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Chapter 13ChrysOlymp.1.13

ΕΠΙΣΤΟΛΗ ΙΓʹ

Your Trophy and Humility

Chrysostom celebrates Olympias's victory and humility, showing that her suffering and praise to God have dealt a mortal blow to the devil.

What are you saying? Didn't you raise a trophy and win a brilliant victory? Didn't you crown yourself with a crown that keeps blooming forever? But doesn't the whole world say just that—the whole inhabited earth singing your achievements everywhere? For even if the arenas and the contests are set in one place, and your double-course races and your wrestling bouts, filled with blood instead of sweat, took place right there, still the glory of them and the praise of them have reached the ends of the earth. But you, wanting to make these things even greater and earn more prizes, added to them the crowns that come from humility, saying you fall as far short of these trophies as the dead fall short of the living. For that these are words of humility—rather, I'll try to prove it to you from the very things that have happened. You were driven from your homeland, house, friends, and relatives; you were moved into exile; day after day you never stopped dying, and what nature fell short of, you made up for by the abundance of your deliberate choice. For since it's impossible for a human being to die many deaths in actual experience, you've done this by resolve. And what's greatest of all: while suffering some things and expecting to suffer others, you never stopped offering praise to the God who allows these things to happen, and dealing the devil a mortal blow.1 That he did take a mortal blow was shown by the way he came on more fiercely and armed himself more heavily; that's why what came later became harsher than what came first. For just as a scorpion or a snake, when it takes a deeper wound, rears up more fiercely, raising its stinger against the one who struck it, and gives as proof of its great pain the violent rush against the one who hit it—so too that shameless beast, once it received deep wounds from your wondrous and lofty soul, sprang at you more fiercely and brought on still more trials.

Do Not Be Troubled

Chrysostom urges Olympias not to be troubled, reminding her that her treasure is inviolable, and that she should instead pity those who persecute her.

For he brought them on—not God. But God allowed it, increasing your wealth, expanding your business, securing a fuller reward and a more generous return.2 So don't be troubled or thrown into turmoil. For who ever grew weary while getting rich? Who was thrown into confusion while rising to the highest offices? And if people who gather these human things—perishable things, weaker than a shadow, fading even faster than rotting flowers—leap and dance and soar with a pleasure that appears and flies away at the same moment and mimics the rush of river currents, how much more is it right for you, even if you were dejected before, to make the present moment an occasion of the greatest cheerfulness.✦ For the treasure you've gathered is inviolable; and the dignity forged through these sufferings has no successor and no end, but is boundless—not cut short by hard times, or by human plots, or by demonic assaults, or even by death itself.3 And if you also want to mourn, mourn those who do such things—the perpetrators of these evils, the agents who have stored up for themselves a vast punishment for the future and have already paid the ultimate price here, with so many turning away from them, seeing them as enemies, cursing them, and condemning them.✦ And if they don't realize any of this, for that very reason they're especially pitiful and deserve tears—like people seized by brain fever, who kick and strike those they meet randomly and pointlessly, often even their benefactors and friends, without realizing the madness they are caught up in.4 That's why their disease is also incurable: they neither accept physicians nor tolerate medicines, but repay even those who want to heal and do them good with the opposite. So for this reason too they're pitiful—if indeed they don't realize how great their wickedness is.

Conscience as Accuser

Chrysostom uses the examples of Joseph's brothers and Judas to illustrate how conscience inevitably accuses the sinner, even when external accusations are absent.

But even if they don't turn back under other people's condemnation, it's impossible for them to escape the rebuke of their own conscience—the inescapable, impartial rebuke that yields to no fear, that isn't corrupted by flattery or by gifts of money, and that doesn't fade with the long passage of time. For Jacob's son—who told his father that a wild beast had eaten Joseph, played out that wicked drama, and tried with that mask to cover up the killing of his brother—deceived his father then, but he did not deceive his conscience or persuade it to keep quiet; rather, it kept rising against him, crying out without stop, and was never silenced. For after a long time had passed, the one who had denied to the father who begot him the daring crime he had committed, who had told none of the other people—with no one accusing, no one convicting, no one standing over him, no one reminding him of that staged plot—when he was in danger for his freedom and even for life itself, showing that the accuser of his conscience had not been silenced in so long a time nor buried, spoke these words: "Yes, for we are under the guilt of sin concerning our brother. When he pleaded with us, we overlooked his distress and the anguish of his soul; and now his blood is being required of us."5 And yet the charge brought against him was something else: he was being tried for theft and led into court as one who had stolen a golden cup. But since he was conscious of none of these things in himself, he felt no pain over them and did not say he was suffering for the things for which he was being judged and led as a prisoner. For the things of which no one was accusing him, no one demanding an account, no one dragging him to court—indeed, which no one even knew he had dared—for those very things he himself becomes both his own reproof and his own accuser.6 For his conscience was taking hold of him; and the one who with such license had shed his brother's blood and suffered nothing was now becoming compassionate too. He was accusing the company of those who had shared with him in the bloodshed, and was making a tragedy of all the cruelty, saying: "When he pleaded with us, we overlooked his distress and the anguish of his soul." For nature alone, he says, would have been enough to soften us and bend us toward mercy; but he even added tears and offered a plea, and not even then did he bend us. Instead, "we overlooked his distress and the anguish of his soul." For this reason, he says, this court has been assembled for us; we are in danger over blood because we, too, have sinned against blood. In the same way, Judas could not bear the reproof of his conscience, so he rushed to a noose and ended his life by hanging. And when he was daring that shameless bargain, saying, "What do you want to give me, and I will hand him over to you," he was not ashamed before those listening that he, a disciple, was cooking up such things about his teacher; he was not pierced with compunction in the days in between, but still drunk on the pleasure of greed for money, he did not keenly feel the accusation of his conscience. But once he committed the sin and took the silver, and the pleasure of the profit stopped while the full weight of his offense was now upon him, then—with no one compelling him, no one forcing him, no one urging him—he went on his own, threw the silver back at those who had given it, and confessed his crime as they listened, saying: 'I have sinned by betraying innocent blood.'✦ For he could not bear the conviction of his conscience. For that's what sin is like: before it's finished, it makes the person caught in it drunk; but once it's fulfilled and complete, then the pleasures of that enjoyment fade and die out, and the accuser finally stands exposed, taking the executioner's place for the conscience, flaying the sinner, exacting the ultimate penalty, and pressing down heavier than any lead.7

Mourn for Sinners, Rejoice in Suffering

Chrysostom exhorts Olympias to weep for sinners rather than for herself, and assures her that trials make her stronger, like a rock unmoved by waves.

