"And Jesus answering said, Verily I say unto you, Whosoever shall leave what is his
own, parents, and children, and wealth, for My sake and the Gospel's, shall receive an
hundredfold." But let neither this trouble you, nor the still harder saying delivered in
another place in the words, "Whoso hateth not father, and mother, and children, and his
own life besides, cannot be My disciple." For the God of peace, who also exhorts to love
enemies, does not introduce hatred and dissolution from those that are dearest. But if we
are to love our enemies, it is in accordance with right reason that, ascending from them, we
should love also those nearest in kindred. Or if we are to hate our blood-relations,
deduction teaches us that much more are we to spurn from us our enemies. So that the
reasonings would be shown to destroy one another. But they do not destroy each other, nor
are they near doing so. For from the same feeling and disposition, and on the ground of the
same rule, one loving his enemy may hate his father, in as much as he neither takes
vengeance on an enemy, nor reverences a father more than Christ. For by the one word he
extirpates hatred and injury, and by the other shamefacedness towards one's relations, if it
is detrimental to salvation. If then one's father, or son, or brother, be godless, and become a
hindrance to faith and an impediment to the higher life, let him not be friends or agree with
him, but on account of the spiritual enmity, let him dissolve the fleshly relationship.
