Winter before the Song’s spring
Let us not marvel if the martyrs' blessedness — to come in deep peace and calm and fair weather — must begin from something gloomier and, so to call it, wintry. First the narrow and afflicted road must be walked in winter, displaying the helmsmanship of the blessed each gained — that afterwards may come what in the Song of Songs is said to the bride who swam through winter: 'He answers, my kinsman says to me: Rise, come, my neighbor, my fair one, my dove. For lo, winter passed, the rain went, went its way.' And you still remember: no hearing 'winter passed' unless the present winter be warred robustly. After winter passes and rain departs, 'flowers shall appear' (Song of Solomon 2:12) — for 'planted in the Lord's house, in our God's courts they shall blossom.' And know this: persuaded by Jesus to leave idols and polytheist atheism, the enemy cannot persuade us to idolatry but wills to force us — working on whom he gets authority such things as to make the tempted either martyrs or idolaters. Often even now he says, 'All these will I give thee, if falling thou worship me.' Let us beware lest we idolatrize and subject ourselves to demons — for 'the idols of the nations are demons.' What a thing, leaving Christ's kindly yoke and 'light burden,' to subject oneself again to demons' (Matthew 11:30) yoke and bear heaviest sin's burden — after knowing 'ash is the heart' of idol-servers and 'their life viler than clay,' (Wisdom 15:10) and saying 'lies did our fathers gain, idols, and in them is no rain.'
Greek
ΧΧΧΙ. Μὴ ϑαυμάζωμεν δὲ εἰ τὴν τηλιχαύτην τῶν μαρτύρων μαχαριότητα, ,ἐσομένην ἐν βαϑείᾳ εἰρήνῃ καὶ γαλήνῃ καὶ εὐδίᾳ, δεῖ ἄρβασϑαι ἀπό τινος »ομιξομένου σχυϑρωποτέρου καὶ, ἵν᾽ οὕτως 0v0- μάσω, χειμερινοῦ καταστήματος. πρότερον γὰρ τὴ» στενὴν καὶ τε- ϑλιμμένην ὁδεύοντα ἐν χειμῶνε δεήσει ἐπιδείξασϑαι ἣν ἐκτήσατο Exao-
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25 μέμνησϑε ὅτι οὐχ ἄλλως ἔστιν ἀκοῦσαι τό" „Oo χειμὼν παρῆλϑεν", ἐὰν μὴ τὸν παρόντα χειμῶνα ἐῤῥωμένως καὶ εὐτόνως ἀγωνίσησϑε. μετὰ δὲ τὸ παρελϑεῖν τὸν χειμῶνα καὶ τὸν ὑετὸν ἀπελϑεῖν καὶ πορευϑῆναι ἑαυτῷ τὰ ἄνϑη ὀφϑήσεται" (πεφυτευμένοι γὰρ ἐν τῷ οἴχῳ τοῦ κυρίου ἐν ταῖς αὐλαῖς τοῦ ϑεοῦ ἡμῶν ἐξανϑήσουσι."
XXXI. Kai τοῦτο δὲ γινώσκομεν, ὅτι πεισϑέντας ἡμᾶς ὑπὸ τοῦ Ἰησοῦ καταλιπεῖν τὰ εἴδωλα καὶ τὴν πολύϑεον ἀϑεότητα πεῖσαι μὲν ὁ ἐχϑρὸς οὐ δύναται πρὸς τὸ εἰδωλολατρεῖν βιάσασϑαι δὲ βούλεται" καὶ διὰ τοῦτο χαϑ᾽ ὧν λαμβάνει ἐξουσίαν ἐνεργεῖ τοιαῦτα καὶ ἦτοι μάρτυρας ἢ εἰδωλολάτρας ποιήσει τοὺς πειραζομένους. πολλάκις ἀν καὶ νῦν λέγει" "ταῦτά σοι πάντα δώσω, ἐὰν πεσὼν προσχυνήσῃς μοι" προσέχωμεν οὖν, μή ποτε εἰδολολατρήσωμεν καὶ τοῖς δαιμονίοις ἑαυ- τοὺς Gxordinnen τὰ γὰρ εἴδωλα τῶν ἐϑν»ῶν δαιμόνια. οἷον δέ ἐστι τὸ καταλιπόντα τὸν χρηστὸν Χριστοῦ ζυγὸν καὶ τὸ ,ἐλαφρὸν" αὐτοῦ »φορτίον“ πάλιν ἑαυτὸν ὑποβαλεῖν ζυγῷ δαιμόνων καὶ φορτίον βαστά- ξαι βαρυτάτης ἁμαρτίας μετὰ τὸ ἐγνωχέναι ἡμᾶς ὅτε, σποδὸς ἡ καρ- δία" τῶν εἰδώλοις λατρευόντων καὶ ,πηλοῦ ἀτιμότερος ὁ βίος" αὐτῶν καὶ μετὰ τὸ εἰρηχέναι ἡμᾶς" „ag ψευδῆ ἐχτήσαντο οἱ πατέρες ἡμῶν εἴδωλα, καὶ οὐκ ἔστιν ἐν αὐτοῖς ὑετίζων."