And that's what things are like here. As for what's waiting for them there, you know how great the evils are for those who have done so much wrong. So these are the ones we need to weep for, these are the ones we need to mourn—because Paul did the same. He shared the joy of those contending, struggling, and suffering hard, but mourned those who were sinning. That's why he also said: "I'm afraid that when I come, my God may humble me before you, and I may mourn many who have already sinned and haven't repented of the licentiousness and uncleanness they practiced."✦ But to those in the struggle: "I rejoice, and I rejoice with you all."✦ So don't let anything unsettle you—neither what has already happened nor what is threatened. For the waves don't shake the rock either. The greater the force with which they crash against it, the more completely they destroy themselves. And that's exactly what has happened and will happen with these people too—indeed, far more so. The waves don't shake the rock; but as for you, they not only failed to shake you—they made you stronger. That's how wickedness is, and that's how virtue is. The one, when it goes on the attack, is destroyed; the other, when attacked, shines all the more brightly.8

Virtue's Prize in the Struggle

Chrysostom explains that virtue and vice carry their own rewards and punishments within the act itself, illustrating with Paul's teaching and prophetic animal imagery.

Virtue has its rewards not only after the contests, but even in the contests themselves; the struggle itself becomes its prize. But vice, when it wins, is then most of all put to shame, then punished, then filled with great dishonor—and even before the punishment stored up for it, it is punished in the very doing, not only after the act. But if the point is still rather unclear, listen to the blessed Paul as he draws the distinction. For when he was writing once to the Romans, exposing the unclean lives of some people and showing that even before the punishment, in the very act itself, sin already has its punishment bound up with it—mentioning lawless unions of women and of men who overstep the bounds of nature and invent some unnatural desire—he puts it something like this: "For their women exchanged natural relations for those that are against nature." Likewise the males, abandoning natural relations with females, burned in their desire for one another, males with males committing shameless acts and receiving in themselves the penalty their error deserved." What are you saying, Paul? And yet those who dare these things take pleasure, and they carry out this lawless union with desire. How then did you say they are punished in this very thing? Because, he says, I base the verdict not on the pleasure of those who are sick, but on the nature of the things themselves. For the adulterer too is punished even before the judgment, in the very act of adultery—even if he seems to take pleasure—making his soul worse and baser. And the murderer, before he ever sees a court and sharpened swords and answers for what he dared, has already perished in the very act of killing—he too making his own soul baser. And what sickness is to the body—fever, dropsy, or anything else like that—and what rust is to iron, moth to wool, and worm to wood: that's what vice is to the soul. For it makes the soul slavish and unfree—why do I say slavish and unfree? It turns it into the soul of irrational creatures, making one a wolf's, another a dog's, another a snake's, another a viper's, another some other beast's. And the prophets, making this clear and putting the change that comes from vice before everyone's eyes, one of them said: "Mute dogs that cannot bark," comparing the underhanded among people who plot in secret to the mad dogs among them.✦ For when those dogs go mad, they don't come barking; they approach in silence and treat those they've caught worse than the ones that bark. And another in turn called some people a crow.9 And another said: "A human being in honor did not understand; he was ranked with the senseless beasts and became like them." And the one greater than the prophets, the son of the barren woman, standing by the Jordan, named some people "snakes and offspring of vipers." So what punishment could equal this, when the one made in the image of God and granted such great honor—the rational and gentlest of living creatures—falls into such savagery?

Endurance and Joy in False Accusation

Chrysostom concludes by extolling endurance as the queen of virtues, urging Olympias to rejoice in her false accusation and promising imminent release from trials.

You've seen how vice carries its own punishment inside itself even before the penalty comes. Learn how, in virtue too, virtue itself becomes its own prize even before the awards. So just as with the body — for nothing stops us from using the same example again, since it makes the point so clear — just as with the body, the person who is healthy and robust and free of every illness enjoys, even before any luxury, this very thing: pleasure bound up with health itself; and neither unsettled weather, nor drought, nor cold, nor a plain table, nor anything else of that kind could grieve him, since health is enough to ward off the harm from all these — so it is also with the soul.10 That is why Paul too, though flogged, driven out, and suffering countless hardships, still rejoiced, saying: "I rejoice in my sufferings for your sake." The prize of virtue is not stored only in the kingdom of heaven, but also in the suffering itself — since even this is a greatest prize: to suffer something for the truth. That is why the company of the apostles also came back from the Jewish council rejoicing — not only because of the kingdom of heaven, but because they had been counted worthy to be dishonored for the name of Jesus. For this very thing is also, in itself, the greatest honor and a crown, and prizes, and a source of unfading joy.11 So rejoice and leap for joy. For this contest of false accusation is no small one, but very great — especially when it comes under so great a charge as the one they have now brought against you by slander in a public court, accusing you of arson.12 That’s also why Solomon, wanting to show how harsh this struggle is, says: “I saw the false accusations done under the sun, and look—the tears of those falsely accused, and there was no one to comfort them.”✦ And if the contest is great—as it truly is—it’s clear that the crown set for it is greater still. That’s why Christ himself commands those who fight this fight with the patience it deserves to rejoice and leap for joy. “Rejoice,” he says, “and leap for joy when they speak every evil word against you falsely for my sake, because your reward is great in heaven.” Do you see how much joy, how great a reward, how much gladness our enemies have caused for us? So how is it not absurd for you to inflict on yourself the very evils they could not work against you—evils of which they have in fact done the opposite? What do I mean? Not only were they unable to exact a penalty from you; they even gave you an occasion for gladness and a ground of unfading joy.13 But you, wearing yourself down like this under dejection, are exacting a penalty from yourself—confused, thrown into turmoil, filled with deep grief. These are the things they should be doing, if they ever even belatedly wanted to recognize their own evils. They would be right—right now—to mourn, to lament, to sink down, to hide their faces, to bury themselves underground—not even looking at this sun, but shutting themselves away somewhere in darkness to weep both for their own evils and for the evils with which they have surrounded so many churches. But you must exult and rejoice, because the chief of the virtues has been accomplished in you.14 For you know — you know it clearly — that nothing equals endurance; no, this above all is the queen of the virtues, the foundation of every right achievement, the harbor free of waves, peace in the midst of wars, calm in the storm, safety amid plots, the virtue that makes the one who has mastered it harder than diamond — and neither weapons swinging, nor armies drawn up for battle, nor engines brought against it, nor bows, nor spears hurled, nor even the army of the demons itself, nor the dark phalanxes of the opposing powers, nor the devil himself, arrayed with all his host and every device of his, will be able to harm it.15 So what are you afraid of? Why do you grieve — you who have trained yourself to hold even life itself in contempt, if the time should call for it? But do you long to see release from the evils that hold you? That will come too, and soon, God willing. So rejoice and be glad; take delight in your achievements, and never despair that we will see you again and remind you of these words.

