哥林多前書講道集 第 36 章

Brethren, be not children in your understanding; but in malice be babes, and in your understanding become perfect.

Fittingly, after the great array of arguments and the demonstration, he uses more vehement language and much rebuke, and mentions an example suited to the matter in hand.

For children indeed gape and are thrilled at small things, but for exceedingly great things they have not so much wonder.

Since therefore these men too, having the gift of tongues, thought they possessed the whole, whereas this was the least of the others, for this reason he says, Be not children—that is, be not without understanding where one ought to be sagacious, but there be babes and simple where there is injustice, where there is vainglory, where there is arrogance;

for he who is a babe in malice must also be prudent.

For just as prudence with knavery would not be prudence, so also simplicity with folly would not be simplicity.

For in simplicity one must flee folly also, and in prudence wickedness.

For just as neither bitter medicines beyond what is needful, nor sweet ones, do good, so neither does simplicity by itself, nor prudence.

Wherefore Christ, bidding us blend the two together, said, Be prudent as the serpents, and guileless as the doves.

But what is it to be a babe in malice? Not even to know what malice ever is;

for such he wished them to be.

Wherefore also he said, It is actually reported that there is fornication among you.

He did not say, It is dared, but, It is reported.

For you know the matter thoroughly, he says.

For indeed he wished them to be both men and children, but the one in malice, the other in prudence.

For in this way a man would become a man, if he were also a child; that is, a child in respect of wickedness.

But so long as he is not a child in respect of wickedness, neither will he be a man.

For the evildoer will not be perfect, but foolish.

'For in the law it is written: With men of other tongues and with other lips will I speak unto this people; and yet for all that will they not hear me, saith the Lord.'

And yet nowhere in the Law is this written; but, as I said before, he always calls the whole of the Old Testament 'the Law,' together with the Prophets and the historical books.

He brings forward the testimony from the prophet Isaiah, again cutting short the

glory of the gift, for the sake of their profit;

yet nevertheless even so he sets it down with a word of commendation.

For the phrase 'and yet for all that not' was meant to show that the wonder was sufficient to astound them;

but if they were not persuaded, the blame is theirs.

And for what reason did God do this, if they were not going to be persuaded? That He might everywhere be seen doing His own part.

Having therefore shown from the prophecy also that the sign was not very useful, he added:

'Wherefore tongues are for a sign, not to them that believe, but to them that believe not;'

'but prophesying is not for them that believe not, but for them that believe.'

'If therefore the whole Church be assembled together into one place, and all speak with tongues, and there come in the unlearned or unbelievers, will they not say that ye are mad? But if all prophesy, and there come in some unbeliever or unlearned, he is convicted by all, he is judged by all;'

'and thus the secrets of his heart are made manifest, and so falling down on his face he will worship God, declaring that God is indeed among you.'

Here one may see great perplexity arising out of what has been said.

For if tongues are a sign to the unbelievers, how does he say, 'If the unbelievers see you speaking with tongues, they will say that ye are mad'? And if prophecy is not for the unbelievers, but for them that believe, how will the unbelievers also gain profit from it? For 'if there come in,' he says, 'an unbeliever while ye are prophesying, he is convicted by all, and is judged.'

And not this only, but after this a second, different inquiry springs up from here;

for the tongue will appear once more to be greater than prophecy.

For if tongues are for a sign to the unbelievers, but prophecy for the believers, then that which draws in and appropriates the strangers is greater than that which orders the members of the household.

What then is the meaning of what has been said? There is nothing difficult, nor obscure, nor contrary to what went before, but even very consistent, if we attend.

For prophecy is suitable for both, but the tongue is no longer so.

Wherefore, having said concerning the tongue, 'It is for a sign,' he added, 'Not to them that believe, but to them that believe not'; and to these for a sign, that is, for astonishment, not so much for instruction.

But concerning prophecy also, he says, he did this same thing, when he said, 'But prophecy is not for them that believe not, but for them that believe.'

For neither has the believer need to see a sign, but only needs teaching and instruction.

'How then,' one may say, 'do you say that prophecy is useful to both, when he himself says, Not for them that believe not, but for them that believe?' If you examine accurately, you will understand what is said.

For neither did he say that prophecy is not useful to the unbelievers, but, 'It is not for a sign,' as the tongue is—useless, that is to say.

Nor is the tongue in any way useful to the unbelievers;

for it has but one work, only to astound and to throw into commotion.

For the sign belongs to the class of things intermediate;

as when it says, 'Work with me a sign,' and adds, 'for good';

and again, 'I am become as it were a wonder unto many,' that is, for a sign.

And that you may learn that he introduced the sign here not as something altogether useful, he added what results from it.

And what was this? 'They will say,' he says, 'that ye are mad.'

But this is not owing to the nature of the sign, but to the folly of those men.

And when you hear of 'unbelievers,' do not suppose that the same persons are everywhere meant, but sometimes those who are sick with an incurable disease and remain past correction, and sometimes those who are able even to be changed—such as, in the days of the apostles, were those who marveled at the mighty works of God that were spoken.

This then is what he means:

that prophecy has power both among the unbelievers and among the believers;

but as for the tongue, the unbelievers and the foolish, when they hear it, not only gain nothing, but even mock those who utter it, as though they were mad.

For indeed to them it is for a sign only;

that is, merely for being astonished.

But those at least who had understanding actually gained profit, for the purpose for which the sign was given.

For it was not only those who accused them of drunkenness that were present then, but many also marveled at them, as men declaring the mighty works of God;

so that those who laughed were the foolish ones.

Wherefore Paul also did not simply say, 'They will say that ye are mad,' but added, 'the unlearned and unbelievers.'

But prophecy is not for a sign simply, but is also suitable and useful to both, unto faith and unto profit.

And this, even if not at once, yet through what follows he explained more clearly, saying:

'For if all prophesy,' he says, 'and there come in some unbeliever or unlearned, he is convicted by all, he is judged by all, and thus the secrets of his heart are made manifest, and so falling down on his face he will worship God, declaring that God is indeed among you.'

So that prophecy is greater not in this respect only, that it has power among both, but also in that it draws in the more shameless of the unbelievers.

For the wonder was not the same when Peter convicted Sapphira—which was a matter of prophecy—and when he spoke with tongues;

but in the former case all were abashed, whereas when he spoke with tongues he received even the reputation of a raving man.

Having therefore said that the tongue did not profit, and having again cut short this very point by turning the blame upon the Jews, as he proceeds he shows that it even does harm.

'And for what purpose,' one may say, 'was it given?' That it might go forth with interpretation;

seeing that without this, the very opposite result comes about among the foolish.

'For if,' he says, 'all speak with tongues, and there come in unbelievers or unlearned, they will say that ye are mad;'

just as the apostles too incurred the suspicion of being drunken;

'For these men,' it says, 'are full of new wine.'

But this was no accusation against the sign, but against the ignorance of those men.

For this reason he added, 'the unlearned and unbelievers,' so that the supposition might be that of their inexperience and unbelief.

For, as I said before, it is not among the things reproached, but among those not very profitable, that he is eager to rank the gift, and this in order to restrain them and to bring them to the necessity of seeking one to interpret.

For since the many looked not to this, but employed it for display and self-aggrandizement, from this consideration especially he leads them away, showing that they are damaged in respect of reputation, incurring the suspicion of madness.

And this is especially what Paul is continually attempting to establish, whenever he wishes to lead someone away from anything: he shows him to be injured in the very things which he desires.

And do thou also therefore act in this way;

if you would lead a man away from pleasure, show that the thing is bitter;

if you would draw him away from vainglory, show that the thing is full of dishonor.

For indeed, when withdrawing the rich from the love of money, he did not say only that wealth is harmful, but that it also casts men into temptations.

'For they that will be rich,' he says, 'fall into temptation.'

For since it seems to deliver from temptations, he attached to it the very opposite of what the rich supposed.

Again, others held fast to the wisdom that is from without, as though establishing the doctrine thereby;

He showed that circumcision not only gives no aid to the cross, but actually empties it of its power.

They insisted on being judged before outsiders, thinking it beneath them to be judged among their own people, as though those outside were the wiser.

He demonstrates that to be judged before outsiders is a shameful thing.

They clung to eating things sacrificed to idols, as though displaying a perfect knowledge.

He showed that this very thing belongs to an imperfect knowledge, namely, not knowing how to have regard for the affairs of one's neighbours.

So too here: since they were beside themselves over this gift of tongues, being enamoured of glory, he shows that this is precisely what most puts them to shame, not only depriving them of glory, but also enveloping them in the suspicion of madness.

Yet he did not say this at once, but only after saying countless things beforehand; when he had made his argument readily acceptable, then he introduces what is exceedingly paradoxical.

And this very principle is a customary one.

