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in wickedness, or those at the point of death, or those who are vainglorious after death? For, as I was saying, this passion has many snares, and it proceeds even beyond our life. For so-and-so, he says, has died; and in order to be admired, he enjoined that such and such things be done; and for this reason so-and-so is poor, and so-and-so is rich. For this is the difficult thing, that it is composed even of opposites. 3. Against whom then shall we stand and draw up our battle lines 58.665 first? for one and the same argument is not sufficient against all. Do you wish then to start with those who are vainglorious in almsgiving? To me it seems so; for I love this practice exceedingly, and I am pained to see it corrupted, and I see vainglory plotting against it like a procuring nurse against some royal maiden. For she nourishes her, but to her shame and loss, procuring for her, and commanding her to despise her father, but to adorn herself for the pleasure of men who are often foul and contemptible; and she puts on her such an adornment as outsiders wish, a shameful and dishonorable one, not such as her father wishes. Come then, let us direct our words to these, and let there be some almsgiving done with lavishness for display to the multitude. Therefore, first it leads her out of her father’s chamber. And while the father commands her not even to be seen by the left hand, she shows her off to slaves and to chance passers-by and to those who do not even know her. Have you seen a prostitute and a procuress casting her into the love of base men, so that as they command, so she might be fashioned? Do you wish to see how she makes such a soul not only a prostitute, but also mad? Consider then her disposition. For when, having left heaven, she runs after runaways and house-slaves, pursuing through the streets and narrow lanes those who hate her, the shameful and the ugly, those who do not even wish to see her, those who, because she burns for them, hate her, what could be more mad than this? For the multitude hates no one so much as those who are in need of glory from them. At any rate, they weave countless accusations against them, and the same thing happens as if someone, having brought down a virgin and a king's daughter from the royal throne, should command her to give herself up to gladiators and men who spit upon her. These men, then, the more you pursue them, the more they turn away from you; but God, if you seek glory from Him, all the more draws you to Himself and praises you, and gives you a great reward. But if you wish to learn of its loss from another side, whenever you give for display and