Read the original Greek

Τί φῄς; Οὐκ ἔστησας τρόπαιον οὐδὲ ἤρω νίκην λαμπράν; οὐδὲ ἀνεδήσω στέφανον ἀνθοῦντα διηνεκῶς; Ἀλλ' οὐ ταῦτά φησιν ἡ οἰκουμένη πᾶσα ἡ πανταχοῦ τῆς γῆς ᾄδουσά σου τὰ κατορθώματα; Εἰ γὰρ καὶ τὰ σκάμματα καὶ οἱ ἀγῶνες ἐν ἑνὶ ἵδρυνται χωρίῳ καὶ οἱ δίαυλοί σου τῶν δρόμων καὶ τὰ ἀντὶ ἱδρῶτος αἵματος ἐμπεπλησμένα σου παλαίσματα αὐτόθι γέγονεν, ἀλλ' ἡ δόξα τούτων καὶ ἡ εὐφημία τὰ τέρματα κατείληφε τῆς οἰκουμένης. Σὺ δὲ αὐτὰ μείζω βουλομένη ποιῆσαι καὶ πλείονα τὰ βραβεῖα ἐργάσασθαι, καὶ τοὺς ἀπὸ τῆς ταπεινοφροσύνης αὐτοῖς προσέθηκας στεφάνους λέγουσα τοσοῦτον ἀπέχειν τῶν τροπαίων τούτων ὅσον οἱ νεκροὶ τῶν ζώντων. Ὅτι γὰρ ταπεινοφροσύνης τὰ ῥήματα, μᾶλλον ἐξ αὐτῶν σε ἐλέγξαι πειράσομαι τῶν γεγενημένων. Ἐξέπεσες πατρίδος, οἰκίας, φίλων, συγγενῶν· πρὸς τὴν ὑπερορίαν μετέστης· οὐ διέλιπες καθ' ἑκάστην ἀποθνῄσκουσα τὴν ἡμέραν καὶ τὸ τῇ φύσει λεῖπον τῇ περιουσίᾳ τῆς προαιρέσεως ἀναπληροῦσα. Ἐπειδὴ γὰρ οὐκ ἔνι ἄνθρωπον ὄντα τῇ πείρᾳ πολλοὺς θανάτους ἀποθανεῖν, τῇ γνώμῃ τοῦτο πεποίηκας. Καὶ τὸ δὴ μέγιστον, τὰ μὲν πάσχουσα, τὰ δὲ πείσεσθαι προσδοκῶσα οὐκ ἐπαύσω τῷ συγχωροῦντι Θεῷ ταῦτα γίνεσθαι τὴν ὑπὲρ αὐτῶν ἀναφέρουσα δοξολογίαν καὶ καιρίαν τῷ διαβόλῳ διδοῦσα πληγήν. Ὅτι γὰρ καὶ καιρίαν ἐδέξατο, ἔδειξε δι' ὧν μειζόνως προσιὼν ὡπλίζετο· διὸ καὶ χαλεπώτερα τὰ ὕστερα τῶν πρώτων γέγονε. Καθάπερ γὰρ σκορπίος ἢ ὄφις, ὅταν βαθυτέραν λάβῃ πληγήν, μειζόνως τὸ κέντρον ἄρας κατὰ τοῦ πλήξαντος ἐξανίσταται, τῆς πολλῆς ἀλγηδόνος ἀπόδειξιν παρέχων τὴν ῥαγδαίαν κατὰ τοῦ παίοντος ῥύμην, οὕτω δὴ καὶ τὸ ἀναίσχυντον θηρίον ἐκεῖνο, ἐπειδὴ τὰ τραύματα εἰς βάθος ἐδέξατο παρὰ τῆς θαυμασίας σου καὶ ὑψηλῆς ψυχῆς, μειζόνως ἐπεπήδησε καὶ πλείους ἐπήγαγε πειρασμούς.

Ἐπήγαγε μὲν γὰρ ἐκεῖνος, οὐχ ὁ Θεός· συνεχώρησε δὲ ὁ Θεὸς αὔξων σου τὸν πλοῦτον, μείζονα ποιῶν τὴν ἐμπορίαν, πλείονα προξενῶν τὸν μισθόν, δαψιλεστέραν τὴν ἀντίδοσιν. Μὴ τοίνυν ταράττου μηδὲ θορυβοῦ. Τίς γάρ ποτε ἔκαμε πλουτῶν; τίς συνεχύθη ἐπὶ τὰς ὑψηλοτάτας ἐρχόμενος ἀρχάς; Εἰ δὲ οἱ τὰ ἀνθρώπινα ταῦτα συνάγοντες, τὰ ἐπίκηρα καὶ σκιᾶς ἀδρανέστερα καὶ ἀνθῶν σηπομένων μᾶλλον μαραινόμενα, σκιρτῶσι, χορεύουσι, πέτονται ὑπὸ τῆς ἡδονῆς, τῆς ὁμοῦ τε φαινομένης καὶ ἀφιπταμένης καὶ ποταμίων ῥευμάτων μιμουμένης δρόμον, πολλῷ μᾶλλον σὲ δίκαιον, καὶ εἰ πρότερον ἦς ἐν ἀθυμίᾳ, τὸν παρόντα καιρὸν εὐθυμίας μεγίστης ποιήσασθαι πρόφασιν. Καὶ γὰρ ὁ θησαυρός σου ὃν συνήγαγες ἄσυλος· καὶ τὸ ἀξίωμα τὸ διὰ τῶν παθημάτων τούτων συγκροτηθὲν διαδοχὴν οὐκ οἶδεν οὐδὲ ἀναμένει τέλος, ἀλλ' ἔστιν ἀπέραντον, οὐ δυσκολίᾳ καιρῶν, οὐκ ἀνθρώπων ἐπιβουλαῖς, οὐ δαιμόνων ἐφόδοις, οὐκ αὐτῇ διακοπτόμενον τῇ τελευτῇ. Εἰ δὲ βούλει καὶ θρηνεῖν, τοὺς τὰ τοιαῦτα ἐργαζομένους θρήνει, τοὺς τῶν κακῶν τούτων αὐθέντας, τοὺς ὑπηρέτας οἳ καὶ εἰς τὸ μέλλον μεγίστην ἐθησαύρισαν ἑαυτοῖς τιμωρίαν καὶ ἐνταῦθα δίκην ἔδοσαν ἤδη τὴν ἐσχάτην, τοσούτων ἀποστρεφομένων αὐτοὺς καὶ πολεμίους ἡγουμένων, ἐπαρωμένων, καταδικαζόντων. Εἰ δὲ οὐκ αἰσθάνονται τούτων, καὶ διὰ τοῦτο μάλιστά εἰσιν ἐλεεινοὶ καὶ δακρύων ἄξιοι, καθάπερ οἱ φρενίτιδι κατεχόμενοι νόσῳ, λακτίζοντες μὲν καὶ παίοντες τοὺς ἀπαντῶντας εἰκῆ καὶ μάτην, πολλάκις δὲ καὶ τοὺς εὐηργετηκότας καὶ φίλους, οὐκ αἰσθανόμενοι δὲ τῆς μανίας ἣν μαίνονται. ∆ιὸ καὶ ἀνίατα νοσοῦσιν, οὔτε ἰατροὺς προσιέμενοι, οὔτε φαρμάκων ἀνεχόμενοι, ἀλλὰ καὶ τοὺς θεραπεύειν καὶ εὐεργετεῖν βουλομένους τοῖς ἐναντίοις ἀμειβόμενοι. Ὥστε καὶ διὰ τοῦτο ἐλεεινοί, εἴ γε μὴ αἰσθάνονται τῆς τοσαύτης πονηρίας.

