that Sun; and that Sun dwelleth now in our hearts by faith. If then thou art angry, let not this sun go down in thine heart upon thy wrath; “Let not the sun go down upon thy wrath;” lest haply thou be angry, and so the Sun of righteousness go down upon thee, and thou abide in darkness. 8. Now do not think that anger is nothing. “Mine eye was disordered because of an- ger,”2064 saith the Prophet. Surely he whose eye is disordered cannot see the sun; and if he should try to see it, it were pain, and no pleasure to him. And what is anger? The lust of vengeance. A man lusteth to be avenged, and Christ is not yet avenged, the holy martyrs are not yet avenged. Still doth the patience of God wait, that the enemies of Christ, the en- emies of the martyrs, may be converted. And who are we, that we should seek for vengeance? If God should seek it at our hands, where should we abide? He who hath never in any matter done us harm, doth not wish to avenge Himself of us; and do we seek to be avenged, who are almost daily offending God? Forgive therefore; from the heart forgive. If thou art angry, yet sin not. “Be ye angry, and sin not.”2065 Be ye angry as being but men, if so be ye are overcome by it; yet sin not, so as to retain anger in your heart (for if ye do retain it, ye retain it against yourselves), lest ye enter not into that Light. Therefore forgive. What then is anger? The lust of vengeance. And what is hatred? Inveterate anger. If anger become inveterate, it is then called hatred. And this he seems to acknowledge, who when he had said, “Mine eye is disordered because of anger;” added, “I have become inveterate among all mine en- 287 emies.”2066 What was anger when it was new, became hatred when it was turned into long continuance.2067 Anger is a “mote,” hatred, a “beam.” We sometimes find fault with one who is angry, yet we retain hatred in our own hearts; and so Christ saith to us, “Thou seest the mote in thy brother’s eye, and seest not the beam in thine own eye.”2068 How grew the mote into a beam? Because it was not at once plucked out. Because thou didst suffer the sun to rise and go down so often upon thy wrath, and madest it inveterate, because thou contrac- tedst evil suspicions, and wateredst the mote, and by watering hast nourished it, and by nourishing it, hast made it a beam. Tremble then at least when it is said, “Whosoever hateth his brother is a murderer.”2069 Thou hast not drawn the sword, nor inflicted any bodily wound, nor by any blow killed another; the thought only of hatred is in thy heart, and hereby art thou held to be a murderer, guilty art thou before the eyes of God. The other man is alive, and yet thou hast killed him. As far as thou art concerned, thou hast killed the man 2064 Ps. vi. 8, Sept. (vi. 7, English version). 2065 Ps. iv. 5, Sept. (iv. 4, English version). 2066 Ps. vi. 8, Sept. (vi. 7, English version). 2067 Vetustatem. 2068 Matt. vii. 3. 2069 1 John iii. 15. 608 Again on the Lord’s Prayer, Matt. vi. To the Competentes.