love of honor, consider how much grief then comes upon you, and how continual the despondency, as Christ rings in your ears, saying, that You have lost all your reward. For vainglory is everywhere an evil, but especially from philanthropy, because it is the utmost cruelty, parading the misfortunes of others, and all but reproaching those in poverty. For if to speak of one's own good deeds is to reproach, what do you think it is to bring these out to many others? How then shall we escape this terrible thing? If we learn to be merciful, if we see whose glory we are seeking. For tell me, who is the artist of almsgiving? God, who showed the practice, clearly, the one who knows it best of all, and handles it to an infinite degree. What then? if you are learning to be a wrestler, to whom do you look, or to whom do you show off in the wrestling school, to the one selling vegetables and fish, or to the trainer? And yet the former are many, but the latter is one. What then, if while he admires you others laugh, will you not also laugh at them with him? What if you are learning to box? will you not likewise look to him who knows how to teach this? And if you pursue oratory, will you not accept the praises of the 58.666 orator, and despise those of others? How then is it not absurd, in the other arts to look only to the teacher, but here to do the opposite? And yet the loss is not equal. For there, if you wrestle according to what seems good to the crowd, and not to the teacher, the loss is in the wrestling; but here it is in eternal life. You have become like God

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ἐπὶ πονηρίᾳ, ἢ τοὺς ἐπὶ τελευτῇ, ἢ τοὺς μετὰ τελευτὴν κενοδοξοῦντας; Καὶ γὰρ, ὅπερ ἔφην, πολλὰς ἔχει τὰς πλεκτάνας τοῦτο τὸ πάθος, καὶ περαιτέρω τῆς ζωῆς ἡμῶν πρόεισι. Καὶ γὰρ ὁ δεῖνα, φησὶν, ἀπέθανε· καὶ ἵνα θαυμασθῇ, τὰ καὶ τὰ ἐπέσκηψε γενέσθαι· καὶ διὰ τοῦτο ὁ δεῖνα πένης, καὶ ὁ δεῖνα πλούσιος. Τὸ γὰρ χαλεπὸν τοῦτο, ὅτι καὶ ἀπὸ τῶν ἐναντίων συνέστηκε. γʹ. Πρὸς τίνας οὖν στησόμεθα καὶ παραταξόμεθα 58.665 πρώτους; οὐ γὰρ ἀρκεῖ πρὸς πάντας εἷς καὶ ὁ αὐτὸς λόγος. Βούλεσθε οὖν πρὸς τοὺς ἐπὶ ἐλεημοσύνῃ κενοδοξοῦντας; Ἔμοιγε δοκεῖ· καὶ γὰρ σφόδρα τὸ πρᾶγμα τοῦτο φιλῶ, καὶ ἀλγῶ λυμαινόμενον ὁρῶν, καὶ καθάπερ τινὶ βασιλικῇ κόρῃ τροφὸν προαγωγὸν ἐπιβουλεύουσαν τὴν κενοδοξίαν. Τρέφει μὲν γὰρ αὐτὴν, ἐπ' αἰσχύνῃ δὲ καὶ ζημίᾳ, μαστροπεύουσα, καὶ τοῦ μὲν πατρὸς κελεύουσα καταφρονεῖν, καλλωπίζεσθαι δὲ πρὸς μιαρῶν καὶ καταπτύστων πολλάκις ἀνδρῶν ἀρέσκειαν· καὶ τοιοῦτον αὐτῇ περιτίθησι κόσμον, οἷον οἱ ἔξω βούλονται, αἰσχρὸν καὶ ἄτιμον, οὐχ οἷον ὁ πατήρ. Φέρε δὴ οὖν πρὸς τούτους ἀποτεινώμεθα, καὶ ἔστω τις ἐλεημοσύνη γινομένη μετὰ δαψιλείας πρὸς τὴν τῶν πολλῶν