馬太福音講道集 第 11 章

But when he saw many of the Sadducees and Pharisees coming to his baptism, he said unto them:

'Offspring of vipers, who warned you to flee from the wrath to come?' (I)

How then does Christ say that they did not believe John? Because to receive not Him who was proclaimed by John—this was not to believe. For they seemed indeed to give heed to the Prophets and to the Lawgiver;

yet nevertheless He said that they had not given heed, since they did not receive Him who was foretold by those very ones.

'For had ye believed Moses,' He says, 'ye would have believed Me.'

And afterwards, when they were questioned by Christ, 'The baptism of John, whence was it?' they said, 'If we say, From the earth, we fear the multitude;

if we say, From heaven, He will say to us, Why then did ye not believe him?' So that from all these things it is plain that they did indeed come and were baptized;

yet did they not abide in the faith of the preaching.

For John also shows forth their wickedness by what they sent to the Baptist, saying:

'Art thou Elijah? Art thou the Christ?' Wherefore also he added:

'And they that were sent were of the Pharisees.'

What then? Did not the multitudes also suppose this very thing?

But the multitudes suspected this out of an unfeigned mind;

whereas the Pharisees did so wishing to catch him.

For since it was acknowledged that the Christ should come from the village of David, but this one was of the tribe of Levi, they laid snares by means of the question, so that if he should say any such thing, they might quickly fall upon him.

This indeed he made plain also from what follows;

for when he confessed none of the things they had expected, then thus they lay hold of him, saying:

'Why then baptizest thou, if thou art not the Christ?' And that thou mayest learn that the Pharisees came with one mind, and the common people with another, hear how the Evangelist made this also plain;

concerning the common people saying that 'They came and were baptized of him, confessing their sins;'

but concerning the Pharisees no longer in like manner, but that 'Seeing many of the Pharisees and Sadducees coming, he said:'

'Offspring of vipers, who warned you to flee from the wrath to come?' Oh, the greatness of his understanding!

How he discourses with men ever thirsting for the blood of the prophets, and in no way better disposed than serpents;

how he reproaches both them and those who begat them with much boldness of speech.

But the boldness is great;

yet the question is whether this boldness has any reasonable ground.

For he did not see them sinning, but changing;

wherefore it behoved him not to accuse them, but rather to praise and welcome them, because forsaking city and homes they ran to hear the preaching.

What then shall we say? That he gave heed neither to things present nor to things done, but knew the hidden secrets of their mind, since God had revealed this to him.

Since then they thought highly of their forefathers, and this became to them a cause of destruction and cast them into slothfulness, he cuts away the root of their arrogance.

For this cause Isaiah too calls them rulers of Sodom and a people of Gomorrah;

and another prophet says:

'Are ye not as the children of the Ethiopians unto Me?' And all of them lead them away from this presumption, emptying out their vain conceit, which had become to them the cause of ten thousand evils.

'But the Prophets,' one may say, 'did so with reason;

here, however, wherefore and for what cause does he do this, seeing them obedient to him?' In order that he may make them yet more pliable.

And if one attend accurately to what is said, he also tempered the rebuke with praise.

For marvelling at them, that at length, though late, they had become able to do the things which seemed to them well-nigh impossible, he said these things.

The rebuke, therefore, belongs rather to one drawing them on and preparing them to come to their senses.

For when he appears astonished, he both shows their former wickedness to have been great, and their change to be marvellous and beyond expectation.

'For what has happened,' he says, 'that being children of those men, and so ill brought up, they repented? Whence has come so great a change? Who has softened the roughness of their disposition? Who has set right what was incurable?' And behold how straightway, from the very outset, he astounded them, laying beforehand the words concerning Gehenna.

'Who warned you to flee the wars, the incursions of the barbarians, the captivities, the famines, the pestilences?' But he sounded a note beforehand of some other chastisement which had never yet been made manifest to them, speaking thus:

'Who warned you to flee from the wrath to come?' (II)

And rightly did he also call them offspring of vipers. For that creature too, so it is said, comes forth into the light by destroying the one that is in travail and gnawing through her womb;

which very thing these men also did, becoming slayers of fathers and slayers of mothers, and destroying their teachers with their own hands.

