Letter 160: On the text: "If they do these things in a green tree, what shall be done in the dry?

To Peter. On the saying, "Who is the faithful and wise servant?" That the one who betrays the opportune moment of action will miss the mark of what is good is plain. And that all good things come in their proper season, Ecclesiastes has taught. If this is so, why are you surprised that the Savior said of the wise and faithful steward that he will give food at the proper time? For untimeliness is everywhere painful, and a kindness that misses its moment loses even its name. Consider: the very same bread is sweet and desirable to the hungry, but not at all so to the one already sated; and the same cup is most welcome to the thirsty, but most unpleasant to the drunkard. What, then, is the cause that makes the same things fail to produce the same effect? Clearly, it is timeliness — which makes what is given both greater and more desirable. One must therefore not merely give (for this is perhaps a small thing), but give at the right moment. For this will make even a small gift greater, and a great gift the greatest of all. For this reason the Psalmist too, when proclaiming the divine kindnesses, added this: "All look to you to give them their food in due season." For God does not merely nourish, but nourishes at the right time. Indeed, this is precisely what feeds all things — that it is given seasonably. And if you wish to see this at work even among the fruits born from the earth, observe that grain, wine, oil, varieties of tree-fruits, and the diversity of flowers do not all come at a single season. Rather, the meadows lead the way, then the grain-fields follow, then the vine succeeds them, and the grape-cluster sends the farmer on to the olive — as though the seasons were dancing a most excellent chorus, refreshing the farmer by the length of time they take. For if everything reached its ripeness all at once, the farmer's art would have been cramped by the shortness of time, and all would have perished.

ΡΟ΄. - ΠΕΤΡΟ. Εἰς τὸ εἰρημένον, « Τις ἐστιν ὁ πιστὸς δοῦλος καὶ φρόνιμος;» Ὅτι μὲν ὁ τὴν εὐκαιρίαν τῶν πραγμάτων προδι- δοὺς, τῆς τῶν καλῶν διαμάρτοι θήρας, δήλον. "Our δὲ καὶ πάντα καλὰ ἐν καιρῷ αὐτῶν, ὁ Ἐκκλησιαστής ἐδίδαξεν. Εἰ τοίνυν ταῦθ' οὕτως ἔχει, τί ξενίζῃ, εἰ ὁ Σωτὴρ ἔφη περὶ τοῦ φρονίμου καὶ πιστοῦ οἰκονός μου, ὅτι δώσει τὴν τροφὴν ἐν καιρῷ; Τὸ γὰρ ἄκαι ρον πανταχοῦ λυπηρόν, καὶ ἡ εὐεργεσία καιροῦ ἀμοιρήσατα, καὶ τὸ ὄνομα ἀπόλλυσιν (9). Οἷον, δε αὐτὸς ἄρτος πεινῶντι μὲν ἡδὺς καὶ ἐράσμιος, χορεσθέντι δὲ οὐ πάνω· καὶ τὸ αὐτὸ ποτήριον, δι- ψῶντι μὲν προσηνέστατον, μεθύοντι δὲ ἀηδέστατον. Τις οὖν ἡ αἰτία, ἡ τὰ αὐτὰ μὴ τῶν αὐτῶν τυγχά- νειν παρασκευάζουσα; Ἡ εὐκαιρία δηλονότι, ἡ καὶ τὸ διδόμενον μείζον καὶ ἐρασμιώτερον δημιουρ- γοῦσα. Χρὴ οὖν μὴ μόνον διδόναι (μικρὸν γὰρ ἴσως τοῦτο), ἀλλὰ καὶ καιρίως. Τοῦτο γὰρ, κἂν μι- κρὸν ἢ τὸ δοθὲν, μείζον ποιήσει· κἂν μέγα, μέγιστον παρασκευάσει. Διὰ τοῦτο καὶ ὁ Μελῳδὸς τὰς θείας εὐεργεσίας ἀνακηρύττων, καὶ τοῦτο προσ- έθηκε, « Πάντα πρὸς σὲ προσδοκῶσι δοῦναι τὴν τρο φὴν αὐτοῖς εἰς εὔκαιρον. » Οὐ γὰρ τρέφει μόνον, ἀλλὰ καὶ εὐκαίρως. Τοῦτο γὰρ μάλιστά ἐστι τὸ πάντα τρέφον, τὸ καιρίως δίδοσθαι. Καὶ εἰ βούλει γε καὶ ἐπὶ τῶν καρπῶν, τῶν ἀπὸ γῆς τικτομένων, τοῦτο γινόμενον ἰδεῖν· θέα ὅτι οὐκ ἐν ἐνὶ καιρῷ σἶτος, καὶ οἶνος, καὶ ἔλαιον, καὶ ἀκροδρύων γένη, καὶ · ἀνθῶν ποικιλίαι· ἀλλὰ προηγοῦνται μὲν οἱ λειμῶνες, ἔπεται δὲ τὰ λήῖα, διαδέχεται δὲ ἄμπελος, παρα- πέμπει δὲ ἐπὶ τὴν ἐλαίαν τὸν γηπόνον ὁ βότρυς ὥσπερ χορείαν τινὰ ἀρίστην τῶν ὡρῶν χορευουσῶν, καὶ ·τῷ μήκει τοῦ χρόνου τὸν γεωργὸν ἀναπαυουσῶν. Εἰ γὰρ πάνθ᾽ ὁμοῦ εἰς τὴν εἰκείαν ἤρχετο ἀκμὴν, ἐστε- νοχωρήθη ἂν ἡ τοῦ γεωργοῦ τέχνη ὑπὸ τῆς τοῦ χρόνου βραχύτητος, καὶ πάντα ἂν ἀπολώλει καὶ ΡΛΖ΄. – ΑΝΔΡΟΝΙΚΩ Διττῶν τῆς τῶν αἱρετικῶν συνουσίας τῆς [...] τίσιν ἐξεκλινεῖν.