[LATIN COLUMN] ...I reduce it, lest perhaps, when I have preached to others, I myself should be found reprobate (1 Cor. ix, 27). What shall we say, who are weighed down with the burdens of our sins, and furthermore show great sloth? For has this war no truce? We must always be sober and awake, and never secure, for the season of the attacks of our adversary against us is not fixed or determined.
HOMILY XXV
A Many men among us, bound to the flesh and serving present things, think that there are no such things to come, and, pretending the clemency of God, say that there is no punishment or torment. If, therefore, God is clement, as indeed He is, He will also certainly be just; but if He is just, how would it not be just that he who has been affected by innumerably many benefits from the beginning, and then committed things deserving of judgment, and has been made better neither by threats nor by benefactions, should be punished? For if you seek justice, we ought to have been punished from the beginning and immediately according to the measure of justice. And indeed, He would still be retaining some kindness if we suffered even this, which did not happen. For if anyone injures an innocent person, according to the rule of justice, he pays the penalty; but if anyone injures a benefactor, who has received B no benefit but has bestowed innumerable ones—and is the sole cause of our existence—and not only injures Him but even daily saddens Him with his deeds, what pardon will such a one be worthy of? How, tell me, do you not fear to speak such temerity, when you say, "God is kind and does not punish"? But if He does punish, will He no longer be found kind toward you? Why, tell me, do you not wish to be punished when you commit wrong? Has He not predicted everything to you? Has He not threatened? Has He not helped you? Has He not bestowed innumerable things for your salvation? If, therefore, the wicked are not punished, perhaps another will say, neither are the good crowned; and where is the clemency and the just judgment of God?
Do not, therefore, deceive yourselves, O men, by obeying the devil; for these are his C thoughts. For if judges and lords and masters reward the good, but visit the wicked with punishments, how could it be consistent with reason for the contrary to happen with God, and for the good and the wicked to be judged worthy of the same things? And when will the wicked depart from their wickedness? For when they are expecting punishment, they do not cease from their evil deeds; if they are freed even from this fear, and not only are they not thrown into Gehenna, but they even obtain the kingdom, where will those who act wickedly and basely stand? I have heard some, desirous of sinning, who say that God has threatened Gehenna to inspire fear in men; for far be it, they say, that He who is merciful should punish anyone, especially from among those who acknowledge Him. Tell me then, you who make God a liar, who overwhelmed the whole world with D waves in the time of Noah, and brought about that terrible shipwreck, and effected the destruction of our whole race? Who sent those lightning bolts and fiery tempests upon the land of the Sodomites? Who submerged the whole of Egypt? Who consumed those six hundred thousand in the desert? Who caused the congregation of Abiron to be burned? Who commanded the earth to open its mouth and swallow up Core and Dathan? Who struck down seventy thousand as it were in a moment of time in the days of David? Who slaughtered those one hundred eighty-five thousand in one night, as it is in the prophecy of Isaiah? Do you not see the daily calamities we suffer for our sins? How, therefore, could it be consistent with reason for these to be punished, and others not to be punished? For if God is not unjust, as indeed He is not unjust, you too will certainly pay the penalty, you who sin; but if God does not punish because He is clement, then those likewise ought not to have been punished.
And now, for these words of yours, God punishes many even in this life, so that if you do not believe the words of the threat, you may at least give credence by the actual punishment inflicted. Are we to persuade those who contradict that the discourse about Gehenna is not a fable? For it is so true that not only we, but even poets and philosophers and orators have discoursed about future retribution, and have said that the wicked are punished with torments in the underworld. Although they could not say these things as they truly are, being moved only by thoughts from what they heard among us, they nevertheless received some conjecture of judgment. For they mention certain Cocytuses and Pyriphlegethontian rivers, and the waters of Styx, and Tartarus, as far distant from the earth as it is from heaven; and many modes of punishment; and again, the Elysian field, and the islands of the blessed, and flowering meadows, and great sweetness of fragrance, and the gently blowing breeze; and choirs even exerting themselves there, and some clothed in white garments, and others singing hymns; and in general, that retribution is stored up for both the good and the wicked after their departure from this life. Let us not, therefore, abrogate the belief in Gehenna, lest we fall into it. For he who does not believe is slacker; but he who is slack, will go entirely into it; rather, let us believe undoubtingly, and let us speak of it assiduously; and we shall not easily sin. For the memory of such discourses, like a certain bitter medicine, will have the power to cleanse all vice if it continuously dwells in our soul. If you are cruel and merciless, remember those virgins whose lamps, because they had no oil, were extinguished, and who were excluded from the bridechamber of the bridegroom; and you will immediately begin to be kind. If you wish to plunder, hear the Judge saying, "Bind his hands and feet, and cast him into the outer darkness" (Matt. xxii, 13); and you will curb that desire. If you desire luxury, hear the rich man saying, "Send Lazarus, that he may cool my parched tongue with the tip of his finger" (Luke xvi, 24); yet not obtaining his request; and you will immediately cease from this affection. If you feel the fire of wicked lust, think of that fire of punishment, and that extinguished lust will recede. Consider indeed, even if there were no fire, how great a punishment it is to be repelled by God and to depart in ignominy. Believe me, this evil cannot be expressed in words. For if those who do not see the light of the sun endure a life more bitter than any death, what must we believe those suffer who are deprived of that Light?