But he does not stop at the rebuke; he also brings in counsel:

'For bring forth,' he says, 'fruits worthy of repentance.'

For it is not enough to flee from wickedness, but one must also display much virtue.

'Let it not be with me the contrary and the customary way, that after restraining yourselves for a little while, ye return again to the same wickedness.'

'For we have not come on the same terms as the former Prophets did.'

For the present things are of a different kind,

and loftier, since He Himself henceforth draws near—the Judge, He who is Lord of the kingdom—

the Master, leading to a greater philosophy, calling to heaven, and drawing men up to the abodes on high.

'For this cause also I unveil the discourse concerning Gehenna;

for both the good things and the grievous things are undying.'

'Continue not therefore in the same things, neither put forward the wonted pretexts—Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, the noble birth of your forefathers.'

And this he said, not forbidding them to say that they were of those holy ones, but forbidding them to trust in this while neglecting the virtue of the soul; bringing forward into the midst the things of the mind, and prophesying the things to come.

For indeed afterwards they appear saying:

'We have Abraham for our father, and were never in bondage to any man.'

Since then this was the very thing that most of all lifted them up into arrogance and destroyed them, he first of all puts it down.

But observe how, together with the honour he pays to the patriarch, he effects their correction concerning these matters.

For having said, 'Think not to say, We have Abraham for our father,' he did not say, 'For the patriarch will be able to profit you nothing';

but rather in a gentler and more soothing manner he hinted at this very thing, saying:

'For God is able of these stones to raise up children unto Abraham.'

Now some indeed say that he speaks these things concerning the Gentiles, calling them 'stones' metaphorically;

but I say that the saying has yet another meaning.

What then is this? 'Do not suppose,' he says, 'that if you perish, you will make the patriarch childless.'

For it is possible for God even from stones to give men to him, and to bring them into that kinship, since even from the beginning it happened thus.

For to have men come into being from stones was like the child's coming forth from that barren womb.

Which very thing indeed the Prophet also, hinting at it, was saying:

'Look unto the solid rock from which you were hewn, and to the hole of the pit from which you were dug;'

'look unto Abraham your father, and unto Sarah who travailed with you.'

Of this prophecy, then, he reminds them, showing that if from the beginning God so wondrously made him a father—as it were making him even from stones—it is possible for this to happen even now.

And observe how he both terrifies and cuts off (all excuse).

For he did not say that He had already raised them up, lest they despair of themselves;

and he did not say that He is able to make men from stones, but what was far greater—both kinsmen and children of Abraham.

Do you see how for the time being he withdrew them from their fancy about carnal things, and from taking refuge in their forefathers, that they might have the hope of salvation in their own repentance and self-restraint? Do you see how, having cast out the kinship of the flesh, he introduces that which comes from faith? (III)

Consider, then, how through what follows he also increases their fear and heightens the anguish.

For having said that 'God is able of these stones to raise up children unto Abraham,' he added:

'And now also the axe is laid unto the root of the trees;'

through all things making his word fearful.

For he himself possessed great boldness of speech by reason of his manner of life, and they stood in need of severe rebuke, having now for a long time lain fallow.

'For why do I speak,' he says, 'of your being about to fall from your kinship with the patriarch, and to see others—those from stones—brought into your seat of honour? For not even up to this point will your punishment stop, but the chastisement will proceed yet further.'

'For now already,' he says, 'the axe is laid unto the root of the trees.'

Nothing is more fearful than this turn of the discourse.

For it is no longer a flying sickle, nor the pulling down of a hedge, nor the treading down of the vineyard;

but an axe exceedingly sharp, and what is indeed more grievous, that it is even at the doors.

For since, continually disbelieving the prophets, they used to say:

'Where is the day of the Lord?' and, 'Let the counsel of the Holy One of Israel come, that we may know it;'

because after many years the things foretold often came to pass;

and taking from them this (false) consolation, he sets the dreadful things near to them.

