Letter 6: Concerning: “For [there is] a cup in the hand of the Lord.

To Isaiah the soldier. The one who delights in battles and takes pleasure in tumults, and is more eager to be hated by all — what need is there to admonish such a person? For those who choose wickedness as their way of life do not easily receive correction. Nevertheless, one must never cease from providing counsel. To Eustathius the Presbyter. Concerning endurance. He who wishes to win a glorious victory must not only bear insults and injustices nobly, but must also offer the wrongdoer more than he wishes to take, and surpass the limits of that man's wicked desire through the abundance of his own generosity. If these things seem incredible to you, we shall bring the verdict from heaven and read this law from there. For the Savior did not say, "If someone strikes you on the right cheek, bear it nobly and be quiet" — for even some who shone in philosophy achieved this without instruction, living by the natural law. Rather, he added the command to offer the other cheek also to the one who strikes, ready for the blow. For this is the glorious victory: the former is philosophical, but the latter is supernatural and heavenly. To the same. If you thought that shameful pretexts would harshly dispose the more reasonable people, you should have convicted yourself regarding the cause, and regarded your eagerness toward those who provoke bitterness as something to be deprecated. Why then do you deliberate in a manner so contrary to those who are always the most troublesome fools, whom you now dominate in reputation, introducing to those eager to discover things that are contrary to expectation? But I write these things not as if announcing events that have not befallen even himself, before he himself hastened to despise the affairs of each one, but rather diligently following those things entrusted to him. To Theodosius the Bishop. Let Eusebius, who presides over the people dwelling in Pelusium, learn what the Church is. To Eutonios the Deacon. The Savior, breaking the tyranny of the prejudice that had seized the human race, and from lowly affairs raising it to the transcendent lot. To the same. If it pleases you to partake of our words, by which it is fitting for me to partake, it is worthy to imitate me and to deliberate the same things as I do, even as we ourselves do. To Paul the Presbyter. You take it badly whenever you hear good things. This befits those who practice the utmost wickedness. But I do not even know if any human being has his body upright; yet I do know that you write contradictory things. To the same. Whenever I receive letters from your eloquence, I am filled with instruction and rejoice greatly. For in them there is a display both of affection and of learning. But if you should postpone writing for a short time, I grieve exceedingly. To the same. That wickedness in every way brings forth punishment, you know very well; and that goodness, by its excess, brings forth reward likewise. To Heracleides. One must preserve the grace of remembrance for those who have died. To Oursenophios the Reader. Even if in this present life those who now do things similar to or even more wondrous than the ancients do not obtain comparable glory — for on account of the weakness, or envy, or scarcity of those who would praise them, they seem to have less — yet in the age to come they shall obtain as much glory as it would be just for those who lived nobly but died without fame to receive. To Peter the Monk. You had a glorious beginning to your struggles; for this reason we leap for joy and rejoice, and make your good reputation the occasion of a festival. But it would be just for you to be watchful and careful that you may have a more glorious end — and you will have one, if you forget the things behind and stretch forward to the things ahead, and do not think that you have already been crowned and so cease from your labors. For many who began gloriously, and then grew slack, ended shamefully — may this be far from your sacred head. To Agathodaimon and Ophelios the Grammarians. Since uniform studies and exhortations cut, in a way, the sinews of the soul of the more negligent — for every change seems to them a form of relaxation. To Theopemptos the Presbyter. Neither excuse nor pretext remains for those who dare to teach but do the opposite of what they say. For those who neither practice nor attempt to teach may reasonably be demanded a lighter punishment. But those who pride themselves on the teaching word yet do not practice what they say shall face an inexorable and unforgivable judgment. To the same. I say that those who did what was right without written precepts, and cultivated their innate aptitudes toward virtue and goodness, are worthy of the greatest praises and crowns, freely devoting themselves to the pursuit of virtue. To Didymus the Presbyter. Do not blame those who flee headlong from that relentless beast, which is most cruel in pitiable matters and most shameless in the most disgraceful ones, and which considers as enemies even those who do not harm their neighbors, neither by intention nor by command. To Hierax the Presbyter. Those who were enslaved by fear before the dangers came, and could not endure the expectation, and remedied the change of circumstance before the events, how were they not going to appear unmanly when they encountered the actual dangers? Therefore, if their presence would not have helped their fellow combatants, their absence was of the greatest benefit, and they diminished the grief caused by their betrayal. To Theophanios. Drawing your mind away from the present terror more quickly, my friend, give yourself entirely to the hope of things to come. To Isidore the Bishop. The report of your virtues spreads and travels everywhere.

