5

to be filled, just like some savage beast, later being dragged down by its violent pullings against the earth, he will lie groaning unprofitably. And having been led to the Master, and being asked for the fruit of the journey on earth that was granted to him, then not having it to give, he will lament long, and will inhabit perpetual darkness, blaming luxury much, and its deception, by which he was robbed of the season of salvation; but gaining nothing any longer from his tears.

For in Hades who will confess to you? says David. Let us flee therefore as quickly as possible, lest we willingly drown ourselves. But if anyone, having been long ago enticed, has either heaped upon himself the dust of wealth from injustice, and bound his mind with its cares, or attached to his nature the hard-to-wash-off stain of licentiousness, or filled himself with other crimes; this one, while there is still time, before he comes to complete destruction, let him cast off the greater part of his burdens, and before the vessel goes under water, let him make a jettison of the cargo, which he improperly collected, and let him imitate the workers of the sea. For they, if they happen to be carrying even some of the necessities on the ship, and a surging wave rises up against them from the sea, and threatens to cover the ship, weighed down by its cargo, as quickly as they can, they cast off most of the weight, and unsparingly bail out the merchandise into the sea, so as to make the ship higher than the wave, and to grant escape from the danger to their souls alone, if it is possible, and their bodies. Surely it is fitting for us to plan and to do these things much more than they. For what they cast away, they have immediately lost, and the hardship of poverty then besets them; but we, inasmuch as we bail out the evil cargo, will heap up a greater and better wealth for our souls.

For fornication, and whatever is such, being cast out, is destroyed, and goes to nothingness, being dissolved by tears; but holiness and righteousness then move into their place, light things, and not known to be covered by any waves. Moreover, riches, being well cast out, are neither lost to those who cast them out and threw them away; but, as if transferred into other, safer transport ships, the 31.553 stomachs of the poor, are preserved and arrive first at the harbors, and are kept for those who cast them out, as an ornament, not a danger. Let us then take counsel, beloved, for something benevolent for ourselves, and the burden of our wealth, if we should at all wish to make it our own profit, let us distribute it to many, who will both bear it with exceeding joy, and will lock it up in the Master's bosom, as in inviolable treasuries, Where moth does not destroy, nor do robbers break in, nor steal. Let us give wealth the freedom it desires to overflow to those in need. Let us not run past the Lazaruses who are lying before our eyes even now, nor let us begrudge them the crumbs from our table which are sufficient for their fill; nor, emulating that savage rich man, let us go to the same flame of Gehenna as he. For we will then ask many things of Abraham, and many things of each of those who have lived well; but there will be no profit for us from our cry; For a brother does not redeem, will a man redeem? And each of them will say to us, crying out: Do not seek philanthropy, which you yourself ignored in the case of others; nor wish to receive such great things, you who were sparing of lesser things. Enjoy those things which you collected in your life. Weep now, since then, seeing your brother weeping, you did not have mercy. These things they will say, and justly, to us. But I fear, lest they strike us with words even more bitter than these, since we even surpass that rich man, as you know, in wickedness.

For it is not from sparing wealth altogether that we run past the brothers thrown on the ground, nor from preserving our abundance for our children or other relatives,

5

ἐμπίπλασθαι, καθ άπερ τι θηρίον ἀνήμερον, ὕστερον ταῖς βιαίοις αὐτοῦ πρὸς γῆν ἀνθολκαῖς συνεπισπασθεὶς, κείσεται στέ νων ἀνόνητα. Καὶ πρὸς τὸν ∆εσπότην ἀχθεὶς, καὶ τῆς ἐπὶ γῆς πορείας τῆς ἐνδοθείσης αὐτῷ τὸν καρπὸν ἀπαιτούμενος, εἶτα οὐκ ἔχων δοῦναι, θρηνή σει μακρὰ, καὶ σκότος οἰκήσει διηνεκὲς, πολλὰ τῇ τρυφῇ καὶ τῇ ταύτης πλάνῃ μεμφόμενος, ὑφ' ἧς τὸν τῆς σωτηρίας ἐσυλήθη καιρόν· οὐδὲν δὲ ἐκ τῶν δα κρύων ἔτι κερδαίνων.