And this he made clear by saying, 'Now,' and by bringing it to the very root.

'For there is nothing left in between,' he says, 'but it lies against the very root.'

And he did not say, 'To the branches,' nor, 'To the fruits,' but, 'To the root';

showing them that, if they should be careless, they would suffer incurable evils, and would not even have hope of healing.

For he who has come is not a servant, as those before him;

but the very Master of all, bringing on a punishment both severe and most mighty.

Yet nevertheless, even after terrifying them, he again does not let them fall into despair;

but just as above he did not say that He 'raised up,' but that He 'is able to raise up children unto Abraham,' terrifying and comforting at once;

so here too he did not say that it 'touched' the root, but that it 'lies against and is close to' the root;

and he indicates no delay.

Nevertheless, even so, having brought it near, he makes you masters of the cutting.

For if you change and become better, this axe will depart, having wrought nothing;

but if you continue in the same things, it will tear up the tree by the roots.

For this reason it neither stands away from the root, nor, though lying against it, does it cut: the one that you may not lose heart, the other that you may learn that it is possible, even in a short time, for those who change to be saved.

Wherefore also on every side he increases the fear, rousing them and urging them on toward repentance.

For to fall away from their forefathers, and for others to be brought in in their stead, and for the dreadful things to be at the doors, and to suffer irremediable ills—both of which he indicated through the root and the axe—these were sufficient even to rouse up those who had greatly fallen away, and to render them full of dread.

This, at any rate, Paul also declared, saying that 'The Lord will make a short work upon the whole earth.'

But rather, fear indeed, yet do not despair.

For you still have hope of change;

for the sentence is not final, nor did the axe come for the purpose of cutting;

(since what hindered it from cutting, while it was close to the root?) but that by this fear it might make you better, and prepare you to bring forth fruit.

'Every tree therefore that brings not forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire.'

And when he says 'Every,' he again casts out the precedence derived from noble birth.

'For even if you be a descendant of Abraham himself,' he says, 'even if you can number ten thousand patriarchs, you will undergo a double chastisement, remaining fruitless.'

By these words he terrified even tax-collectors, and shook the soldierly mind, without casting them into despair, and delivering them from all sloth.

For along with the fear, what has been said contains also much exhortation.

For by saying, 'That brings not forth good fruit,' he showed that the one which brings forth fruit is delivered from all punishment.

'And how shall we be able,' one says, 'to bring forth fruit, when the cutting is imminent, and the time is so short, and the appointed term is cut down?' 'You will be able,' he says;

'for this fruit is not such as that of the trees, awaiting a long time, and enslaved to the necessities of the seasons, and requiring much other labour;

but it is enough to be willing, and straightway the tree has budded forth.'

For not the nature of the root alone, but also the skill of the husbandman contributes most to such fruit-bearing.

For this very reason—that they might not say, 'You throw us into confusion, and press us hard, and choke us, laying on the axe, and threatening the cutting, and demanding revenues in a time of punishment'—he added, showing the ease of fruit-bearing:

'I indeed baptize you with water;'

'but he that comes after me is mightier than I, whose sandal-thong I am not worthy to loose;'

'he shall baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire;'

by these things showing that there is need only of resolve and of faith, not of labours and sweat;

and just as it is easy to be baptized, so it is easy to be changed and to become better.

Having therefore shaken their mind with the fear of judgment, and with the expectation of chastisement, and with the name of the axe, and with the casting off of their forefathers, and with the bringing in of the other children, and with the double punishment of the cutting off and the burning, and having on every side softened their hardness, and brought them into a longing for deliverance from so many evils, then he introduces the word concerning Christ;

and not simply, but with much pre-eminence.

Then, placing himself midway between his own baptism and that of Christ, so that he might not seem to say this merely to flatter, he draws the point from a comparison of what is given by each of the two.