A And why do we live and breathe and exist, if we are to fail of that vision? If no one is to grant us to see our Master at that time? If any man, having been thrown into a prison here, though he be one of the well-bred, thinks the stench alone, and the lying in darkness, and the being bound together with murderers, to be more grievous than any death—think what it will be when we are burned there together with the murderers of the whole world, neither seeing nor being seen, but while in such a multitude, thinking ourselves to be alone. For that darkness and lack of light does not allow us even to recognize those near us, but each one will be so disposed as if he alone were suffering this. For if it is also called fire, yet it is dark and possesses no light. And this is that which most of all disturbs and troubles us, that though it burns vehemently, it is neither extinguished, and it has no light. But if darkness alone so afflicts and disturbs our souls by itself, what will it be, pray, when along with the darkness there are also such great pains and burnings? For do not, because hell is called fire, think the fire to be such as this; for this fire, whatever it catches, it consumes and causes to disappear; but that one burns those once captured forever and never rests. For this reason it is also called unquenchable; for it desires to robe those who have sinned in incorruption, not for honor, but so that they may have a perpetual supply for that punishment.
B But these things are in hell, and things even more bitter than these; yet the loss of good things has such great pain, such great affliction and distress, that even if no punishment were prepared for those who sin in this life, this loss alone would suffice of itself to bite and disturb our souls more bitterly than the tortures in hell. If when entering a prison and seeing some filthy, and others bound in iron chains, and others shut up in darkness, we are crushed, we tremble, we do everything in order not to fall into such necessity and affliction, when we ourselves are being led away bound to the very tortures of hell, who shall we be? And what shall we do? For those bonds there are not of iron, but are of fire that is never extinguished; nor are those set over us our equals, whom it is often possible to appease, but rather terrible and unsympathetic beings, whom it is not even possible to look in the face, as they are vehemently angry on account of the things for which we have insulted the Master. It is not possible, as here, to see some bringing money, some food, and some bringing pleading words and to obtain consolation, but everything there is inexorable; even if Noah, even if Job, even if Daniel were there, and were to see their own kinsfolk being punished, they would not dare to stand by or reach out a hand; for it happens at that time that even the sympathy of nature is taken away. C For since there are found righteous men who are fathers of sinful children, and good children of wicked parents, and it is necessary that their joy be pure, and that they not be crushed by the necessity of sympathy while enjoying those good things, I say that this is quenched, and they themselves even join in the indignation with the Master against their own kinsfolk.