Concerning: “For [there is] a cup in the hand of the Lord.”[27] “There is a cup in the hand of the Lord full of a mixture of pure wine.” The divine prophecy makes known the just recompense is a mixture, on the one hand, with kindness for repentance with respect to the ones putting away[28] sins. “For he was turning from this way to that way,” that is to say, from kindness to the one being owed punishment and just judgment for faults. But in order that we do not altogether appear to be light-hearted[29] of the punishment, it was added: “Nevertheless its dregs were not poured out.” For if they will despise salvation altogether, in the end they will not escape the punishment. “For all the sinners upon the earth,” he says, “will likewise drink” the cup of judgment.

ΡΕΖ΄. – ΗΣΑΙΑ ΣΤΡΑΤΙΩΤΗ. Τὸν μάχαις χαίροντα, καὶ θορύβοις τερπόμενον, καὶ μᾶλλον μισεῖσθαι παρὰ πάντων σπουδάζοντα, τί ---CONTINUES--- ΣΤ΄. – ΕΥΣΤΑΘΙΩ ΠΡΕΣΒΥΤΕΡΩ. Περὶ ὑπομονῆς. Χρὴ τὸν βουλόμενον λαμπρὰν ἀναδήσασθαι νίκην, μὴ μόνον ὑβριζόμενον καὶ ἀδικούμενον φέρειν γεν ναίως, ἀλλὰ καὶ πλείονα παρέχειν τῷ ἀδικοῦντι ὧν βούλεται λαβεῖν, καὶ τοὺς ὄρους τῆς πονηρᾶς ἐπιθυ- μίας ἐκείνου τῇ δαψιλείᾳ τῆς οἰκείας ὑπερβαίνειν φιλοτιμίας. Εἰ δὲ σοι παράδοξα εἶναι δοκεῖ ταῦτα, ἀπὸ τῶν οὐρανῶν τὴν ψῆφον οἴσομεν, καὶ τὸν νόμον τοῦτον ἐκεῖθεν ἀναγνωσόμεθα. Οὔτε γὰρ εἶπεν ὁ Σωτὴρ, Ἐάν τίς σε ῥᾳπίσῃ εἰς τὴν δεξιὰν σιαγόνα, φέρε γενναίως, καὶ ἡσύχαζε · ἤνυσαν γὰρ τοῦτο καὶ ἄνευ ὑποθηκῶν τινες ἐπὶ φιλοσοφίᾳ διαλάμψαντες (93), καὶ τῷ ἐμφύτῳ νόμῳ πολιτευσάμενοι· ἀλλὰ προσ έθηκε τὸ, καὶ τὴν ἄλλην τῷ τύπτοντι ἑτοίμην πρὸς τὴν πληγὴν παρέχειν . Αὕτη γὰρ ἡ λαμπρὰ νίκη. Τὸ μὲν γὰρ φιλόσοφον, τὸ δὲ ὑπερφυὲς καὶ οὐράνιον. Α. ΕΙΣ ΤΟΝ ΑΥΤΟΝ. Εἰ ᾤου ταῖς αἰσχραῖς ἀφορμαῖς χαλεπῶς δια τιθέσθαι τοὺς ἐπιεικεστέρους, ἔδει σε πρὸς μὲν τὴν αἰτίαν ἑαυτὸν ἐξελέγχειν, πρὸς δὲ τοὺς πικραίνοντας ἀπευκταῖον ὑμῶν τὴν προθυμίαν. Τί τοίνυν βουλεύεσθε λίαν ὑπεναντίως τοῖς τῶν ἀεὶ πραγματωδεστέροις ἀνοήτοις, οὓς νῦν κατὰ δόξαν καταδυναστεύετε τοῖς ἐφευρίσκειν ἐφιεμένοις τὰ παρὰ δόξαν εἰσηγούμενοι. Ἀλλὰ ταῦτα γράφω, οὐχ οἷά τινων οὐδὲ ἑαυτῷ συμβεβηκότων διαγγέλλων, πρὶν ἢ φαυλίσαι αὐτὸς τὰ καθ' ἑκάστου σπεύσαι, κατὰ σπουδὴν δὲ τοῖς ἑαυτῷ πιστευθεῖσιν κατακολουθοῦντες. ΣΜΟ΄. – ΘΕΟΔΟΣΙΩ ΕΠΙΣΚΟΠΟ. Μανθανέτω Εὐσέβιος ὁ τοῦ λαοῦ τοῦ ἐπὶ τῆς Πη- ' λουσιωτῶν παροικοῦντος προεστὼς, τί ἐστιν. Έκκλη ``` ΕΥΤΟΝΙΟ ΔΙΑΚΟΝΟ. Τῆς κατασχούσης τὸ ἀνθρώπινον γένος προλήψεως τὴν τυραννίδα διακόπτων ὁ Σωτὴρ, καὶ ἀπὸ τῶν χα- μαιζήλων πραγμάτων εἰς τὴν ὑπερκόσμιον αὐτὸ λῆν ϛ΄. – ΤΩ ΑΥΤΩ Εἴ σοι ἀρέσκει μεταλαβεῖν τῶν ἡμετέρων λόγων, οἷσπερ ἐμέ χρὴ μεταλαβεῖν, ἄξιον τὸ ἐμὲ μιμήσασθαι, καὶ ταὐτὰ μοὶ βουλεύσασθαι, οἷς καὶ ἡμεῖς. ΑΣΤ΄. – ΠΑΥΛΩ ΠΡΕΣΒΥΤΕΡΩ. Κακῶς φέρεις ἐπειδὰν ἀγαθῶς ἀκούσῃς. Τοῦτο δὲ τοῖς ἐσχάτοις ἁρμόττει κακουργοῦσιν. Ἀλλὰ καὶ οὐκ οἶδα εἰ τίς ἄρα τὸ σῶμα ὀρθὸν ἔχει ἄνθρωπος· ἐγὼ δὲ ὅτι καὶ τὰ ἀναντα γράφεις, τοῦτο οἶδα. CXXV. - EIDEM. ΡΚΕ. – ΤΩ ΑΥΤΩ. Ἡνίκα γράμματα δεχοίμην τῆς σῆς λογιότητος, καὶ παιδεύσεως πληροῦμαι, καὶ σφόδρα γέγηθα. Ἔστι γὰρ ἐν αὐτοῖς καὶ διαθέσεως, καὶ λόγων ἐπί- δειξις. Εἰ δὲ πρὸς βραχὺ ὑπέρθοιο τὸ γράφειν, λίαν ΡΑΣ. – ΤΟ ΑΥΤΩ. Ὅτι μὲν παντὶ τρόπῳ πονηρία τιμωρίαν ὠδίνει, μάλα ἀκριβῶς οἶσθα· ὅτι δὲ καὶ ἡ ἀγαθότης τῷ ἄγαν ---END OF PAGE--- ΡΟΓ΄. – ΗΡΑΚΛΕΙΔΗ Τελευτησάντων τῆς μνήμης φυλακτέον τὴν