For he did not at once say, 'I am not worthy to loose the strap of His sandal,' but first set forth the lowliness of his own baptism, and showed that it has nothing more than to lead them to repentance (for he did not say 'with the water of remission,' but 'of repentance'); and then he sets forth Christ's baptism also, which is laden with an unspeakable gift.

'For lest, hearing that He comes after me,' he says, 'you should despise Him as one arriving later, learn the power of His gift, and you will clearly know that I have said nothing worthy, nothing great, when I said, I am not worthy to loose the strap of His sandal.'

So that when you hear, 'He is mightier than I,' do not suppose that I have said this by way of comparison.

For I am not worthy to be ranked even among His servants, no, not even among the lowest of His servants, nor to take up the meanest part of His service.

For this reason he did not simply say 'the sandals,' but 'not even the strap'—

which seemed to be the last and least of all.

Then, lest you should think that what was said was mere humility, he adds also the proof drawn from the facts.

'For He,' he says, 'shall baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire.'

Do you see how great was the wisdom of the Baptist? For when he himself preaches, he speaks all things fearful and such as to strike terror;

but when he sends men to Him, he speaks things kindly and sufficient to win them back.

For he does not bring forward the axe, nor the tree that is cut down and burned and cast into the fire, nor the wrath to come, but remission of sins, and abolition of punishment, and righteousness, and sanctification, and redemption, and adoption as sons, and brotherhood, and fellowship of the inheritance, and the abundant bestowal of the Holy Spirit.

For all these he intimated when he said,

'He shall baptize you with the Holy Spirit';

and by this very metaphor of the word he made manifest the abundance of the grace;

for he did not say, 'He shall give you the Holy Spirit,' but 'He shall baptize you with the Holy Spirit';

and by the further explanation of 'fire' he again indicates the vehement and unrestrainable nature of the grace.

Consider, then, what those who heard were likely to become, reckoning that they should suddenly be as the prophets, and as those great men of old.

For this very reason he made mention of fire also, that he might bring them to the recollection of those men.

For indeed nearly all the visions that appeared to them appeared for the most part through fire:

thus God spoke with Moses in the bush;

thus with all the people on Mount Sinai;

thus with Ezekiel upon the Cherubim.

But observe how he also rouses the hearer, by first setting forth that which was to come to pass after all things.

For the Lamb had to be slain, and sin done away, and enmity abolished, and the burial and the resurrection to take place, and then the Spirit to come.

But of these things he says nothing as yet;

rather he speaks first of the last thing, and that for the sake of which all those other things came to pass, and that which was most able to proclaim His dignity;

so that when the hearer heard that he should receive so great a Spirit, he might inquire within himself how and in what manner this should be, sin being so dominant;

so that having taken him thoughtful and prepared for the hearing, he might thus introduce the word concerning the Passion, no one thenceforth being offended by the expectation of such a gift.

'Behold the Lamb of God, that taketh away the sin of the world.'

He did not say, 'that forgiveth,' but that which belonged to a greater care, 'that taketh away.'

For it is not the same thing simply to forgive, and to take it upon Himself.

For the one was done without peril, but the other with death.

And again he said that He is the Son of God.

But not even this made His dignity plain to those who heard;

for they did not yet know how to conceive of Him as a true Son;

but from so great a giving of the Spirit that too was established.

For this very reason also the Father, when sending John, gave him this as the first token of the dignity of Him who was coming, saying:

'Upon whomsoever thou shalt see the Spirit descending and remaining, this is He that baptizeth with the Holy Spirit.'

'I have seen and have borne witness, that this is the Son of God';

so that from this the other truth also was thenceforth clearly established.

Then, since he had spoken the kindly things, and had relaxed the hearer and let him loose, he again draws the reins tight,

for such was the Jewish race:

by kindly things they were easily made slack, and became worse.

Wherefore he again brings on the fearful things, saying:

'Whose fan is in His hand.'

For above he had spoken of the punishment;

but here he both shows the Judge, and brings in the punishment as undying:

'For He shall burn up,' he says, 'the chaff with unquenchable fire.'