Ἐν γὰρ τῷ ᾅδῃ τίς ἐξομολο γήσεταί σοι; φησὶν ὁ ∆αβίδ. Φύγωμεν οὖν ὅπως ἔνι τάχους, μὴ ἑαυτοὺς ἑκόντες συμπνίξωμεν. Εἰ δ' ἄρα τις καὶ πάλαι δε λεασθεὶς, ἢ πλούτου κόνιν ἐξ ἀδικίας ἐφ' ἑαυτὸν συνεφόρησε, καὶ τὸν νοῦν ταῖς τούτου μερίμναις κατέδησεν, ἢ μύσος ἀσελγείας προσῆψε τῇ φύσει δυσέκνιπτον, ἢ τῶν ἄλλων ἐγκλημάτων ἐπλήρωσεν ἑαυτόν· οὗτος, ὡς ἔτι καιρὸς, πρὶν ἐλθεῖν εἰς τε λείαν ἀπώλειαν, ἀποθέσθω τῶν φορτίων τὰ πλείονα, καὶ πρὶν ὑποβρύχιον γενέσθαι τὸ σκάφος, ἐκβολὴν ποιησάσθω τῶν ἀγωγίμων, ἃ μὴ δεόντως συνέλεξε, καὶ μιμησάσθω τοὺς τῆς θαλάττης ἐργάτας. Ἐκεῖ νοι γὰρ, εἰ καί τι τῶν ἀναγκαίων ἐπὶ τῆς νηὸς ἄγον τες τύχοιεν, κλύδων δὲ ἐπαναστῇ ζέων ἐκ τοῦ πελά γους αὐτοῖς, καὶ καλύπτειν ἀπειλήσῃ πεπιεσμέ νην τῷ φόρτῳ τὴν ναῦν, ὅπως ἔχουσι τάχους, τὸ πολὺ τοῦ βάρους ἀποσκευάζουσι, καὶ τὴν ἐμπορίαν ἀφειδῶς ἀντλοῦσιν εἰς θάλασσαν, ὥστε ὑψηλοτέραν ποιῆσαι τὴν ναῦν τοῦ κύματος, καὶ μόναις ταῖς ψυ χαῖς, εἴπερ οἷόν τε, καὶ τοῖς σώμασιν ἐκ τοῦ κιν δύνου δοῦναι φυγήν. Πολλῷ δὲ ἐκείνων δήπου μᾶλλον ταῦτα ἡμᾶς βουλεύεσθαί τε προσήκει καὶ πράττειν. Ἐκεῖνοι μὲν γὰρ ὅπερ ἂν ἀποῤῥίψωσιν, εὐθέως ἀπώλεσαν, καὶ περιίσταται λοιπὸν βία πενίας αὐτοῖς· ἡμεῖς δὲ ἐφ' ὅσον ἂν τὸν πονηρὸν ἐξαντλή σωμεν φόρτον, πλείονα καὶ βελτίονα ταῖς ψυχαῖς πλοῦτον ἐπισωρεύσομεν.