Εἰ δὲ καὶ πρὸς τὴν ἑτέρων κατάγνωσιν οὐκ ἐπιστρέφονται, τοῦ οἰκείου συνειδότος τὸν ἔλεγχον ἀμήχανον αὐτοὺς διαφυγεῖν, τὸν ἄφυκτον, τὸν ἀδέκαστον, τὸν οὐδενὶ εἴκοντα φόβῳ, τὸν οὐ κολακείᾳ, οὐ χρημάτων δόσει διαφθειρόμενον, οὐ χρόνῳ μακρῷ μαραινόμενον.

Ὁ γὰρ τοῦ Ἰακὼβ υἱὸς ὁ πρὸς τὸν πατέρα εἰπὼν ὅτι θηρίον πονηρὸν κατέφαγε τὸν Ἰωσήφ, καὶ τὸ πονηρὸν ἐκεῖνο ὑποκρινάμενος δρᾶμα, καὶ τῷ προσωπείῳ τούτῳ τὴν ἀδελφοκτονίαν συσκιάσαι ἐπιχειρήσας, τὸν μὲν πατέρα ἠπάτησε τότε, τὸ δὲ συνειδὸς οὐκ ἠπάτησεν οὐδὲ ἔπεισεν ἡσυχάζειν· ἀλλ' ἔμενεν αὐτοῦ κατεξανιστάμενον καταβοῶν διηνεκῶς καὶ οὐδέποτε ἐπιστομιζόμενον. Χρόνου γὰρ παρελθόντος μακροῦ, ὁ τὸν γεγεννηκότα ἀρνησάμενος τὸ τόλμημα ὅπερ ἐτόλμησεν, ὁ μηδενὶ τῶν ἄλλων ἀνθρώπων ἐξειπών, οὐδενὸς κατηγοροῦντος, οὐδενὸς ἐλέγχοντος, οὐδενὸς ἐφεστῶτος, οὐδενὸς ἀναμιμνήσκοντος τῆς δραματουργίας ἐκείνης, κινδυνεύων περὶ ἐλευθερίας καὶ αὐτοῦ τοῦ ζῇν, δεικνὺς ὅτι οὐκ ἐπεστομίσθη τοῦ συνειδότος ὁ κατήγορος ἐν οὕτω μακρῷ χρόνῳ οὐδὲ κατεχώσθη, ταῦτά φησι τὰ ῥήματα· «Ναί· ἐν ἁμαρτίαις γάρ ἐσμεν περὶ τοῦ ἀδελφοῦ ἡμῶν· ὅτε κατεδέετο ἡμῶν, καὶ ὑπερείδομεν τὴν θλῖψιν αὐτοῦ καὶ τὴν ὀδύνην τῆς ψυχῆς αὐτοῦ· καὶ νῦν ἐκζητεῖται τὸ αἷμα αὐτοῦ ἐξ ἡμῶν.» Καίτοι ἕτερον ἦν ὅπερ ἐπήγετο αὐτῷ ἔγκλημα καὶ διὰ κλοπὴν ἐκρίνετο καὶ ὡς ὑφελόμενος κύλικα χρυσῆν οὕτως εἰς δικαστήριον ἤγετο· ἀλλ' ἐπειδὴ τούτων ἑαυτῷ οὐδὲν συνῄδει, ὑπὲρ μὲν τούτων οὐκ ἤλγει, οὐδὲ ἔφη ταῦτα πάσχειν ὑπὲρ ὧν ἐκρίνετο καὶ δέσμιος ἤγετο, ὑπὲρ δὲ ὧν οὐδεὶς ἐνεκάλει, οὐδὲ εὐθύνας ἀπῄτει, οὐδὲ εἰς δικαστήριον εἷλκε, μᾶλλον δὲ οὐδὲ ᾔδει τετολμημένων αὐτῷ, ὑπὲρ δὴ τούτων αὐτὸς ἑαυτοῦ καὶ ἔλεγχος καὶ κατήγορος γίνεται. Ἐπελαμβάνετο γὰρ αὐτοῦ τὸ συνειδὸς καὶ ὁ μετὰ ἀδείας τοσαύτης τὸ αἷμα ἐκχέας τοῦ ἀδελφοῦ καὶ μηδὲν παθών, νῦν καὶ συμπαθητικὸς ἐγίνετο, καὶ τοῦ χοροῦ τῶν κοινωνησάντων αὐτῷ τῆς μιαιφονίας κατηγόρει καὶ τὴν ὠμότητα πᾶσαν ἐτραγῴδει λέγων· «Ὅτε κατεδέετο ἡμῶν, καὶ ὑπερείδομεν τὴν θλῖψιν αὐτοῦ καὶ τὴν ὀδύνην τῆς ψυχῆς αὐτοῦ.» Ἤρκει μὲν γὰρ ἡ φύσις, φησί, μαλάξαι καὶ ἐπικάμψαι πρὸς ἔλεον, ὁ δὲ καὶ δάκρυα προσετίθει καὶ ἱκετηρίαν ἐτίθει, καὶ οὐδὲ οὕτως ἡμᾶς ἐπέκαμψεν· ἀλλ' «ὑπερείδομεν τὴν θλῖψιν αὐτοῦ καὶ τὴν ὀδύνην τῆς ψυχῆς αὐτοῦ». ∆ιὰ τοῦτο ἡμῖν τὸ δικαστήριον τοῦτο συγκεκρότηται, φησί, διὰ τοῦτο περὶ αἵματος κινδυνεύομεν, ἐπειδὴ καὶ ἡμεῖς εἰς αἷμα ἡμαρτήκαμεν. Οὕτω καὶ ὁ Ἰούδας οὐκ ἐνεγκὼν τοῦ συνειδότος τὸν ἔλεγχον, ἐπὶ βρόχον ὥρμησε καὶ δι' ἀγχόνης τὸν βίον κατέλυσεν. Καὶ ὅτε μὲν τὸ ἀναίσχυντον ἐκεῖνο συμβόλαιον ἐτόλμα, λέγων· «Τί θέλετέ μοι δοῦναι, κἀγὼ ὑμῖν αὐτὸν παραδώσω», οὐ τοὺς ἀκούοντας ᾐσχύνετο ὅτι μαθητὴς ὢν τοιαῦτα περὶ διδασκάλου ἐτύρευεν, οὐκ ἐν ταῖς ἡμέραις ταῖς μεταξὺ κατενύγη, ἀλλὰ μεθύων ἔτι τῇ ἡδονῇ τῆς φιλαργυρίας, οὐ σφόδρα ᾐσθάνετο τῆς κατηγορίας τοῦ συνειδότος.