For one who is about to overthrow a firmly fixed opinion and turn it into its opposite must not straightway state the contrary;

for he will be laughed to scorn by those already preoccupied by the opposite verdict.

Since what is exceedingly paradoxical could not become acceptable from the very outset, one must first undermine the ground well by other means, and only then turn the matter into its opposite.

This, at any rate, is exactly what he did when discoursing about marriage.

For since many were attached to the practice as being a relaxation, while he himself wished to show that not marrying is the true relaxation, had he said this at once he would not have made it so acceptable.

he made it readily acceptable;

but now, having placed it after many other things, and introducing it at the fitting moment, he made a deep impression upon his hearers.

This he did also in the matter of virginity.

For indeed, after saying much beforehand, and again afterward, then he says, 'I spare you,' and, 'I want you to be free from care.'

This very thing he does also concerning tongues, showing that it not only deprives of glory, but even puts to shame those who possess it in the presence of unbelievers.

But prophecy, on the contrary, is both free from the shame that comes from unbelievers, and possesses the greatest glory and benefit.

For no one will say concerning prophecy, 'They are mad,' nor will he laugh at those who prophesy; but on the contrary he will be astounded and marvel at them.

For he is convicted by all;

that is to say, the things he holds in his heart are brought out into the open and made manifest to all.

But it is not the same thing to see, upon entering, one man speaking in Persian and another in Syriac, and, upon entering, to hear the hidden secrets of one's own mind, and whether one has come in to tempt and with an evil purpose, or in soundness of heart;

and that this or that has been done by him, and this has been purposed;

for this is far more awe-inspiring and more profitable than the other.

For this reason, then, concerning tongues he says, 'You are mad;'

yet he does not pronounce this on his own authority, but from their judgement;

'For they will say,' he says, 'that you are mad.'

But here he has made use both of the verdict of the facts themselves and of that of those who are benefited.

'For he is convicted,' he says, 'by all, he is examined by all,' and thus the secret things of his heart become manifest, and thus, falling upon his face, he will worship God, declaring that God is indeed among you.

Do you see that this is beyond dispute? For there the thing that takes place is doubtful, and one might charge the unbelievers with madness;

but here there will be nothing of the sort, but he will both marvel and worship, confessing first by his deeds, then also by his words.

Thus also Nebuchadnezzar worshipped God, saying, 'Of a truth your God, he is a God who reveals mysteries, seeing you were able to reveal this mystery.'

Did you see the power of prophecy, how it transformed that savage man, and instructed him, and led him to faith? What then is it, brethren? When you come together, each of you has a psalm, has a teaching, has a tongue, has a revelation, has an interpretation;

let all things be done for edification.

Do you see the foundation and the rule of Christianity? For as it is the builder's work to build, so also it is the Christian's work to profit his neighbours in all things.

But since he had run down the gift very severely, lest it should seem superfluous;

for wishing to pull down their conceit, he did this alone;

again he numbers it together with the others, saying:

He has a psalm, he has a teaching, he has a tongue.

For indeed in olden times they composed psalms from a spiritual gift, and taught from a spiritual gift;

yet nevertheless let all these things, he says, look to one end, the correction of one's neighbour;

For if you do not come in order to build up your brother, why do you even come? Truly I have no great concern for the difference among the gifts;

one thing alone concerns me, and my sole earnest endeavour is one, to do all things for edification.

Thus even he who has the small gift will outrun him who has the great one, if this be added to it.

For it is on this account that the gifts also exist, that each may be built up;

since, if this does not come about, the gift will even turn to condemnation for the one who received it.

For what, tell me, is the profit of prophesying? and what the profit of raising the dead, when no one is the gainer thereby? But if this is the end of the gifts, and it is possible to accomplish it also in another way, apart from gifts, do not be highly minded over the signs, nor bewail yourself, O you who are bereft of the gifts.

If any man speaks in a tongue, let it be by two, or at the most three, and in turn, and let one interpret.

But if there be no interpreter, let him keep silence in the church, and let him speak to himself and to God.

Having said so much about tongues, that it is unprofitable, that it is superfluous unless one have an interpreter, do you again bid us speak in tongues? I do not bid it, he says, but neither do I forbid it;

just as when he says, 'If any of the unbelievers invites you, and you are willing to go,' he does not

lay it down as a law to go, but neither does he hold one back;

so also here: 'Let him speak to himself and to God.'

If he cannot bear to keep silence, he says, but is so ambitious and vainglorious, let him utter it by himself.

So that by this very permission granted in such a manner he restrained him, putting him to shame.