Do you see that He Himself is the Lord of the affairs, and that He Himself is the husbandman, even though elsewhere He says the same of the Father?

'For My Father,' He says, 'is the husbandman.'

For since he had said 'axe,' lest you should think that the matter needs labour, and is hard to discern, he introduces from another illustration also its ease, showing that all the world is His;

for otherwise He would not have punished those who were not His own.

Now, then, all things are mingled together;

for even though the wheat appears shining through, yet nevertheless it lies together with the chaff, as on a threshing-floor, not as in a barn;

but then there shall be a great separation.

Where now are those who disbelieve in hell? For indeed he has set down two things: both that He shall baptize with the Holy Spirit, and that He shall burn up the disobedient.

If, then, the former is worthy of belief, so is this altogether.

For it was for this reason that he set down the two predictions in succession, that from the one already come to pass he might give credence also to that which had not yet occurred.

For indeed Christ also does this in many places, often concerning the same matters, and often concerning opposite ones, setting down two prophecies, and furnishing the one here, but promising the other in the age to come;

that from the one already come to pass the more contentious might believe also the one not yet come to pass.

For to those also who for His sake strip themselves of all their possessions He promised to give a hundredfold in the present life, and eternal life in the age to come, establishing the things to come as worthy of belief from those already given.

This very thing John here also did, in setting down two things: both that He shall baptize with the Holy Spirit, and that He shall burn up with unquenchable fire.

If, then, He had not baptized the apostles with the Spirit, and all who are willing, each day, you might well be in doubt concerning those other things also;

but if that which seems greater and more difficult, and surpasses all reason, both has come to pass and comes to pass each day, how do you say that the thing which is easy and happens according to reason is not true? For since he had said, 'He shall baptize with the Holy Spirit and with fire,' and had thereby promised great good things, lest you should sink into ease, being released from all your former sins, he brought in the fan and the judgment therein made manifest.

'For do not suppose,' he says, 'that baptism suffices, if after this you become base;

for we have need also of virtue and of much heavenly wisdom.'

For this reason, unto the grace and the laver he urges them on from the axe;

but after the grace he strikes fear into them from the fan and the unquenchable fire;

and of those things before baptism he makes no distinction, but says simply, 'Every tree that bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down,' thereby punishing all the unbelieving.

But after the baptism he introduces a certain distinction, since many of those who believed were destined to show forth a manner of life unworthy of the faith.

Let no one, therefore, become chaff; let no one be easily blown about, nor lie exposed to wicked desires, everywhere lightly fanned into flame by them.

For if you remain wheat, then even should a trial be brought upon you, you will suffer nothing dreadful;

for indeed, upon the threshing-floor the saw-toothed wheels of the cart do not cut the wheat asunder;

but if you fall away into the weakness of chaff, both here you will suffer incurable things, being crushed by all, and there you will endure the immortal punishment.

For all such persons, even before the furnace yonder, become food here for the irrational passions, just as the chaff is food for the irrational beasts;

and there again they become fuel and food for the fire.

Now to have said outright that He Himself will judge the things that come to pass would not have rendered the discourse so readily acceptable;

but to interweave the parable, and by means of it to establish the whole, persuaded them the more, and drew on the hearer with greater consolation.

Wherefore, for the most part, He Himself discourses with them in this manner, using the threshing-floor, and the harvest, and the vineyard, and the winepress, and the tilled field, and the dragnet, and fishing, and all things familiar and among which they moved.

This, then, is what the Baptist also did here, and he furnished the greatest proof of what had been said—namely, the giving of the Spirit.

For He who is able to do such great things—as even to forgive sins and to bestow the Spirit—will, He says, be much more able to do these other things also.

Do you see how he already laid down beforehand, in due sequence, the mystery of the resurrection and the judgment? And for what reason, someone says, did he not speak of the signs and wonders that would straightway be wrought by Him? Because this was greater than all of them, and it was for the sake of this that all those things came to pass.