Therefore, let no one hope for good things who has done nothing good, even if he has ten thousand righteous ancestors. For when we have consumed the time given to us on something useless, we shall all depart there, about to pay the ultimate penalty for the untimely expenditure. For if he who received money to trade with, and then devoured it, shall be called to account by the one who trusted him and shall pay the penalty, how much more he who has spent this life in vain? And just as we examine our servants, making an account not only of the exit of our money but also of the income, whence and how much and from whom and how they received the money; so also God demands accounts of both the expenditure and the acquisition, from both rich and poor: from the rich, whether he gathered his wealth from just sources, or from rapine and greed; whether he spent his money on harlotry or on the poor; whether on luxury and debauchery and drunkenness, or on the help of the oppressed; from the poor, if he bore his poverty with nobility and gratitude, if he did not despond, if he did not complain, if he did not accuse the providence of God, while he himself existed in want, while another was indulging in luxury and not lacking in substance. D And not only rich and poor, but also rulers and judges are examined with much precision, if they corrupted justice, if they gave their vote for the sake of favor or out of enmity against those under judgment, if, having been flattered, they gave their vote contrary to what was right. For by how much each one has ascended to a greater mass of authority, by so much shall he be called to account for more. And the absurd pleasures of life differ in nothing from shadows and dreams; for before the things of sin are completed, the pleasure is extinguished; but the punishments for these have no end; and the pleasant is for a little while, but the painful is eternal. For this reason God discourses to us continuously concerning hell, that we might harvest much from the threat and the fear. For if, being about to cast into it those who sin, He had not announced the threat of this, many would have fallen into it. For if now, while fear is shaking our souls, there are some who so lightly sin as if it did not exist, if nothing of these things had been said nor threatened, what evil would we not have committed? So that the matter is not one of cruelty, but rather of mercy and philanthropy. For indeed, if the destruction had not been threatened over Nineveh, the destruction would not have been prevented; if He had not said that Nineveh would be destroyed, Nineveh would not have stood; and if hell had not been threatened, we would all have fallen into hell. For if God cared for nothing, neither when we sin nor when we do well, perhaps there would be some logic in saying there is no punishment; but if He takes such concern, that we might not sin, and labors so much, that we might do well, it is manifest that He punishes those who sin and crowns the right-acting. But see for me the iniquity of many! For although they accuse God, because He often is lenient to many wicked, lecherous, greedy men, and overlooks their not paying the penalty—there again, the threats of penalties for them are bitter and heavy accusers. Yet now, do not be sad, but embrace the matter and admire it: O, the madness and the desire of the soul! For [G]
those who despise the threats from words, will undergo the penalty from things themselves. For no one of those who have not dissolved their sins here, having departed, will be able to escape the judgment for these things; but just as some are led from prisons bound with chains to the court, so those departing from here, surrounded by various chains of their sins, are led to that fearsome tribunal. If, therefore, you should ever be in a bath built more intensely than is needed, then think of that fire of Gehenna with yourself; and if ever again you are inflamed by a heavy fever, transfer your mind to that flame, and you will be able to lift yourself up well. For if a bath and a fever so trouble and shake us, when we fall into that river of fire which is dragged before that fearsome tribunal, how shall we be, pray? And he who departs for there with many good works and evil, will have some consolation in that punishment and those torments; but he who is stripped of the former, and brings only the latter, cannot be told how much he will suffer, cast into eternal punishment. For there will be a confrontation of evil deeds and those that are not such; and if these latter pull the scales, they will bring no small salvation to their author; and the loss from the labor of evil works will prevail as much as it has dragged it from the former position; but if the former prevail, they lead off into the fire of Gehenna, because the multitude of good deeds is not so great as to be able to stand against that violent push. For nothing of good, even if it be small, will be overlooked there by the Judge. For if we are bound to pay the penalty for sins and words and thoughts, much more will good deeds, whether they be great or small, be reckoned. Therefore it is not enough to have ceased from vice, but one must also have done many good things; for we must abstain from vice in order to be freed from Gehenna, but to obtain the kingdom, one must cling to virtue. For in external matters, it is the custom not to crown him who has done no evil—for this is enough for him merely to escape punishments—but him who has performed many good deeds. But indeed, while I think that the turning away of vices is sufficient for escaping Gehenna, a certain terrible threat enters my mind, not intending punishment for those who have dared any evil, but affecting with penalties those who have neglected something of the good. What, then, is this? “Depart from me, you cursed, into the eternal fire. For I was hungry, and you gave me no