ἐπίδειξιν. Οὐκοῦν πρῶτον αὐτὴν ἐξάγει τοῦ θαλάμου τοῦ πατρικοῦ. Καὶ ὁ μὲν πατὴρ οὐδὲ τῇ ἀριστερᾷ φαίνεσθαι κελεύει· αὕτη δὲ αὐτὴν τοῖς δούλοις ἐπιδείκνυσι καὶ τοῖς τυχοῦσι καὶ οὐδὲ εἰδόσιν αὐτήν. Εἶδες πόρνην καὶ μαστροπὸν εἰς ἔρωτα αὐτὴν ἐμβάλλουσαν ἀτόπων ἀνθρώπων, ἵνα ὡς ἂν ἐκεῖνοι κελεύωσιν, οὕτως αὕτη ῥυθμίζηται; Βούλει ἰδεῖν πῶς οὐ πόρνην μόνον, ἀλλὰ καὶ μανικὴν ποιεῖ τὴν τοιαύτην ψυχήν; Οὐκοῦν καταμάνθανε αὐτῆς τὴν γνώμην Ὅταν γὰρ τὸν οὐρανὸν ἀφεῖσα τρέχῃ ὀπίσω δραπετῶν καὶ οἰκοτρίβων, κατὰ τὰ ἄμφοδα καὶ τοὺς στενωποὺς διώκουσα τοὺς μισοῦντας αὐτὴν, τοὺς αἰσχροὺς καὶ δυσειδεῖς, τοὺς οὐδὲ ἰδεῖν αὐτὴν βουλομένους, τοὺς, ἐπειδὴ περικαίεται αὐτῶν, μισοῦντας αὐτὴν, τί γένοιτ' ἂν τούτου μανικώτερον; Οὐδένα γὰρ οὕτω μισοῦσιν οἱ πολλοὶ, ὡς τοὺς δεομένους τῆς παρ' αὐτῶν δόξης. Μυρίας γοῦν κατηγορίας κατ' αὐτῶν πλέκουσι, καὶ ταὐτὸν γίνεται, οἷον ἂν εἴ τις παρθένον καὶ θυγατέρα βασιλέως ἀπὸ τοῦ θρόνου κατενεγκὼν τοῦ βασιλικοῦ, κελεύοι μονομάχοις ἀνδράσι καὶ διαπτύουσιν αὐτὴν ἑαυτὴν ἐκδιδόναι. Οὗτοι μὲν οὖν, ὅσον αὐτοὺς διώκεις, τοσοῦτόν σε ἀποστρέφονται· ὁ δὲ Θεὸς, ἂν τὴν παρ' αὐτοῦ δόξαν ζητῇς, τοσούτῳ μᾶλλον καὶ ἐφέλκεταί σε καὶ ἐπαινεῖ, καὶ πολλὴν ἀποδίδωσί σοι τὴν ἀμοιβήν. Εἰ δὲ βούλει καὶ ἑτέρωθεν αὐτῆς τὴν ζημίαν καταμαθεῖν, ὅταν δῷς πρὸς ἐπίδειξιν καὶ φιλοτιμίαν, ἀναλόγισαι πόση σε λοιπὸν ἐπεισέρχεται ἡ λύπη, καὶ πῶς διηνεκὴς ἡ ἀθυμία, ἐνηχοῦντός σοι τοῦ Χριστοῦ, καὶ λέγοντος, ὅτι Πάντα ἀπώλεσάς σου τὸν μισθόν. Πανταχοῦ μὲν γὰρ κενοδοξία κακὸν, μάλιστα δὲ ἀπὸ φιλανθρωπίας, ὅτι ἐσχάτη ἐστὶν ὠμότης, τὰς ἀλλοτρίας ἐκπομπεύουσα συμφορὰς, καὶ μόνον οὐχὶ ὀνειδίζουσα τοὺς ἐν πτωχείᾳ. Εἰ γὰρ τὸ τὰς ἰδίας λέγειν εὐεργεσίας ὀνειδίζειν ἐστὶ, τὸ καὶ εἰς ἑτέρους πολλοὺς ταύτας ἐξάγειν, τί οἴει εἶναι; Πῶς οὖν διαφευξόμεθα τὸ δεινόν; Ἂν μάθωμεν ἐλεεῖν, ἂν ἴδωμεν τίνων τὴν δόξαν ἐπιζητοῦμεν. Εἰπὲ γάρ μοι, τίς ὁ τῆς ἐλεημοσύνης τεχνίτης ἐστίν; Ὁ τὸ πρᾶγμα καταδείξας Θεὸς δηλονότι, ὁ μάλιστα πάντων αὐτὸ εἰδὼς, καὶ πρὸς ἄπειρον αὐτὸ μεταχειρίζων. Τί οὖν; ἂν παλαιστὴς μανθάνῃς, πρὸς τίνας ὁρᾷς, ἤ τίσιν ἐπιδείκνυσαι ἐν τῇ παλαίστρᾳ, τῷ λάχανα πωλοῦντι καὶ τοὺς ἰχθύας, ἢ τῷ παιδοτρίβῃ; Καὶ μὴν οἱ μὲν εἰσὶ πολλοὶ, ὁ δὲ εἷς. Τί οὖν, ἂν ἐκείνου θαυμάζοντος ἄλλοι καταγελῶσιν, οὐχὶ καὶ σὺ καταγελάσῃ μετ' ἐκείνου αὐτούς; Τί δὲ, ἂν πυκτεύειν μανθάνῃς; οὐχ ὁμοίως πρὸς ἐκεῖνον ὄψει τὸν τοῦτο παιδεύειν εἰδότα; Ἂν δὲ λόγους μετίῃς, οὐχὶ τοῦ 58.666 ῥήτορος τοὺς ἐπαίνους καταδέξῃ, καὶ τῶν ἄλλων καταφρονήσεις; Πῶς οὖν οὐκ ἄτοπον, ἐν μὲν ταῖς ἄλλαις τέχναις πρὸς τὸν διδάσκαλον ὁρᾷν μόνον, ἐνταῦθα δὲ τοὐναντίον ποιεῖν; καίτοιγε οὐκ ἴση ἡ ζημία. Ἐκεῖ μὲν γὰρ, ἂν πρὸς τὸ δοκοῦν τοῖς πολλοῖς παλαίῃς, καὶ μὴ πρὸς τὸ τῷ διδασκάλῳ, ἐν τῇ πάλῃ ἡ ζημία· ἐνταῦθα δὲ ἐν αἰωνίῳ ζωῇ. Γέγονας ὅμοιος Θεῷ