For having set down the sum, he comprehended all things:

the loosing of death, the abolition of sins, the doing away with the curse, deliverance from the long-standing wars, entrance into paradise, ascent into the heavens, the commonwealth with the angels, the fellowship of the good things to come;

for this too is the pledge of those things.

Having spoken this, therefore, he spoke also of the resurrection of the bodies, and of the display of the signs here below, and of the fellowship of the kingdom, and of the good things which eye has not seen, nor ear heard, nor have they entered into the heart of man.

For all these things He bestowed on us through that gift.

It was superfluous, therefore, to speak of the signs that would soon come to pass and be judged by sight;

but rather he had to discourse concerning those things about which they were in doubt;

such as, that He is the Son of God, that He surpasses John beyond all comparison, that He takes away the sin of the world, that He will demand a reckoning of the things done, that our affairs are not confined to the present, but that there each one will endure the punishment he deserves.

For these things it was not yet possible to present to sight.

Knowing these things, then, let us employ much diligence while we are yet upon the threshing-floor;

for indeed it is possible for those who are here to be changed even from chaff into wheat, just as also many from wheat have become chaff.

Let us not, then, sink down, nor be carried about by every wind, nor be severed from our brethren, even though they seem to be small and of no account;

since the wheat too, in comparison with the chaff, is less in measure, but better in nature.

Do not, therefore, look upon the outward appearances;

for they are made ready for the fire;

but look rather upon the humility that is according to God—that firm and indissoluble humility, which cannot be cut, nor consumed by the fire.

For it is on account of these that He is long-suffering even toward the chaff, that from their intercourse with them they may become better.

For this reason the judgment is not yet, that we may all together be crowned, that many may be changed from wickedness unto virtue.

Let us shudder, then, as we hear this parable.

For indeed that fire is unquenchable.

And how, someone says, is it unquenchable? Do you not see this sun ever burning and never being extinguished? Did you not see the bush burning, yet not consumed? If, then, you also wish to escape that flame, lay up beforehand your almsgiving, and thus you will not even make trial of that fire.

For if here you believe the things that are spoken, you will not even see that furnace when you depart yonder;

but if you disbelieve it now, there you will know it well by experience, when it is no longer possible even to escape.

For inexorable is the punishment for those who have not shown forth an upright life.

For it does not suffice merely to have believed;

since even the demons shudder before God, yet even so they will be punished.

Wherefore we have need of much carefulness concerning our life.

For it is on this account that we continually gather you together here—not merely that you should come in, but that you should also reap some fruit from your sojourn here;

but if you are always present, yet withdraw reaping nothing from hence, there will be nothing more gained from your entrance and attendance here.

For if, when we send children to teachers, should we see them reaping nothing thence, we become vehement accusers of the teachers, and often transfer them to others;

what defence shall we have, when we bestow upon virtue not even so much diligence as we bestow upon these earthly things, but ever carry home our tablets empty? And yet here the teachers are both more numerous and greater.

For prophets, and apostles, and patriarchs, and all the righteous we set before you as teachers in each assembly;

yet not even so is anything more gained;

but if, having chanted two or three psalms, and having made the customary prayers carelessly and just as it chanced, you are dismissed, you think this suffices for your salvation.

Have you not heard the prophet saying—or rather God through the prophet—that 'This people honours me with their lips, but their heart is far removed from me'? In order, then, that this may not befall us also, blot out the letters, or rather the marks, which the devil has stamped upon your soul, and bring me a heart delivered from the tumults of this life, that with freedom I may inscribe upon it the things I wish.

For as it is now, there is nothing else to be discerned but his letters—rapacities, greeds, envy, malice.

For this very reason, when I take your tablets, I cannot even read them.

For I do not find the letters which we, inscribing them for you each Lord's Day, leave with you;

but others instead of these—unmeaning and distorted.

Then, when we, having blotted these out, write the things that are from the Spirit, you depart, and, having given your hearts to the workings of the devil, you offer him again to write his own things over against ours upon you.

What, then, will be the end of these things—even if I do not say it—each one's conscience knows.

For my part, I will not cease from doing my own work, and from inscribing the right letters.