χάριν. ΤΝΕ. – ΟΥΡΣΕΝΟΦΙΩ ΑΝΑΓΝΩΣΤΗ. Εἰ καὶ ἐν τῷ δε τῷ βίῳ πολλὰ τοῖς παλαιοῖς οἱ νῦν παραπλήσια ἢ καὶ θαυμασιώτερα δρῶντες, οὐ παραπλησίας δόξης τυγχάνουσιν, (παρὰ γὰρ τὴν τῶν ὑμνησάντων ἀσθένειαν, ἢ φθόνον ἢ σπάνεν, Ελαττον ἔχειν δοκοῦσιν), ἀλλὰ γε ἐν τῷ μέλλοντι τοσαύτης τεύξονται, ὅσης ἂν τυχεῖν δίκαιον τοὺς εὐκλεῶς μὲν ζήσαντας, ἀκλεῶς δὲ τελευτήσαντας. ΤΕΥ. - ΠΕΤΡΟ ΜΟΝΑΖΟΝΤΙ. Λαμπρὰν μὲν ἔσχες τῶν ἀγώνων τὴν ἀρχὴν διά τοῦτο καὶ σκιρτῶμεν, καὶ χαίρομεν, καὶ πανηγύ ρεως ὑπόθεσιν τὴν σὴν εὐδοκίμησιν ποιούμεθα. Δί- καιος δ' ἂν εἴης ἀγρυπνεῖν καὶ φροντίζειν, ὅπως λαμπροτέραν ἔξεις τὴν τελευτήν· ἔξεις δὲ, εἰ τῶν μὲν ὅπισθεν ἐπιλάθοιο, τοῖς δὲ ἔμπροσθεν ἐπεκτεί νοιο·· καὶ μὴ νομίσας ἤδη ἐστεφανῶσθαι, τῶν πόνων παύσοιο. Πολλοὶ γὰρ λαμπρῶς προοιμιασάμε- νοι, καὶ ὑπτιωθέντες, τελευτῶντες αἰσχρῶς κατ- ἐστρεψαν· ὅπερ ἀπείη τῆς ἱερᾶς σου κεφαλῆς. ΥΛΘ. – ΑΓΑΘΟΔΑΙΜΟΝΙ ΚΑΙ ΩΦΕΛΙΩ ΓΡΑΜΜΑ- ΤΙΚΟΙΣ. Ἐπειδὴ αἱ μονοειδεῖς μελέται τε καὶ παραινέσεις κόπτουσι τρόπον τινὰ τῆς τῶν ἀμελεστέρων ψυχῆς τὰ νεῦρα (δοκεῖ γὰρ αὐτοῖς πᾶσα μεταβολή σχήμα- ``` ΦΗ΄. – ΘΕΟΠΕΜΠΤΟ ΠΡΕΣΒΥΤΕΡΩ. Οὔτε λόγος, οὔτε σκήψις ὑπολείπεται τοῖς διδά- σκειν μὲν τολμῶσι, τἀναντία δὲ ὧν λέγουσι πράτ- τουσι. Τοὺς μὲν γὰρ μήτε πράττοντας, μήτε δι- ·δάσκειν ἐπιχειροῦντας, εἰκὸς μετριωτέραν ἀπαιτη- θῆναι τιμωρίαν. Τοὺς δὲ ἐναβρυνομένους μὲν ἐπὶ τῷ διδασκαλικῷ λόγῳ, μὴ ποιοῦντας δὲ ὁ φασιν, ἀπαραίτητον καὶ ἀσύγγνωστονο ΦΙΔ'. – ΤΟ ΑΥΤΟ. Μεγίστων ἐγκωμίων καὶ στεφάνων ἀξίους εἶναί φημι τοὺς ἄνευ ἐγγράφων ὑποθηκῶν τὸ δὲον πράξαν- τας, καὶ τὰς ἐμφύτους ἀφορμὰς εἰς καλοκάγαθίαν γεωργήσαντας, ἐλευθέρως τε ταῖς πρὸς τὴν ἀρετὴν ΦΓΔ΄. – ΔΙΔΥΜΟ ΠΡΕΣΒΥΤΕΡΩ.. Μὴ μέμφου τοὺς τὸ ἀμείλικτον ἐκεῖνο