πάντων πρὸς ἑαυτόν· οὐ μόνον τῷ ἀπολλύναι τὴν ψυχὴν τὴν ἑαυτοῦ, ἀλλὰ καὶ τῷ μυρίαις ἑαυτὸν κατατείνειν φροντίσι, καὶ μόχθοις, καὶ λύπαις. Καὶ γὰρ ἀποδημίας, καὶ ἀπεχθείας, καὶ κινδύνους, καὶ ἐπιβουλὰς, καὶ πᾶν ὁτιοῦν ὑποστήσεται, μόνον ἵνα τὴν ῥίζαν τῶν κακῶν ἔχῃ παρ' ἑαυτῷ, καὶ πολὺ ἀριθμῇ χρυσίον. Τί τοίνυν γένοιτ' ἂν τῆς νόσου ταύτης χαλεπώτερον; Καὶ γὰρ καὶ τρυφῆς καὶ ἡδονῆς ἁπάσης ἐστέρηται, δι' ἣν πολλὰ ἁμαρτάνουσιν ἄνθρωποι, καὶ δόξης καὶ τιμῆς· Ὁ γὰρ χρημάτων ἐρῶν, καὶ ὑποπτεύει μυρίους, καὶ κατηγόρους ἔχει πολλοὺς, καὶ τοὺς βασκαίνοντας, καὶ τοὺς διαβάλλοντας, καὶ τοὺς ἐπιβουλεύοντας. Οἱ μὲν γὰρ ἀδικούμενοι μισοῦσιν, ἅτε κακῶς παθόντες· οἱ δὲ μηδέπω παθόντες, δεδοικότες μὴ πάθωσι, καὶ συναλγοῦντες τοῖς πεπονθόσιν, ἐπιδείκνυνται πόλεμον τὸν αὐτόν· οἱ δὲ μείζους καὶ δυνατώτεροι, δακνόμενοι καὶ ἀγανακτοῦντες ὑπὲρ τῶν ταπεινοτέρων, ἔτι δὲ καὶ βασκαίνοντες, ὁμοίως εἰσὶν ἐχθροὶ καὶ μισοῦσι. Καὶ τί λέγω τοὺς ἀνθρώπους; Ὅταν γὰρ καὶ τὸν Θεὸν ἐκπεπολεμωμένον ἔχῃ τις, τίς αὐτῷ λοιπὸν ἐλπὶς ἔσται; ποία παραμυθία; τίς παραψυχή; 59.478 Ὁ χρημάτων ἐρῶν, οὐ χρῆσθαι αὐτοῖς δυνήσεταί ποτε, ἀλλὰ δοῦλος ἔσται καὶ φύλαξ, οὐ δεσπότης. Πλείονα γὰρ ἀεὶ ποιεῖν σπουδάζων, οὐδαμοῦ ἀναλίσκειν ἐθελήσει· συγκόψει δὲ ἑαυτὸν, καὶ πάντων πενήτων πενέστερος διακείσεται, ὡς οὐδαμοῦ τῆς ἐπιθυμίας ἱστάμενος. Καίτοι γε χρήματα, οὐχ ἵνα