Ἐπειδὴ δὲ ἔπραξε τὴν ἁμαρτίαν καὶ τὸ ἀργύριον ἔλαβε καὶ ἡ ἡδονὴ μὲν ἐπαύσατο τοῦ λήμματος, ἡ δὲ κατηγορία τοῦ πλημμελήματος ἤνθει λοιπόν, τότε μηδενὸς ἀναγκάζοντος, μηδενὸς βιαζομένου, μηδενὸς παραινοῦντος, αὐτόματος ἀπελθών, τό τε ἀργύριον προσέρριψε τοῖς δεδωκόσι καὶ τὴν παρανομίαν ὡμολόγησεν αὐτοῦ, ἀκουόντων ἐκείνων λέγων· «Ἥμαρτον παραδοὺς αἷμα ἀθῶον.» Οὐ γὰρ ἤνεγκε τοῦ συνειδότος τὸν ἔλεγχον. Τοιοῦτον γὰρ ἡ ἁμαρτία· πρὶν ἢ μὲν ἀπαρτισθῆναι, μεθύειν ποιεῖ τὸν ἁλόντα· ἐπειδὰν δὲ πληρωθῇ καὶ ἀπαρτισθῇ, τότε τὰ μὲν τῆς ἡδονῆς ταύτης ὑπεξίσταται καὶ σβέννυται, γυμνὸς δὲ ἕστηκε λοιπὸν ὁ κατήγορος, τοῦ συνειδότος δημίου τάξιν ἐπέχων, καὶ καταξαίνων τὸν πεπλημμεληκότα, καὶ τὴν ἐσχάτην ἀπαιτῶν δίκην, καὶ μολίβδου παντὸς βαρύτερον ἐπικείμενος.

Καὶ τὰ μὲν ἐνταῦθα τοιαῦτα· τὰ δὲ ἐκεῖ, οἶσθα ἡλίκα τοῖς τοσαῦτα ἐργασαμένοις κακά. Τούτους οὖν χρὴ δακρύειν, τούτους θρηνεῖν, ἐπεὶ καὶ Παῦλος οὕτως ἐποίει, τοῖς μὲν ἀθλοῦσι καὶ ἀγωνιζομένοις καὶ κακῶς πάσχουσι συνηδόμενος, τοὺς δὲ ἁμαρτάνοντας πενθῶν· διὸ καὶ ἔλεγε· «Μήπως ἐλθόντα με ταπεινώσῃ ὁ Θεός μου πρὸς ὑμᾶς καὶ πενθήσω πολλοὺς τῶν προημαρτηκότων καὶ μὴ μετανοησάντων ἐπὶ τῇ ἀσελγείᾳ καὶ ἀκαθαρσίᾳ ᾗ ἔπραξαν.» Τοῖς δὲ ἀγωνιζομένοις· «Χαίρω καὶ συγχαίρω πᾶσιν ὑμῖν.» Μηδὲν τοίνυν σε θορυβείτω μήτε τῶν γενομένων, μήτε τῶν ἀπειλουμένων. Οὐδὲ γὰρ τὴν πέτραν διασαλεύει τὰ κύματα, ἀλλ' ὅσῳ μετὰ πλείονος προσρήγνυνται τῆς ῥύμης, τοσούτῳ μειζόνως ἑαυτὰ ἀφανίζει· ὃ δὴ καὶ ἐπὶ τούτων καὶ γέγονε καὶ ἔσται, μᾶλλον δὲ καὶ πολλῷ πλέον. Τὴν μὲν γὰρ πέτραν οὐ διασαλεύει τὰ κύματα· σὲ δὲ οὐ μόνον οὐ διεσάλευσεν, ἀλλὰ καὶ ἰσχυροτέραν πεποίηκεν. Τοιοῦτον γὰρ ἡ κακία, τοιοῦτον ἡ ἀρετή. Ἡ μὲν πολεμοῦσα, καταλύεται· ἡ δὲ πολεμουμένη, διαλάμπει μειζόνως.