θηρίον προ- τροπάδην φεύγοντας, τὸ ἐν τοῖς ἐλεεινοῖς ὠμότατον, ἐν δὲ τοῖς αἰσχίστοις ἀναιδέστατον, τὸ ἐχθροὺς ἡγού- μενον τοὺς μήτε κατὰ γνώμην βλάπτοντας τοὺς πέ- λας, μήτε ἐξ ἐπιτάγματος. ΦΜ΄. - ΙΕΡΑΚΙ ΠΡΕΣΒΥΤΕΡΩ. Οἱ πρὸ τῶν κινδύνων τῷ φόβῳ δεδουλωμένοι, καὶ μὴ ἐνεγκεῖν τὴν προσδοκίαν δυνηθέντες, πρὸ τῶν Γεραγμάτων τοῦ καιροῦ τὴν μεταβολὴν θεραπεύσαν- τες, πῶς οὐκ ἔμελλον αὐτοῖς τοῖς δεινοῖς ἐμβεβηκότες ἄνανδροι ὀφθήσεσθαι; Οὐκοῦν εἰ παρόντες οὐδὲν ἂν ὤνησαν τοὺς συναγωνιστὰς, ἀπόντες τὰ μέγιστα ὠφέ- λησαν, καὶ τὴν λύπην τὴν ἐκ τῆς προδοσίας ἡμαύ- ρωσαν. ΦΝΑ'. – ΘΕΟΦΑΝΙΩ. Τοῦ παραυτίκα δεινοῦ τὸν λογισμόν θάττον, ὦ φίλε, ἀπαγαγὼν, ὅλος γενοῦ τῆς μελλούσης ἐλπίδος· ΦΝΖ'. – ΙΣΙΔΩΡΟ ΕΠΙΣΚΟΠΟ. Διήκει μὲν καὶ διαφοιτᾷ πανταχοῦ λόγος, τὰς σὰς Ρ. 148. — лв. IV, ЕР. 8.1 P. 416, lit. E, lin. 7. ἔφης deest in cat. ΣΜΖ΄ – ΜΑΤΘΑΙΩ P. 26. lit. D, lin. 11. Ρ. ἐν Ταβρὰ, cat. ἐν Γαβαά. -Lit. E, lin. 2. Ρ. οίει, cat. οἷῃ. ΛΔ΄. Ὁ μὲν Ἰωάννης οὐκ ἀπόντα μόνον· ἐμήνυσεν, ἀλλὰ καὶ παρόντα ἔδειξε λέγων· · Ἰδὲ ἀμνὸς τοῦ Θεοῦ. » Διὰ τοῦτο καὶ περισσότερος προφητῶν, ὅσῳ καὶ τὸν τὸν προφητευό- μενον εἶδε τοῦτον ὂν πάν- τες οἱ πατριάρχαι καὶ οἱ προφῆται δι᾽ ὀνείρων μὲν ἢ ὁπτασιῶν ἐφαντάσθη-, σαν· θεωρῆσαι δὲ αὐτοψεὶ' σὐκ ἐπέτυχον. Υιὸς ἀνθρώπου, ἢ τοῦ ᾿Αδάμ, ἢ τῆς Παρθένου, ἐξ ἧς τὴν σάρκα προσείληφεν. Οὐ γὰρ ἐκ τοῦ οὐρα- νοῦ, κατὰ τὸν βλάσφημον Ἀπολινάριον κατῆλθε τὴν σάρκα φέρων, ὡς προαιώνιόν τινα καὶ συνουσιωμέ- νην· πεπλάνηται γαρ ἀκούσας, ὅτι οὐδεὶς ἀναβέδη- κεν εἰς τὸν οὐρανὸν, εἰ μὴ ὁ ἐκ τοῦ οὐρανοῦ καταβάς ὁ Υἱὸς τοῦ ἀνθρώπου. Οὐκ ἀγνοῶν, κ. τ. λ. Cfr. lib. 1, ep. 255. Р. 681.- LIB. I, EP. 209. P. 61, lit. D, lin. 3. Ρ. έστιν, cat. ἐστι.