This he does also elsewhere, when discoursing about intercourse with a wife, and saying:

But this I say because of your incontinence.

But when he was speaking about prophecy, he did not speak thus; but how? In a commanding and legislative manner:

Let the prophets speak, two or three.

And nowhere here does he seek the interpreter, nor does he stop the mouth of the one who prophesies, as there when he says, 'If there be no interpreter, let him keep silence.'

For neither is he who speaks with a tongue self-sufficient.

Wherefore, if any man has both gifts, let him speak;

but if he has them not, yet wishes to speak, let him do this together with the interpreter.

For indeed the prophet also is an interpreter, but of God, whereas you are the interpreter of a man.

But if there be no interpreter, let him keep silence.

For nothing ought to be done superfluously, nor for the sake of vainglory.

But let him speak to himself and to God;

that is, in his mind, or quietly and without noise, if indeed he wishes.

For this is not the language of one laying down a law, but rather perhaps of one who by his very permission puts to shame the more, just as when he says, 'But if any man is hungry, let him eat at home.'

And though he seems to grant them concession, by this very thing he lays hold of him the more sharply.

'For you do not come together for this,' he says, 'to show that you possess a gift, but that you may edify those who hear.'

This is just what he said at the outset: 'Let all things be done unto edification.'

'Let the prophets speak two or three, and let the others discern.'

Nowhere did he add 'at the most,' as he did in the case of the tongues.

And what does this mean? For does he not show prophecy also to be insufficient, seeing that he entrusts the judgment of it to others?

Nay, it is exceedingly sufficient;

for he did not muzzle him, as he did the other, when there was no interpreter present;

nor did he say concerning this one, as he said concerning that one, 'If there be no interpreter, let him keep silence,' so also here, 'If there be none to discern, let him not prophesy,' but he only secured the hearer.

For with a view to the full assurance of the hearers he has said this, that no soothsayer might slip in among them.

For this too he commanded them from the beginning to guard against, when he introduced the distinction between soothsaying and prophecy; and now he bids them discern this very thing and take heed, lest anything diabolical creep in unawares.

'But if anything be revealed to another sitting by, let the first keep silence.'

'For you can all prophesy one by one, that all may learn and all may be exhorted.'

What then is this that is said? 'If, while you are prophesying and speaking,' he says, 'the spirit of the other should rouse him, be silent thereafter.'

For what he said concerning the tongues, this also he requires here, namely the taking of turns; but the matters here are more divine;

for he did not say 'in turn,' but 'if anything be revealed to another.'

For what then ought to be done, when this one is moved to prophecy—should that one keep on speaking? But ought both to speak? Nay, that were absurd, and full of confusion.

But the former, then? Nay, this too were absurd.

For on this account, while that one was speaking, the Spirit moved this one, that he too might say somewhat.

Then, consoling the one who was silenced, he says:

'For you can all prophesy one by one, that all may learn and all may be exhorted.'

Do you see how again he sets down the reason for which he does all things? For if he altogether forbids the one who speaks in tongues to speak, whenever he has no interpreter, because of its unprofitableness, with good reason he also bids prophecy to be restrained, if it lacks this, but produces confusion and disturbance and untimely tumult.

'And the spirits of the prophets are subject to the prophets.'

Do you see how vigorously and awfully he abashed him? For lest the man be contentious, or make a faction, he shows that the very gift is in subjection;

for by 'spirit' here he means the operation of the gift.

But if the spirit is in subjection, much more would you who possess it have no right to be contentious.

Then he shows that this also is well-pleasing to God, adding and saying:

'For God is not a God of confusion, but of peace, as in all the churches of the saints I teach.'

Do you see by how many arguments he led him to silence, and consoled the one who gives place to the other? By one indeed, and

the first, that no harm comes to him from this happening;

'For you can,' he says, 'all prophesy one by one';

and by another, that this is also well-pleasing to the Spirit;

'For the spirits of the prophets are subject to the prophets';

and besides these, that this is according to the will of God;

'For God,' he says, 'is not a God of confusion, but of peace';

and fourthly, that this law prevails everywhere throughout the world, and that nothing strange is being enjoined upon them.

'For thus,' he says, 'in all the churches of the saints I teach.'

What then could be more awe-inspiring than these things? For the Church then was a heaven, the Spirit ordering all things, and moving each of those who presided, and making them inspired.

But now we retain only the symbols of those gifts.

For even now we speak two or three, and in turn, and while one is silent another begins;

but these are only signs and memorials of those things.