food” (Matt. xxv, 41). For those who have not shared any of what they had with the needy, we believe are punished not only by the deprivation of good things, but are even sent into the fire of Gehenna. We are taught, therefore, that those who act well will enjoy heavenly goods; but those who have no vice for which they can be accused, while nevertheless falling short in some good, are those who must be led off to the fire of Gehenna with those who do evil. For if one who transgresses the laws of those who rule on earth undergoes inexorable punishments, much more will he be handed over to intolerable torments who despises the commands of the heavenly Lord. I know that discussing Gehenna seems hateful to you, and generates great pain; but as much as it bites the conscience, so much usefulness it brings to the souls of those who are bitten. For if those things were said to us there, as to the rich man in the history of Lazarus, we would truly have to lament, weep, and mourn, with no time left for repentance; but because we hear these things while we are here, where it is also allowed to repent, and to wipe away committed crimes, and to prepare great confidence, and to take thought, stricken with fear from the evils that have happened to others; let us give thanks to the benevolent God, who through the punishment of others stirs up our sloth, and awakens us who are sleeping. And for what reason are some punished here, while others are there, and not all here? Because if this were the case, perhaps we would all perish: for we are all worthy of punishment. Again, if no one were punished here, most would become slacker, and many might say that there is no providence. For if already, while they see many of the wicked being punished, they utter many such blasphemies; if this were not done, what would they not have said, and to what length of madness would they not have progressed? Therefore God punishes some here, but does not punish others. For He punishes some, so that He may excise their vices, and render the punishment there lighter, or even free them entirely, and so that He may make those living in wickedness more moderate through the vengeance against these; He does not punish others so that, if they attend to themselves and repent, having revered the equanimity of God, they might be freed both from punishments in this life, and from torments in the other; but if they continue in such a way, having become no better from the kindness of God, they might bear a greater punishment on account of their excessive contempt. For if, when we were delinquent, we are honored by God when we ought rather to have been punished, this very thing will be able to throw us all the more into the fire. For if one enjoying only equanimity has not used it as is right, he has a graver punishment: if together with the lightness of his spirit he also obtains the greatest benefits, and then persists in wickedness, who will rescue him from punishment? And just as not giving any punishments here for sins makes the punishment there heavier: so sinning while enjoying great indulgence and opportunity becomes an occasion and source of greater punishment for those who sin. A For if anyone is worthy of punishment because he calls his brother a fool: he who calls him a malefactor, envious, or has afflicted others with insults of this kind, what fires of Gehenna will he summon for himself? For the injury in this word, 'fool', is far less than in those mentioned above. Therefore, omitting these, Christ posited that one, teaching us that if a lighter curse makes the curser liable to Gehenna, much more will weightier insults do so. But if, accusing the hyperbole of the speech, we pretend that this was said only to alarm, there is a danger that we might also exempt adulterers, those who lie with males, the effeminate, and idolaters from the aforementioned punishment. For if he threatened these things to those who insult for the sake of causing terror, it is clear that he did so similarly to others: for he grasped them all at once, and thus brought in the loss of the kingdom. What, then, he says, will the reviler be held in the same place as adulterers and the effeminate? Whether he is going to give the same punishments as them, we shall inquire elsewhere; but that they are excluded from the kingdom of heaven in the same way, this we know.
A If any of us had some secret deed brought out into the middle of the church today, would he not perish? Would he not rather pray for the earth to split open for him than to have so many witnesses of his wickedness? What then shall we suffer when, under the eyes of the whole world, everything is brought into the center in such a splendid and illustrious theater, with both acquaintances and strangers watching everything? What shall we be when we are bound and led away into the outer darkness? But rather, what shall we do (which is more fearful than all else) when we have offended against God? For if anyone has perception and a mind, he has already endured hell when he is removed from the sight of God. For one ought to feel pain, not when we are being punished, but when we are sinning; for to offend against God is more grievous than to be punished. Now, however, we are so miserably disposed that if the fear of hell were not present, we would not quickly choose to do any good thing. Wherefore, if for no other reason, for this reason alone we would be worthy of hell: because we fear hell more than God. B For those who sin much and are not punished ought to be afraid and tremble; for the measure of their punishment increases through their impunity and the long-suffering of God. When, therefore, you see someone becoming rich unjustly and prospering, do not call him blessed, but weep for such a one; for this wealth is an addition of punishment for him. For just as those who have sinned much, and do not wish to repent, store up for themselves