But if you mar our diligence, for us indeed the reward remains unmoved, but for you the peril is no small one.

Yet I wish to say nothing burdensome.

But I beseech and exhort you again: imitate at least the diligence of little children about these matters.

For they indeed first learn the shape of the letters;

then they practise distinguishing them even when they are distorted;

and then at last, in reading, they walk in the road that leads on from those things.

So, then, let us also do:

dividing up virtue, let us first learn not to swear, nor to forswear ourselves, nor to speak evil;

then, having come to another line, not to be envious, nor to lust after bodies, not to gormandize, not to be drunken, not to be cruel, not to be sluggish;

so that, passing again from these to spiritual things, we may practise self-control and contempt of the belly, temperance, righteousness, the being superior to glory, and gentle, and contrite in mind; and let us join these one to another, and inscribe them upon our soul.

And let us exercise ourselves in all these things—in the house, among our friends, toward our wife, toward our children.

And for the present let us begin from the first and easier things;

as, for instance, from not swearing;

and let us continually practise this element in the house.

For indeed there are many at home who hinder this practice;

For a servant provokes us, a wife by her grievances casts us into anger, and a child that is stubborn and unruly drives us to threats and to swearing of oaths.

If then, being continually chafed by these within thine own house, thou succeed in not being swept away into oaths, thou wilt easily be able to remain impregnable in the marketplace also.

Moreover, thou wilt likewise succeed in refraining from insult, neither insulting thy wife, nor thy servant, nor any other of those in the house.

For a wife oftentimes, by praising such and such a one and bewailing her own lot, kindles us to speak evil of that person.

But be not thou compelled to accuse the one who is praised; rather, bear all things nobly.

And shouldest thou see thy servants praising other masters, be not troubled, but stand firm nobly. Let thy house be a wrestling-school and arena of virtue, that having there trained thyself well, thou mayest with much skill engage those in the marketplace.

This do also in the matter of vainglory.

For if thou practise not to be vainglorious before thy wife and thy servants, thou wilt henceforth not easily be taken captive by this passion in any other case.

For everywhere indeed this malady is grievous and tyrannical, but most of all when a woman is present.

If therefore we there break down its strength, we shall easily prevail over it in all other things as well.

And with respect to the other passions likewise let us do this very same thing, training ourselves against them in the house, and anointing ourselves for the contest day by day.

And that our exercise may become the easier for us, let us also pronounce a penalty against ourselves whenever we transgress any of the things set before us.

But let the penalty again be not a loss, but rather

one that carries a reward, and procures the greatest gain;

and this it is, if we condemn ourselves to intensified fastings, and to sleeping on the ground, and to some other such austere discipline.

For thus from every side many gains will come to us: both here we shall live the sweet life of virtue, and we shall attain the good things to come, and we shall be continually friends of God.

But, that the same thing may not happen again — that, having here admired the things spoken, ye go away and, casting aside the tablet of your mind simply and at random, give occasion to the devil to blot these things out — let each one, on returning home, call his own wife, and report these things, and take her as a helper, and from this present day let him enter this goodly wrestling-school, using for oil the supply of the Spirit.

And even shouldest thou fall once, or twice, or many times while training, despair not, but stand up again and wrestle;

and depart not before thou hast bound about thy brow the bright crown against the devil, and hast laid up henceforth the possession of virtue in an inviolable treasure-house.

For if thou establish thyself in the habit of this goodly philosophy, thou wilt not thenceforth be able, even in slothfulness, to transgress any of the things enjoined, thy habit imitating the fixedness of nature.

For even as to sleep is easy, and to eat, and to drink, and to breathe,

so also will the things of virtue become easy for us, and we shall reap the pure pleasure thereof, sitting in a waveless haven, and enjoying continual calm, and bringing our vessel with much cargo to anchor in that City on that Day, and we shall attain the incorruptible crowns;

which may it be granted us all to attain, by the grace and lovingkindness of our Lord Jesus Christ, to whom be the glory and the might, now and ever, and unto ages of ages. Amen.