Καὶ ἡ μὲν οὐ μετὰ τοὺς ἀγῶνας μόνον, ἀλλὰ καὶ ἐν αὐτοῖς τοῖς ἀγῶσιν ἔχει τὰ βραβεῖα καὶ ὁ ἆθλος ἔπαθλον αὐτῇ γίνεται· ἡ δὲ ὅταν νικήσῃ, τότε μάλιστα καταισχύνεται, τότε κολάζεται, τότε πολλῆς πληροῦται τῆς ἀτιμίας καὶ πρὸ τῆς ἀποκειμένης αὐτῇ κολάσεως, ἐν αὐτῷ τῷ πράττειν τιμωρουμένη, οὐχὶ μετὰ τὸ πρᾶξαι μόνον. Εἰ δὲ ἀσαφέστερος ὁ λόγος, ἄκουσον τοῦ μακαρίου Παύλου ταῦτα ἀμφότερα διακρίνοντος. Γράφων γάρ ποτε Ῥωμαίοις καὶ τὸν ἀκάθαρτόν τινων ἐκπομπεύων βίον καὶ δεικνὺς ὅτι καὶ πρὸ τῆς τιμωρίας ἐν αὐτῇ τῇ πράξει τὴν τιμωρίαν ἡ ἁμαρτία συγκεκληρωμένην ἔχει, μίξεων παρανόμων μνησθεὶς γυναικῶν τε καὶ ἀνδρῶν τῶν τοὺς ὅρους τῆς φύσεως ὑπερβαινόντων καὶ ἐπιθυμίαν τινὰ ἀλλόκοτον ἐπινοησάντων, οὕτω πώς φησιν· «Αἱ γὰρ θήλειαι αὐτῶν μετήλλαξαν τὴν φυσικὴν χρῆσιν εἰς τὴν παρὰ φύσιν. Ὁμοίως δὲ καὶ οἱ ἄρρενες ἀφέντες τὴν φυσικὴν χρῆσιν τῆς θηλείας ἐξεκαύθησαν ἐν τῇ ὀρέξει αὐτῶν εἰς ἀλλήλους, ἄρρενες ἐν ἄρρεσι τὴν ἀσχημοσύνην κατεργαζόμενοι καὶ τὴν ἀντιμισθίαν ἣν ἔδει τῆς πλάνης αὐτῶν ἐν ἑαυτοῖς ἀπολαμβάνοντες.» Τί λέγεις, ὦ Παῦλε; Καὶ μὴν ἥδονται οἱ ταῦτα τολμῶντες καὶ μετ' ἐπιθυμίας τὴν παράνομον ταύτην ἐργάζονται μίξιν. Πῶς οὖν αὐτοὺς ἔφης κολάζεσθαι ἐν αὐτῷ δὴ τούτῳ; Ὅτι τὴν ψῆφον, φησίν, οὐκ ἀπὸ τῆς ἡδονῆς τῶν νοσούντων, ἀλλ' ἀπὸ τῆς τῶν πραγμάτων ἐκφέρω φύσεως. Ἐπεὶ καὶ ὁ μοιχὸς καὶ πρὸ τῆς τιμωρίας, ἐν αὐτῷ τῷ μοιχεύειν κολάζεται, κἂν ἥδεσθαι δοκῇ τὴν ψυχὴν χείρονα ποιῶν καὶ φαυλοτέραν. Καὶ ὁ ἀνδροφόνος, πρὶν ἢ δικαστήριον ἰδεῖν καὶ ξίφη ἠκονημένα καὶ δοῦναι εὐθύνας τῶν τετολμημένων, ἐν αὐτῷ τῷ φονεύειν ἀπόλωλεν, πάλιν καὶ αὐτὸς φαυλοτέραν ἑαυτῷ κατασκευάζων τὴν ψυχήν.

Καὶ ὅπερ ἐστὶν ἐπὶ σώματος ἀρρωστία, πυρετὸς ἢ ὕδερος ἢ ἄλλο τι τῶν τοιούτων, καὶ ἐπὶ σιδήρου ἰός, καὶ ἐπὶ ἐρίου σής, καὶ ἐπὶ ξύλου σκώληξ, τοῦτο ἐπὶ ψυχῆς κακία. Καὶ γὰρ ἀνδραποδώδη αὐτὴν ποιεῖ καὶ ἀνελευθέραν· τί λέγω ἀνδραποδώδη καὶ ἀνελευθέραν; Ἀλόγων αὐτὴν ἐργάζεται ψυχήν, τὴν μὲν λύκου, τὴν δὲ κυνός, τὴν δὲ ὄφεως, τὴν δὲ ἐχίδνης, τὴν δὲ ἑτέρου θηρίου ποιοῦσα. Καὶ τοῦτο δηλοῦντες οἱ προφῆται καὶ τὴν ἐκ τῆς κακίας μεταβολὴν πᾶσι γνώριμον ποιοῦντες, ὁ μὲν ἔλεγε· «Κύνες ἐνεοὶ οὐ δυνάμενοι ὑλακτεῖν», τοὺς ὑπούλους τῶν ἀνθρώπων καὶ λαθραίως ἐπιβουλεύοντας τοῖς λυττῶσι τῶν κυνῶν παραβάλλων. Οὐδὲ γὰρ μετὰ ὑλακῆς, ὅταν λυττῶσιν, ἐπέρχονται ἐκεῖνοι, ἀλλὰ σιγῇ προσιόντες χείρονα τῶν ὑλακτούντων ἐργάζονται τοὺς ἁλόντας. Ὁ δὲ «κορώνην» ἐκάλει πάλιν τινὰς ἀνθρώπους. Ὁ δὲ ἔλεγεν· «Ἄνθρωπος ἐν τιμῇ ὢν οὐ συνῆκε· παρασυνεβλήθη τοῖς κτήνεσι τοῖς ἀνοήτοις καὶ ὡμοιώθη αὐτοῖς.» Ὁ δὲ περισσότερος προφητῶν, ὁ τῆς στείρας υἱός, καὶ «ὄφεις καὶ γεννήματα ἐχιδνῶν» παρὰ τὸν Ἰορδάνην ἑστὼς τινὰς ὠνόμασεν. Τί ταύτης τοίνυν ἴσον γένοιτ' ἂν τῆς τιμωρίας, ὅταν ὁ κατ' εἰκόνα Θεοῦ γενόμενος καὶ τοσαύτης ἀπολαύσας τιμῆς, τὸ λογικὸν καὶ ἡμερώτατον ζῶον, εἰς τοσαύτην καταπίπτει θηριωδίαν;