Πορνεία μὲν γὰρ, καὶ ὅσα τοιαῦτα, ῥιφέντα διόλλυται, καὶ πρὸς τὸ μηδὲ εἶναι χωρεῖ, λυθέντα τοῖς δάκρυσιν· ἁγιότης δὲ καὶ δι καιοσύνη λοιπὸν εἰς τὸν ἐκείνων μεθίσταται χῶρον, πράγματα κοῦφα, καὶ οὐκ εἰδότα κύμασι καλυφθῆ ναί τισι. Τὰ χρήματά γε μὴν, ἐκβληθέντα καλῶς, οὔτε ἀπόλλυται τοῖς ἐκβαλοῦσι καὶ ῥίψασιν· ἀλλ', ὥσπερ εἰς ὁλκάδας ἄλλας ἀσφαλεστέρας τινὰς, τὰς 31.553 τῶν πενήτων μετατεθέντα γαστέρας, διασώζεται καὶ φθάνει πρὸς λιμένας ἐλθόντα, καὶ φυλάττεται τοῖς ἐκβάλλουσι, κόσμος, οὐ κίνδυνος. Βουλευσώμεθα τοίνυν, ἀγαπητοὶ, περὶ ἑαυ τούς τι φιλάνθρωπον, καὶ τὸ τῆς εὐπορίας ἄχθος, εἴπερ ὅλως ἐθέλοιμεν ποιήσασθαι κέρδος ἡμέτερον, πολλοῖς διανείμωμεν, οἳ βαστάσουσί τε αὐτὸ περιχα ρῶς, καὶ τοῖς τοῦ ∆εσπότου κόλποις, ἀσύλοις τα μείοις, ἐναποκλείσουσιν, Ὅπου σὴς οὐκ ἀφανίζει, οὐδὲ λῃσταὶ διορύττουσιν, οὐδὲ κλέπτουσι. ∆ῶ μεν ἐξουσίαν ὑπερχυθῆναι βουλομένῳ πρὸς τοὺς δεομένους τῷ πλούτῳ. Μὴ παραδράμωμεν τοὺς ἐν ὀφθαλμοῖς ἡμῶν ἔτι καὶ νῦν κειμένους Λαζάρους, μηδὲ τῶν ψιχίων τῆς ἡμετέρας τραπέζης ἀρκούντων αὐτοῖς εἰς κόρον βασκήνωμεν· μηδὲ, τὸν ἀνήμερον ἐκεῖνον ζηλώσαντες πλούσιον, πρὸς τὴν αὐτὴν ἐκείνῳ τῆς γεέννης φλόγα μετέλθωμεν. Ἐπεὶ πολ λὰ μὲν τοῦ Ἀβραὰμ δεηθησόμεθα τότε, πολλὰ δὲ ἑκάστου τῶν βεβιωκότων καλῶς· οὐδὲν δὲ ἔσται κέρδος ἡμῖν τῆς βοῆς· Ἀδελφὸς γὰρ οὐ λυτροῦ ται, λυτρώσεται ἄνθρωπος; Ἐρεῖ δὲ ἕκαστος ἐκείνων ἡμῖν κεκραγώς· Μὴ ζήτει φιλανθρωπίαν, ἢν αὐτὸς ἐφ' ἑτέρων ἠγνόησας· μηδὲ βούλου λαβεῖν οὕτω μεγάλα σὺ τῶν ἐλαττόνων φεισάμενος. Ἀπό λαυε τούτων ὧν ἐν τῷ βίῳ συνέλεξας. ∆άκρυε νῦν, ἐπειδὴ τότε δακρύοντα τὸν ἀδελφὸν ὁρῶν οὐκ ἠλέη σας. Ταῦτα ἐροῦσι, καὶ δικαίως, ἡμῖν. ∆έδοικα δὲ ἐγὼ, μὴ καὶ πικροτέροις ἡμᾶς τούτων βάλωσι ῥή μασιν, ἐπειδὴ καὶ νικῶμεν ἐκεῖνον, ὡς ἴστε, τῇ πονηρίᾳ τὸν πλούσιον.

Οὐδὲ γὰρ φειδόμενοι καθ άπαξ πλούτου, τοὺς ἐῤῥιμμένους χαμαὶ παρατρέχο μεν ἀδελφοὺς, οὐδὲ τοῖς παισὶν ἢ τοῖς ἄλλοις οἰκείοις τὴν εὐπορίαν φυλάττοντες,