a treasure of wrath, so those who, besides not being punished, also enjoy prosperity, will undergo a greater punishment. For the punishments for all sins are not the same, but many and various, according to the times, the persons, the dignities, and their understanding. For if two be wicked, and yet not enjoy the same conditions here—the one in wealth, the other in poverty—they will not be punished there in the same way, but the wealthier one more severely. For this reason God does not exact justice from everyone here, so that you might not despair of the resurrection and lose hope in the judgment, thinking that everyone is giving an account here; nor does He allow everyone to depart unpunished, so that you might not think that all things are without providence. Do not many people today do the same things as those who were punished before for their sins? Indeed, they do. For when you kill a brother not with a sword, but spiritually, as Cain did, have you not done the same things? For what if you did it not with a sword but in another way? Has then no one envied his brother today? Has no one cast C him into danger? But they did not pay the penalty here. But they shall pay it. For if he who had heard neither the written laws nor the prophets, nor seen great signs, pays such a penalty, shall he who has done the same things later, and is not corrected even by so many examples, be unpunished? Where then is the justice of God? But even the sons of Eli, because they ate before the incense, paid a most grievous penalty along with their father. Has there then been no father negligent about his children, nor any wicked children? Yet no one paid the penalty. When, therefore, will they pay it if there is no hell? And what of Ananias and Sapphira, because they stole from what they had dedicated, and were punished immediately—has no one since that time done this? How then have they not paid the same penalty? Are we persuading you that there is a hell, or shall we need more examples? I myself wished that there were no punishment—and I, most of all. Why? Because each of you is fearful for your own soul, but I must also render an account for this stewardship. So that, most of all, it is impossible for me to escape this. Therefore, God is good and loving, not only when He confers benefits, but also when He punishes. For even His punishments and penalties are a very great part of His benefits; since a physician is a physician not only when he leads the patient out into sunny gardens and meadows, nor when he leads him to baths and water-basins, but also when he orders him to remain fasting, when he cuts, when he brings bitter medicines—even then he is a physician all the same, and shows his philanthropy all the more. When, therefore, you see someone caring for virtue and enduring a myriad of temptations, count him blessed, emulate him, as all his sins are being dissolved here and many rewards are being prepared for him there from his endurance. For of mankind, some are punished only here; others suffer nothing such here, but receive all the punishment there; others are punished both here and there. Which of these three, then, do you count blessed? I know well that you count those blessed first who are punished here and put aside their sins. And the second after them—who? You perhaps would say those who suffer nothing here but undergo all the punishment there; but I would not, but rather those who are punished both here and there. For he who has paid a penalty here will feel the punishment there more lightly; but he who is forced to undergo all the punishment there will have inescapable justice. For what reason does God foretell the terrible things He is going to do? So that He might not do what He foretells. For this reason He also threatened hell, so that He might not lead [us] into hell. "Let the words," He says, "frighten you, and let not the experiences grieve you." Your promises are good, O Master; good is Your expected kingdom, and the hell that is again threatened is also good; for the kingdom encourages well, and hell frightens usefully. For God threatens hell, not that He may cast [us] into hell, but that He may free [us] from hell; for if He had wished to punish, He would not have foretold it in advance, so that we might be secure and escape the things threatened. He threatens the punishment so that we may avoid the trial of the punishment; He frightens, by the
B fear of what is to come, in order that we might be delivered from the reality. I know that many dread only Gehenna; but I say that being deprived of the glory of heaven is a punishment far more bitter than Gehenna. C And if this cannot be made clear to you by means of speech, it is no wonder; for we do not know the blessedness of those goods, so as to see clearly the misery of being deprived of them. Since Paul, however, had scrutinized these things, he knew that to fall away from the glory of Christ is of all things the most grievous. D And we shall know this then, when we actually fall into the trial. But may this never happen to us, O only-begotten Son of God, nor may we ever undergo a trial of that inexpiable punishment; for Gehenna and that punishment are intolerable. But even if you were to speak of six hundred Gehennas, you would say nothing comparable to being thrust away from that blessed glory, to being hateful to Christ, to hearing, "I do not know you," to being accused of having seen Him hungry and not having fed Him. For it would be better to endure infinite thunderbolts than to see that mild face turned away from us, and not to endure that sweet eye, that it might look upon us. For if He Himself pursued me, while I was yet an enemy and hating Him and turning away from Him, in such a way that He did not even spare Himself, but gave Himself up to death: if, after all those things, I do not deem Him worthy even of food when He is hungry, with what eyes shall I