Εἶδες πῶς καὶ πρὸ τῆς κολάσεως ἐν ἑαυτῇ τὴν τιμωρίαν ἡ κακία ἔχει; Μάθε πῶς καὶ ἐν τῇ ἀρετῇ καὶ πρὸ τῶν ἐπάθλων αὐτὴ ἑαυτῆς ἔπαθλον ἡ ἀρετὴ γίνεται. Ὥσπερ οὖν ἐν τῷ σώματι –οὐδὲν γὰρ κωλύει πάλιν τῷ αὐτῷ χρήσασθαι παραδείγματι πολλὴν ἐργαζομένῳ τὴν σαφήνειαν –, ὥσπερ οὖν ἐν τῷ σώματι, ὁ ὑγιαίνων καὶ εὐσωματῶν καὶ πάσης ἀπηλλαγμένος ἀρρωστίας καὶ πρὸ τῆς τρυφῆς αὐτὸ τοῦτο τρυφᾷ συγκεκληρωμένην ἔχων τῇ ὑγιείᾳ τὴν ἡδονήν, καὶ οὔτε ἀέρων αὐτὸν ἀνωμαλίαι, οὔτε αὐχμός, οὔτε κρυμός, οὐδὲ εὐτέλεια τραπέζης, οὐκ ἄλλο τι τῶν τοιούτων λυπῆσαι δύναιτ' ἄν, ἀρκούσης τῆς ὑγιείας τὴν ἐκ τούτων διακρούσασθαι βλάβην, οὕτω δὴ καὶ ἐπὶ τῆς ψυχῆς συμβαίνειν εἴωθε. ∆ιὰ τοῦτο καὶ ὁ Παῦλος μαστιγούμενος, ἐλαυνόμενος, τὰ μυρία πάσχων δεινά, ἔχαιρεν οὕτω λέγων· «Χαίρω ἐν τοῖς παθήμασί μου ὑπὲρ ὑμῶν.» Οὐ μόνον ἐν τῇ βασιλείᾳ τῶν οὐρανῶν τὸ ἔπαθλον κεῖται τῆς ἀρετῆς, ἀλλὰ καὶ ἐν αὐτῷ τῷ πάσχειν, ἐπεὶ καὶ τοῦτο μέγιστον ἔπαθλον τὸ ὑπὲρ ἀληθείας τι παθεῖν. ∆ιὰ τοῦτο καὶ ὁ χορὸς τῶν ἀποστόλων ἐπανῄεσαν ἐκ τοῦ συνεδρίου τῶν Ἰουδαίων χαίροντες, οὐ διὰ τὴν βασιλείαν μόνον τῶν οὐρανῶν, ἀλλ' ὅτι κατηξιώθησαν ὑπὲρ τοῦ ὀνόματος Ἰησοῦ ἀτιμασθῆναι. Καὶ αὐτὸ γὰρ τοῦτο καὶ καθ' ἑαυτὸ μεγίστη τιμὴ καὶ στέφανος, καὶ βραβεῖα, καὶ ἡδονῆς ὑπόθεσις ἀμαράντου. Χαῖρε τοίνυν καὶ σκίρτησον. Οὐ γὰρ μικρὸς ἆθλος, ἀλλὰ καὶ σφόδρα μέγας οὗτος ὁ τῆς συκοφαντίας ἐστί, καὶ μάλιστα ὅταν ἐπὶ τοιούτῳ μεγάλῳ ἐγκλήματι γίνηται ἐφ' ᾧ νῦν ὑμᾶς ἐσυκοφάντησαν ἐν δημοσίῳ δικαστηρίῳ τὸν ἐμπρησμὸν ἐγκαλοῦντες.

∆ιὸ καὶ Σαλομὼν τὸ τραχὺ τοῦ ἀγῶνος παραστῆσαι βουλόμενος· «Εἶδον, φησί, τὰς συκοφαντίας τὰς γινομένας ὑπὸ τὸν ἥλιον, καὶ ἰδοὺ δάκρυον τῶν συκοφαντουμένων, καὶ οὐκ ἦν αὐτοὺς ὁ παρακαλῶν.» Εἰ δὲ μέγας ὁ ἀγών, ὥσπερ οὖν μέγας, εὔδηλον ὅτι καὶ ὁ κείμενος ἐπὶ τούτῳ στέφανος μείζων. ∆ιὰ τοῦτο καὶ ὁ Χριστὸς κελεύει χαίρειν καὶ σκιρτᾶν τοὺς τοῦτον ἀγωνιζομένους τὸν ἀγῶνα μετὰ τῆς προσηκούσης ὑπομονῆς. «Χαίρετε γάρ, φησί, καὶ σκιρτήσατε, ὅταν εἴπωσι πᾶν πονηρὸν ῥῆμα καθ' ὑμῶν ψευδόμενοι, ἕνεκεν ἐμοῦ, ὅτι ὁ μισθὸς ὑμῶν πολὺς ἐν τοῖς οὐρανοῖς.» Ὁρᾷς πόσης ἡδονῆς, πόσου μισθοῦ, πόσης εὐφροσύνης ἡμῖν αἴτιοι οἱ πολέμιοι γεγόνασι; Πῶς οὖν οὐκ ἄτοπον ἃ μὴ ἠδυνήθησάν σε ἑργάσασθαι ἐκεῖνοι κακὰ ἀλλ' ὧν τὰ ἐναντία πεποιήκασι, ταῦτα σαυτῇ διατιθέναι; Τί δέ ἐστιν ὅ φημι; Ἐκεῖνοι μὲν οὐ μόνον σε δίκην ἀπαιτῆσαι οὐκ ἴσχυσαν, ἀλλὰ καὶ ἀφορμήν σοι παρέσχον εὐφροσύνης καὶ ἡδονῆς ὑπόθεσιν ἀμαράντου. Σὺ δὲ οὕτω σαυτὴν κατατείνουσα ὑπὸ τῆς ἀθυμίας δίκην σαυτὴν ἀπαιτεῖς, συγχεομένη, ταραττομένη, πολλῆς πληρουμένη λύπης. Ταῦτα γὰρ ἐκείνους ἔδει ποιεῖν, εἴ γε ὀψὲ γοῦν ποτε τὰ οἰκεῖα ἠβουλήθησαν ἐπιγνῶναι κακά. Ἐκεῖνοι πενθεῖν δίκαιοι ἂν εἶεν νῦν, θρηνεῖν, καταδύεσθαι, ἐγκαλύπτεσθαι, κατορωρῦχθαι, μηδὲ τὸν ἥλιον τοῦτον ὁρᾶν, ἀλλ' ἐν σκότῳ που κατακλείσαντες ἑαυτοὺς τά τε οἰκεῖα θρηνεῖν κακὰ καὶ οἷς τοσαύτας Ἐκκλησίας περιέβαλον· σὲ δὲ ἀγάλλεσθαι καὶ χαίρειν χρὴ ὅτι τὸ κεφάλαιόν σοι τῶν ἀρετῶν κατώρθωται.

