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Laudatio Petri et PauliDiscourse of George Akropolites on the holy and all-praised great apostles Peter and Paul. Bless, father;

1 The present discourse is not simple, though it is offered from a simple disposition;

for Peter and Paul are set forth for praise. Indeed, the matter was otherwise among the most difficult things and not easily reached by the attempt, not only for us who lie on the ground and are mired in matter and continually wallow in the filth of passions, but also for those exceedingly lofty in mind, for whom the veil from birth has been cut away, and they see the purest light in existing things; for "the pure must be touched by the pure," I have heard a certain ancient wise man say. But so indeed for all saints a hymn from holy lips is fitting, but especially for those better than the others, and by as much as they excel the rest in rank and station, by so much must those who praise them surpass those in similar contests and the praisers and those for whom the encomia have been made be measured by equal measures, both in the power of speech and in the working of virtue, so as not to enter a stadium greater than their strength, not to finish, but to have rushed to run a race or to leap over a ditch, and for one to remain having walked halfway, and the other, having been brought down into the trench, to become a fall for the onlookers, laughed at and pitied at the same time. I myself, therefore, feel this way about such great matters—whether one should speak of men or of things, as these are bound and fastened to each other—and I think so does everyone who has a mind and understands the majesty of such things. But what is one to do? On the one hand, fear draws one to silence; on the other, desire compels one to speech. From that side comes hesitation and postponement because of the greatness of the subject; from this side, the desire to say something out of reverence for the praise of the disciples of Christ. For if their word has sounded throughout all the earth and with the net of their teaching has encompassed all within and presented a beloved catch to the first teacher, how is it not necessary that every word be referred to them in return, whether it be equal in measure or fall short or go far below? Since also for the teacher and master of these, Christ, what is done according to one's ability is surely beloved, who also preferred the widow's two mites to contributions of many talents, to whom also the things of the disciples are referred, for whom and because of whom they contended. And perhaps my attempt might even be specious, not touching directly upon the superior one; but just as he himself through these spread the gospel to the fullness of the earth, through them as intermediaries again he receives words of praise. For the praise of the disciples knows how to pass over to the teacher; for one also welcomes a king with gifts and honors, by welcoming one of those beloved by him. And another thing worthy of the subject came to my mind, persuading me to the discourse and urging me on to the encomia of the divine heralds: for the memory of these will be for me, I think, a sanctification both of mind and of tongue and of hearing and of every other sense, and what perhaps their didactic word did not effect, the word of encomia might accomplish, conveying the speaker there and joining him in some way to the teachers; and whom their word could not bind, the word addressed to them would surely join; and thus there might be a mystical rite, beloved by the superior one.

2 But why do we walk around the foothills? Why do we not attempt to ascend the mountain of encomia? Peter and Paul have been set before us for praise, they who are better not simply than men, but also than as many as from eternity have been benefactors to the

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Laudatio Petri et PauliΓεωργίου τοῦ Ἀκροπολίτου λόγος εἰς τοὺς ἁγίους καὶ πανευφήμους μεγάλους ἀποστόλους Πέτρον καὶ Παῦλον. εὐλόγησον πάτερ·