Wherefore, when we begin to speak, the people respond, 'And with your spirit,' showing that of old they spoke thus, not by their own wisdom, but moved by the Spirit.

But the Church now seems like a woman who has fallen from her former prosperity, and who in many respects retains only the symbols of that ancient well-being, displaying indeed the caskets and coffers of her gold, but robbed of the wealth itself;

to such a one is the Church now like.

And I say this not on account of the gifts;

for it were no dreadful thing, if this were the only loss;

For the number of the widows and the choir of the virgins then possessed a great adornment for the churches;

but now it is made desolate and emptied, and only the symbols remain.

For there are widows even now, there are also virgins, but these do not possess that adornment which those who have stripped themselves for such wrestlings ought to have.

For the distinguishing mark of the virgin is to care for the things of God alone, and to wait upon Him without distraction;

and of the widow, the proof would not be so much her not contracting a second marriage, as those other things: the deeds of hospitality, of love for the poor, of steadfast endurance in prayers, and all the rest which Paul requires with great strictness, writing to Timothy.

One might see even those in wedlock displaying much decorum among us.

But this is not the only thing sought, but rather the diligent ministering to those in need, whereby the women of old shone forth most, not as many of those now.

For then, instead of gold, they wore about them the adornment that comes from almsgiving;

but now, having let this go, they are girt about on every side with golden cords woven from the chain of their sins.

Shall I tell of yet another coffer emptied of its ancestral ornament? Of old all came together, and chanted the psalms in common;

but then among all there was one soul and one heart;

but now not even in one soul might a man see that concord, but great is the warfare everywhere.

Peace even now the president of the Church prays upon all, as one entering into an ancestral home;

but of this peace the name is much, yet the reality is nowhere to be found.

Then even the houses were churches;

but now the church has become a house, or rather even worse than any house.

For in a house one may see much good order;

for the mistress of the house sits upon her seat with all seemliness, and the maidservants weave in quietness, and each of the household servants has in hand the task appointed him.

But here there is much tumult, much confusion, and our assemblies differ in nothing from a tavern;

so great is the laughter, so great the disturbance, as in the baths, as in the markets, with all shouting and making an uproar.

whereas in other cases it is not even lawful to greet one's neighbor in the church, even should one recover a friend long absent, but these things are done outside, and very fittingly so.

For the church is not a barber's shop, nor a perfumer's shop, nor any other workshop of those in the marketplace, but a place of angels, a place of archangels, the kingdom of God, heaven itself.

If therefore one, having parted the heaven, led you in there, even if you saw your father, even your brother, you would not dare to speak;

so neither here ought anything else to be spoken, save the things that are spiritual.

For indeed the things here are heaven itself.

But if you disbelieve, look toward this Table here; call to mind for whose sake it stands, and for what purpose;

consider who it is that comes forth here, and shudder even before the appointed moment.

For indeed, when a man sees merely the throne of a king, he rises up in his soul, expecting the king's coming forth.

You too, therefore, even before that awesome moment, shudder at it; rouse yourself, and before you see the veils drawn back and the choir of angels advancing, ascend up to heaven itself.

But the uninitiated is ignorant of these things;

it is necessary, then, to say other things to him as well.

For with regard to him too we shall not be at a loss for arguments able to rouse him up and to persuade him to take wing.

You, then, who are ignorant of these things, when you hear the prophet saying, 'Thus says the Lord,'

depart from the earth, ascend, you also, into heaven; consider who it is that through him is speaking to you.

But as it is, when a buffoon plays the fool, or a harlot woman behaves shamelessly, so great a crowd sits and offers deep silence to what is being said—and this though no one bids them be quiet—and there is neither uproar nor shouting nor the least murmur;

but when God is speaking from the heavens about such awesome matters, we are more shameless than dogs, not offering to God even as much reverence as we show to harlot women.

Did you shudder to hear these things? Then all the more shudder for doing them.

What Paul said concerning those who despise the poor and who feast alone—

'What, do you not have houses to eat and drink in? Or do you despise the church of God, and put to shame those who have nothing?'—grant me too to say the like concerning those who make a disturbance and chatter here;

'What, do you not have houses to prattle in? Or do you despise the church of God, and corrupt even those who wish to be sober and quiet?' 'But it is sweet and dear to us to converse with our acquaintances.' I do not forbid this, but let it take place in the house, in the marketplace, in the baths;

for the church is a place not of conversation but of teaching.

