asy of accomplishment, for a man that is tied to the matters of
this life and busied with its cares and troubles, and liveth in riches
and luxury, to walk unswervingly in the way of the commandments of the
Lord, and to preserve his life pure of these evils. 'For,' saith the
Lord, 'no man can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one
and love the other; or else he will hold to the one and despise the
other. Ye cannot serve God and Mammon.' So also writeth the beloved
Evangelist and Divine in his Epistle, thus saying, 'Love not the world,
neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world,
the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world,
the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life,
is not of the Father, but is of the world. And the world passeth away,
and the lust thereof; but he that doeth the will of God abideth for
ever.'

"These things were well understood by our holy and inspired fathers;
and mindful of the Apostle's word that we must through much tribulation
enter into the Kingdom of Heaven, they strove, after holy baptism, to
keep their garment of immortality spotless and undefiled. Whence some
of them also thought fit to receive yet another baptism; I mean that
which is by blood and martyrdom. For this too is called baptism, the
most honourable, and reverend of all, inasmuch as its waters are not
polluted by fresh sin; which also our Lord underwent for our sakes, and
rightly called it baptism. So as imitators and followers of him, first
his eyewitness, disciples, and Apostles, and then the whole band of
holy martyrs yielded themselves, for the name of Christ, to kings and
tyrants that worshipped idols, and endured every form of torment, being
exposed to wild beasts, fire and sword, confessing the good confession,
running the course and keeping the faith. Thus they gained the prizes
of righteousness, and became the companions of Angels, and fellow-heirs
with Christ. Their virtue shone so bright that their sound went out
into all lands, and the splendour of their good deeds flashed like
lightning into the ends of the earth. Of these men, not only the words
and works, but even the very blood and bones are full of all sanctity,
mightily casting out devils, and giving to such as touch them in faith
the healing of incurable diseases: yea, and even their garments, and
anything else that hath been brought near their honoured bodies, are
alwa