1 Οὐχ ἁπλοῦς μὲν ὁ παρὼν λόγος εἰ καὶ ἐξ ἁπλῆς προσφέρεται διαθέσεως·

Πέτρος γὰρ καὶ Παῦλος εἰς εὐφη μίαν προτίθενται. ἦν μὲν οὖν καὶ ἄλλως τὸ πρᾶγμα τῶν πάνυ δυσχερεστάτων καὶ μὴ ῥᾳδίως ἐξικνουμένων τῆς ἐγχει ρήσεως, μὴ ὅτι γε ἡμῖν τοῖς χαμαὶ κειμένοις καὶ περὶ τὴν ὕλην ἰλυσπωμένοις καὶ τῷ βορβόρῳ τῶν παθῶν ἐγκαλινδου μένοις διηνεκῶς, ἀλλὰ καὶ τοῖς ἄγαν ὑψηλοῖς τὴν διάνοιαν, οἷς τὸ ἀπὸ γενέσεως διατέτμηται κάλυμμα, καὶ φῶς ὁρῶσιν ἐν τοῖς οὖσι τὸ καθαρώτατον· «ἐφαπτέον γὰρ τῷ καθαρῷ καθαροῦ» ἤκουσα παλαιοῦ τινος εἰρηκότος σοφοῦ. ἀλλ' οὕτω μὲν οὖν καὶ πᾶσιν ἁγίοις ἐξ ἁγίων χειλέων ὕμνος ἁρμόδιος, μάλιστα δὲ τῶν ἄλλων τοῖς κρείττοσι, καὶ ὅσῳ τῶν λοιπῶν τῷ βαθμῷ καὶ τῇ τάξει προφέρουσι, τοσούτῳ καὶ τοὺς εὐφημοῦντας τοὺς ἐν τοῖς ὁμοίοις ἀγωνίσμασιν ὑπερ βάλλεσθαι δεῖ καὶ μέτροις ἴσοις ἀντιμετρεῖσθαι τοὺς ἐπαι νέτας τε καὶ οἷς πεποίηται τὰ ἐγκώμια ἔν τε τῇ τοῦ λόγου δυνάμει καὶ τῇ ἐνεργείᾳ τῆς ἀρετῆς, ὡς μὴ μεῖζον ἢ κατὰ τὴν ἰσχὺν αὐτῶν ὑπεισέρχεσθαι στάδιον, μὴ ἀνῦσαι μέν, ὁρμῆσαι δὲ δρόμον ἢ τάφρον ὑπερπηδῆσαι, καὶ τὸν μὲν μεῖναι περὶ τὰ μέσα βαδίσαντα, τὸν δὲ κατὰ τοῦ ὀρύγματος κατενεχθέντα πτῶμα γενέσθαι τοῖς θεωμένοις γελώμενόν τε ἅμα καὶ ἐλεούμενον. ἔχω μὲν οὖν οὕτως αὐτὸς περὶ τῶν τηλικούτων εἴτε ἀνδρῶν χρὴ λέγειν εἴτε πραγμάτων- ὥς ἐστι ταῦτα ἀλλήλοις συνδεδεμένα καὶ συναρτώμενα- οἶμαι δὲ καὶ πᾶς νοῦν ἔχων καὶ τὸ μεγαλεῖον τῶν τοιούτων συνεπιστάμενος. ἀλλὰ τί ἂν πάθῃ τις; ἐκεῖ μὲν ἕλκει φόβος εἰς σιωπήν, ἐντεῦθεν πόθος βιάζει πρὸς λαλιάν· ἐκεῖθεν τὸ ὀκνεῖν τε καὶ ἀναβάλλεσθαι διὰ τὸ τῆς ὑποθέσεως μέγεθος, ἐντεῦθεν τὸ εἰπεῖν τι διὰ σέβας πρὸς εὐφημίαν τῶν μαθη τῶν τοῦ Χριστοῦ. εἰ γὰρ ὁ λόγος αὐτῶν εἰς πᾶσαν γῆν περιήχησε καὶ τῇ τῆς διδασκαλίας σαγήνῃ πάντας ἐντὸς περιέβαλε καὶ τῷ πρώτῳ διδασκάλῳ φίλην ἄγραν παρέστησε, πῶς οὐ χρεὼν πάντα λόγον εἰς αὐτοὺς ἀναφέρεσθαι πρὸς ἀντίδοσιν κἂν ἐξισῷτο τῷ μέτρῳ κἂν ὑστεροῖτο κἂν κάτω βαίνοι πολύ; ἐπεὶ καὶ τῷ διδασκάλῳ τούτων καὶ δεσπότῃ Χριστῷ φίλον πάντως τὸ κατὰ δύναμιν, ὃς καὶ χήρας δύο λεπτὰ τῶν πολυταλάντων ἐρανισμῶν προτετίμηκεν, εἰς ὃν καὶ τὰ τῶν μαθητῶν ἀναφέρεται, ὑπὲρ οὗ καὶ δι' ὃν ἠγωνίσαντο. τάχα δὲ καὶ εὐπρόσωπον ἂν εἴη μοι τὸ ἐγχεί ρημα οὐκ ἀμέσως τοῦ κρείττονος ἐφαπτόμενον· ἀλλ' ὥσπερ αὐτὸς διὰ τούτων τὸ εὐαγγέλιον εἰς τὸ τῆς γῆς ἐπλάτυνε πλήρωμα, διὰ μέσων πάλιν αὐτῶν προσλαμβάνει λόγους εἰς ἔπαινον. ἡ γὰρ τῶν μαθητῶν εὐφημία διαβαίνειν οἶδε πρὸς τὸν διδάσκαλον· καὶ γὰρ βασιλέα τις δεξιοῦται δωρήμασι καὶ τιμαῖς, τῶν ὑπ' ἐκείνου πεφιλημένων τινὰ δεξιούμενος. ὑπεισῄει δέ μοι καὶ ἕτερόν τι τῆς ὑποθέσεως ἄξιον πεῖθόν με πρὸς τὸν λόγον καὶ κατεπεῖγον πρὸς τὰ τῶν θεοκηρύκων ἐγκώμια· ἔσται γάρ μοι ἡ μνήμη τούτων ὡς οἶμαι ἁγιασμὸς καὶ διανοίας καὶ γλώττης καὶ ἀκοῆς καὶ πάσης ἄλλης αἰσθήσεως, καὶ ὃ τάχα λόγος ἐκείνων ὁ διδασκαλικὸς οὐκ ἐνήργησε, λόγος ὁ τῶν ἐγκωμίων ἀνύσειεν, ἐκεῖσε δια βιβάζων τὸν λέγοντα καὶ συνάπτων πως τοῖς διδάσκουσι· καὶ ὃν οὐκ ἔσχεν ὁ ἐξ ἐκείνων συνδήσασθαι, πάντως ὁ πρὸς ἐκείνους συνάψειε· καὶ γένοιτο ἂν καὶ οὕτω μυστηριώδης τελετὴ καὶ φιλουμένη τῷ κρείττονι.

2 Ἀλλὰ τί περὶ τὰς ὑπωρείας βαδίζομεν; τί δὲ μὴ τοῦ ὄρους τῶν ἐγκωμίων ἐπιβαίνειν ἐπιχειροῦμεν; Πέτρος καὶ Παῦλος ἡμῖν εἰς εὐφημίαν προβέβληνται, οἱ κρείττους οὐχ ἁπλῶς ἀνθρώπων, ἀλλὰ καὶ ὅσοι τῶν ἀπ' αἰῶνος εὐηργετή κασι τῷ