Οἶσθα γάρ, οἶσθα σαφῶς, ὅτι ὑπομονῆς ἴσον οὐδέν, ἀλλ' αὕτη μάλιστά ἐστιν ἡ βασιλὶς τῶν ἀρετῶν, ὁ θεμέλιος τῶν κατορθωμάτων, λιμὴν ὁ ἀκύμαντος, ἡ ἐν πολέμοις εἰρήνη, ἡ ἐν κλύδωνι γαλήνη, ἡ ἐν ἐπιβουλαῖς ἀσφάλεια, ἡ τὸν κατωρθωκότα αὐτὴν ἀδάμαντος στερρότερον ποιοῦσα, ἣν οὐχ ὅπλα κινούμενα, οὐ στρατόπεδα παραταττόμενα, οὐ μηχανήματα προσαγόμενα, οὐ τόξα, οὐ δόρατα ἀφιέμενα, οὐκ αὐτὸ τῶν δαιμόνων τὸ στρατόπεδον, οὐχ αἱ ζοφεραὶ φάλαγγες τῶν ἀντικειμένων δυνάμεων, οὐκ αὐτὸς ὁ διάβολος μετὰ πάσης αὐτοῦ παραταττόμενος τῆς στρατιᾶς καὶ τῆς μηχανῆς παραβλάψαι δυνήσεται. Τί τοίνυν δέδοικας; Τίνος ἕνεκεν ἀλγεῖς καὶ αὐτοῦ τοῦ ζῇν μελετήσασα καταφρονεῖν, ἢν καιρὸς καλῇ; Ἀλλὰ λύσιν ἐπιθυμεῖς ἰδεῖν τῶν κατεχόντων κακῶν; Ἔσται καὶ τοῦτο καὶ ταχέως ἔσται τοῦ Θεοῦ ἐπιτρέποντος. Χαῖρε τοίνυν καὶ εὐφραίνου, καὶ ἐντρύφα σου τοῖς κατορθώμασι, καὶ μηδέποτε ἀπογνῷς ὅτι σε ὀψόμεθα πάλιν καὶ τῶν ῥημάτων σε ἀναμνήσομεν τούτων.

Scripture echoes

  1. ↩Isa.40.6-Isa.40.8;1Pet.1.24 — A voice says, "Cry out!" And I said, "What shall I cry?" All flesh is grass, and all its faithfulness is like the flower of the field. Isa.40.7 — The grass withers, the flower fades, for the breath of the LORD blows upon it; truly, the grass is the people. Isa.40.8 — The grass withers, the flower fades, but the word of our God stands forever. 1Pet.1.24 — For all flesh is like grass, and all its glory like the flower of grass. The grass withers, and the flower falls,
  2. ↩Rom.2.5 — But because of your hard and unrepentant heart you are storing up wrath for yourself on the day of wrath and revelation of God's righteous judgment.
  3. ↩Matt.27.3-Matt.27.4 — Then Judas, his betrayer, seeing that Jesus had been condemned, was filled with remorse and returned the thirty pieces of silver to the chief priests and elders, Matt.27.4 — "I have sinned," he said, "for I have betrayed innocent blood." But they said, "What is that to us? You will see to it yourselves."
  4. ↩2Cor.12.21 — I fear that when I come again, my God may humble me before you, and I may grieve over many of those who have previously sinned and have not repented of the impurity, sexual immorality, and sensuality they practiced.
  5. ↩Phil.2.17-Phil.2.18 — But even if I am being poured out as a drink offering upon the sacrifice and service of your faith, I rejoice, and I rejoice together with all of you. Phil.2.18 — And in the same way, you also should rejoice, and rejoice with me.
  6. ↩Isa.56.10 — His watchmen are blind, all of them; they know nothing. All of them are mute dogs, unable to bark — dreaming, lying down, loving to slumber.
  7. ↩Eccl.4.1 — Then I turned and saw all the oppression that is done under the sun: and behold, the tears of the oppressed, and there was no one to comfort them; and from the hand of their oppressors there was power, and there was no one to comfort them.

Notes

  1. 1 ↩καιρίαν... πληγήν = a blow to a vital spot / mortal wound; rendered 'mortal blow' for force without archaism.
  2. 2 ↩ἐκεῖνος picks up the devil from the previous section ('that shameless beast'); the trials are his assault, permitted by God for Olympias's spiritual gain.
  3. 3 ↩διαδοχὴν οὐκ οἶδεν: the honor/dignity does not pass to a successor or come in temporary turns; it is permanent rather than transferable or term-limited.
  4. 4 ↩φρενίτιδι ... νόσῳ: phrenitis, an ancient diagnosis of brain fever/delirium; rendered here as 'brain fever' to keep the medical force without modern clinical overclaim.
  5. 5 ↩ἐν ἁμαρτίαις... ἐσμεν περὶ rendered as 'under the guilt of sin concerning' to capture moral liability, not a mere feeling of sinfulness.
  6. 6 ↩Chrysostom says a golden cup (κύλικα χρυσῆν); Genesis 44 has a silver cup. Translated as the Greek reads.
  7. 7 ↩τοῦ συνειδότος δημίου τάξιν ἐπέχων: the personified accuser (conscience) now holds the office of public executioner (δήμιος), not merely prosecutor.
  8. 8 ↩Ἡ μὲν / ἡ δὲ resume κακία (wickedness) and ἀρετή (virtue) from s7: wickedness destroys itself by attacking; virtue grows more radiant under assault.
  9. 9 ↩κορώνη is 'crow' (or raven-like bird). The exact prophetic source is not supplied in the section; retained as a sparse candidate rather than forced to a verse.
  10. 10 ↩τρυφή can mean luxury/soft living/delight; rendered as 'luxury' for the first occurrence and the cognate verb as 'enjoys' to keep the wordplay without stiffness.
  11. 11 ↩ἡδονῆς ὑπόθεσις ἀμαράντου: ὑπόθεσις as 'source/ground/occasion'; ἀμαράντου as 'unfading/undying' — rendered 'source of unfading joy' rather than 'pleasure' to keep gravity without softening the affective force.
  12. 12 ↩ἆθλος can mean contest or prize; in context (and with section 10's ἀγών) rendered as 'contest.' συκοφαντία is 'false accusation/slander/calumny.'
  13. 13 ↩δίκην ἀπαιτῆσαι: rendered 'exact a penalty' (legal/punitive sense), fitting the prior courtroom-slander context rather than mere 'demand justice'.
  14. 14 ↩τὸ κεφάλαιόν σοι τῶν ἀρετῶν: rendered 'the chief of the virtues' (principal/crowning excellence). In the letter's flow this likely points to patient endurance under false accusation; left general because the Greek does not name the virtue in this sentence.
  15. 15 ↩ὑπομονή rendered as 'endurance' (patient perseverance under trial); 'patience' is also possible as the traditional virtue-name.

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