But as it is now, it differs in nothing from the marketplace;

and, if it be not too bold to say, perhaps not even from the stage;

so much more wantonly do the women who gather here deck themselves out than the harlot women there.

Wherefore indeed they draw here many also of the licentious;

and if anyone should attempt or wish to corrupt a woman, no place, I think, seems to him more suitable for it than the church.

And if it be needful to buy or sell anything, the church appears more serviceable than the marketplace.

For here more discussions arise even about these matters than in the very workshops themselves.

And if some wish to speak ill and to hear ill of others, this too you will see happening here rather than out in the marketplace;

and if you wish to hear anything of civic affairs, or of what happens in households, or of what happens in the army, do not go to the law court, nor sit in the physician's surgery;

for here they are, here are those who announce all these things more precisely than anyone—and everything here is anything rather than a church.

Perhaps I have rebuked you very sharply;

for when you persist in the same things, how shall I know that what has been said has taken hold of you? It is necessary, then, to take up the same matters again.

Are these things, then, bearable? Are they to be endured? We are worn down and torn apart every single day, that you may go away having learned something useful;

and not one of you goes away having gained anything, but rather having been the more harmed.

For indeed you come together unto judgment, having no longer any excuse for your sin, and you drive out the more reverent, harassing on every side those who are troubled by your idle chatter.

But what is the saying of the many? 'I do not hear the things that are read,' one says, 'nor do I know what the words spoken are.'

Because you make a disturbance, because you cause tumult, because you do not come with a soul that has reverence.

What do you say? You do not know what the words spoken are? For this very reason you ought to have paid attention.

The obscure rouses your soul—far more so; whereas if it were clear, you would have run past it.

For on this account not all things are clear—lest you grow slothful—nor all obscure—lest you despair.

And that eunuch, that barbarian, said none of these things, but even though encompassed by a throng of so many affairs, and being on the road, he held a book in his hands and was reading, though he did not understand what he was reading;

but you, though you have an abundance of teachers, and have others who read to you, put forward pretexts and excuses to me.

You do not know the things spoken? Then pray that you may learn;

or rather, it is impossible to be ignorant of everything.

For indeed many things are of themselves plain and clear;

or rather, even if you were ignorant of all things, even so you ought to keep silent, lest you drive out those who are attentive—so that God, receiving your quietness and reverence, may make even the obscure things plain.

But you cannot keep silent? Then go out, lest you become a harm to others as well.

For indeed there ought always to be one voice in the church, as though it were a single body.

For this reason the reader too speaks alone;

and even he who holds the office of bishop endures to sit in silence;

and the psalm-singer sings alone;

and even though all respond, the voice is carried as from a single mouth;

and he who preaches, preaches alone.

But when many speak many and diverse things, why do we trouble you to no purpose? For not even if you deem that we trouble you not to no purpose—while we are speaking about matters so great—would you be conversing about things that in no way concern you.

For these reasons there is much perversity in you, not only in your manner of life, but even in your very judgment of matters;

and you gape after superfluous things, and, forsaking the truth, you pursue shadows and dreams.

Or are not all present things shadow and dreams, and worse than a shadow? For before they appear, they fly away, and before they fly off, they cause much tumult and more than the pleasure they give.

And even if a man, having gotten ten thousand riches here, should bury them, when the night has passed he departs hence naked—and very rightly so;

since even those who grow rich in a dream, when they have risen from their bed, have none of the things they seemed to have while sleeping;

so also is it with the covetous;

or rather, not so, but even much worse.

For he who grows rich in a dream neither has the riches which he imagined himself to have, nor does he rise up having taken any other harm from that fancy;

but this man is deprived of the riches, yet departs having been filled with the sins that come from riches, and, having fancied himself in wealth, he beholds the evils that come from wealth no longer in fancy, but in the very reality of things;

and the pleasure came to pass in dreams, but the punishment that comes from the pleasure no longer befalls as a dream, but in the very experience—or rather, even before that punishment, here also he pays the uttermost penalty, in the very gathering rubbing upon himself countless despondencies, anxieties, accusations, slanders, tumults, and disturbances.

In order, then, that we may be delivered both from the dreams and from the evils that are not in dreams, let us choose almsgiving instead of covetousness, love of mankind instead of rapine.

For thus shall we attain unto both the present and the future good things, by the grace and love toward mankind of our Lord Jesus Christ, with whom to the Father, together with the Holy Spirit, be glory, might, honor, now and ever, and unto the ages of ages.