then look upon Him? Tell me further, if someone were to promise that, once you had become old and were living in poverty, he would suddenly make you young and restore you to the very prime of life, and make you very strong and beautiful beyond all others, and would also wish to grant you the empire of the whole earth for a thousand years, what would you not be willing to do and to suffer for the sake of such a proposal? And yet, when Christ promises not these things, but things by far greater than these, which He has prepared for those who love Him, how much wealth is it not worth casting aside? Or rather, how many souls is it not worth casting aside? But since it is not permitted to see these things with bodily eyes, ascend by your reasoning, and standing above the heaven, look towards that heaven which is higher than this, into the immense depth, into that unapproachable light, into the crowds of angels; and again, having grasped an image of these things, descend from on high, and portray for me the things that are on earth concerning a king: for instance, men wearing gold, a yoke of white mules adorned with gold, a gilded carriage, and golden plates being shaken all around; also dragons fashioned on silk garments, and golden asps having eyes, and in addition horses wearing gold, and golden bridles; and when these things have been gathered together for you with precision, pass on from these again in your mind to the higher things, and ponder with yourself that day on which Christ arrives. For you will not see then a yoke of mules, nor golden carriages, nor dragons or asps, but the whole heaven being opened, and the only-begotten Son of God descending, not being attended by twenty or a hundred satraps, but by thousands and ten thousands of angels and archangels; and all things will then be full of fear and trembling, while all men who ever existed from the time of Adam until that day will rise from the earth and be caught up; and He will appear with such glory that the sun and moon hide their own light completely, being surpassed by that brilliance, and He will render to each according to his works. But the majority of those who are somewhat alien to reason think they bring some consolation to themselves by saying that everyone is being punished in Gehenna; for indeed this is a very foolish argument, to say, "As with everyone, so also with me." Consider for me those who are held by the pain of gout: when they are distorted by the sharpness of the pain, even if you show them infinite numbers who are suffering worse things, they do not perceive it in their mind; for the intensity of the pain does not allow the intellect to have any leisure to think about others and find consolation. Let us not, therefore, feed ourselves on this cold hope. For it happens in lesser evils to receive consolation from the calamities of one's neighbor; but if the torture prevails, and everything is full of inner turmoil, and the soul is already unable to recognize even itself, whence will it find consolation? If someone were to lead you into a theater where everyone was sitting dressed in golden garments, and in the midst of the multitude he were to show some other person, wearing both garments and a crown on his head made of pure pearls, and then were to promise to bring you into the order of that multitude, would you not do all things to attain that promise? Now, indeed, when the theater has been composed for us in the heavens, not out of such things, but out of things that cannot be explained in words (for concerning the King it is not even permitted to speak), shall we deprive ourselves of such great blessings, so as not to labor even for a short time? For if it were necessary to endure infinite deaths daily, if it were necessary to endure even Gehenna itself, in order to see Christ coming in His glory and to be enrolled in that choir of the saints, would it not be necessary to tolerate all those things? But the majority of those whose mind is alienated from reason consider it sufficient for themselves if they are liberated from Gehenna. But I say that the punishment is far more grievous than Gehenna: not to be in the glory of Christ; and I consider that he who falls away from that, ought to lament, not so much because of the evils of Gehenna, as because of the fact that he has been rejected by the Lord: for this alone, in the account of punishment, is more bitter than all things. If we were embracing Christ with the love with which it is right, we would know how much more grievous it is to offend a friend than to suffer Gehenna; but because we do not love Him, we are ignorant even of the magnitude of this punishment; and this is what I most of all deplore and lament. For if it were a man who loved in this way, and a king who was thus loved, would one not marvel at the magnitude of this love? Indeed, very much so; but when the case is the opposite, and His beauty and glory and riches are immense, He who loves us, while our own vileness is great: how are we not worthy of infinite punishments, who, being so vile and abject, are loved by such a One, so great and so admirable beyond all measure, and we despise the love of Him who was willing to prefer nothing to us? For He had an only Son, the true and only-begotten, and He did not spare even Him for our sake; yet we prefer the commandments of Satan to Him. Is it not, therefore, with good reason that Gehenna and the torments will be greater by twice, or thrice, or infinite parts? Do not then rebuke my lamentations, most beloved: for it is not lamenting that is an evil, but doing things worthy of lamentations; nor is it an evil to mourn, but to be the cause of mourning by acting evilly. Do not be subjected to punishments, and I will not lament; do not be cast into Gehenna, and I will not mourn. For it is better for us to be pricked by these words than to be subjected to tortures at that time. You