25. And to king David himself, that meek and holy man, what was His expostulation by the prophet Nathan? I chose thee, He says, the youngest among thy brethren; I filled thee with the spirit of meekness; by the hand of Samuel, in whom was My Spirit and My Name, I anointed thee king. And from an exile I made thee a conqueror, taking out of the way that former king whom an evil spirit instigated to persecute the priests of the Lord. Upon thy throne I set one of thy seed not so much as an heir as a colleague. I made even strangers subject to thee, that they who resisted might serve thee, and wilt thou deliver My servants into the hands of My enemies, wilt thou take away that which was My servant’s, whereby both thou wilt be branded with sin, and My adversaries will have whereof to glory? Sidenote: Deut. ix. 4. Sidenote: S. John xii. 5. Sidenote: S. Luke xv. 10. Sidenote: 1 Cor. xii. 21. 26. Seeing therefore, O Emperor, (for I will now not only discourse of you but address myself to you) how severe the Lord’s censures are wont to be, you must take care, in proportion as you become more illustrious, to submit so much the more humbly to your Maker. For it is written: When the Lord thy God shall have brought thee into a foreign land, and thou shalt eat the fruits of others, say not, ‘By my own strength and righteousness I obtained these things,’ but, ‘The Lord God gave them to me, Christ in His mercy conferred them on me,’ and therefore by loving His body, that is, the Church, pour water on His feet and kiss His feet; thus shalt thou not only absolve those who have been taken in sin, but in giving to them peace you will bring them into concord and restore to them rest. Pour ointment on His feet, that the whole house wherein Christ sits at meat may be filled with the odour of thy ointment, and let all who sit at meat with Him rejoice in thy fragrance; that is to say, pay such regard even to the lowest, that in their absolution the Angels may rejoice, as they do over one sinner that repenteth, the Apostles may be glad, the Prophets may exult. For _the eye cannot say unto the hand, I have no need of thee, nor the head to the feet, I have no need of you_. Since therefore each member is necessary, do thou protect the whole body of the Lord Jesus, that He also of His divine mercy may protect thy kingdom. 27. On my coming down he says to me, ‘You have been preaching at me to-day.’ I replied that in my discourse I had his benefit in view. He then said, ‘It is true, I did make too harsh a decree concerning the reparation of the synagogue by the Bishop, but this has been rectified. As for the monks, they commit many crimes.’ Then Timasius, one of the Generals-in-chief[209], began to be very vehement against the monks. I replied to him, ‘With the Emperor I deal as is fitting, because I know that he fears God, but with you, who speak so rudely, I shall deal differently.’