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Parable 2
1 Περιπατοῦντός μου εἰς τὸν ἀγρὸν καὶ κατανοοῦντος πτελέαν καὶ ἄμπελον καὶ διακρίνοντος περὶ αὐτῶν καὶ τῶν καρπῶν αὐτῶν, φανεροῦταί μοι ὁ ποιμὴν καὶ λέγει· Τί σὺ ἐν ἑαυτῷ ζητεῖς;

Περὶ τῆς πτελέας καὶ τῆς ἀμπέλου συζητῶ, φημί, κύριε, ὅτι εὐπρεπέσταταί εἰσιν ἀλλήλαις, 		As I was walking into the field and considering an elm and a vine and reasoning about them and their fruits, the Shepherd appears to me and says: 'What are you seeking in yourself concerning the elm and the vine?'

'I am discussing, Sir,' I say, 'that they are exceedingly suited to one another.'
2 Ταῦτα τὰ δύο δένδρα, φησίν, εἰς τύπον κεῖνται τοῖς δούλοις τοῦ θεοῦ.

Ἤθελον, φημί, γνῶναι τὸν τύπον τῶν δένδρων τούτων ὧν λέγεις.

Βλέπεις, φησί, τὴν πτελέαν καὶ τὴν ἄμπελον;

βλέπω, φημί, κύριε. 		'These two trees,' says he, 'are set as a type for the servants of God.'

'I would like, Sir,' I say, 'to know the type of these trees of which you speak.'

'Do you see,' says he, 'the elm and the vine?'

'I see [them], Sir,' I say.
3 Ἡ ἄμπελος, φησίν, αὕτη καρπὸν φέρει, ἡ δὲ πτελέα ξύλον ἄκαρπόν ἐστιν· ἀλλ' ἡ ἄμπελος αὕτη ἐὰν μὴ ἀναβῇ ἐπὶ τὴν πτελέαν, οὐ δύναται καρποφορῆσαι πολὺ ἐρριμμένη χαμαί, καὶ ὃν φέρει καρπόν, σεσηπότα φέρει μὴ κρεμαμένη ἐπὶ τῆς πτελέας, ὅταν οὖν ἐπιρριφῇ ἡ ἄμπελος ἐπὶ τὴν πτελέαν, καὶ παρ' ἑαυτῆς φέρει καρπὸν καὶ παρὰ τῆς πτελέας. 'This vine,' says he, 'bears fruit, but the elm is a fruitless tree; yet this vine, unless it climbs upon the elm, cannot bear much fruit when cast down on the ground, and what fruit it bears, it bears rotten when not hanging upon the elm.

When, therefore, the vine is cast upon the elm, it bears fruit both from itself and from the elm.
4 βλέπεις οὖν, ὅτι καὶ ἡ πτελέα πολὺν καρπὸν δίδωσιν, οὐκ ἐλάσσονα τῆς ἀμπέλου, μᾶλλον δὲ καὶ πλείονα.

Πῶς φημί, κύριε, πλείονα;

Ὅτι, φησίν, ἡ ἄμπελος κρεμαμένη ἐπὶ τὴν πτελέαν τὸν καρπὸν πολὺν καὶ καλὸν δίδωσιν, ἐρριμμένη δὲ χαμαὶ ὀλίγον καί σαπρὸν φέρει.

αὕτη οὖν ἡ παραβολὴ εἰς τοὺς δούλους τοῦ θεοῦ κεῖται, εἰς πτωχὸν καὶ πλούσιον. 		You see, then, that the elm also gives much fruit, not less than the vine, but rather even more.'

'How, Sir,' I say, 'more?'

'Because,' says he, 'the vine hanging upon the elm gives its fruit abundant and good, but cast down on the ground it bears little and rotten.

This parable, therefore, is set for the servants of God, for the poor man and the rich man.'
5 Πῶς, φημί, κύριε, γνώρισον μοι.

Ἄκουε, φησίν· ὁ μὲν πλούσιος ἔχει χρήματα, τὰ δὲ πρὸς τὸν κύριον πτωχεύει, περισπώμενος περὶ τὸν πλοῦτον ἑαυτοῦ, καὶ λίαν μικρὰν ἔχει τὴν ἔντευξιν καὶ τὴν ἐξομολόγησιν πρὸς τὸν κύριον, καὶ ἣν ἔχει, βληχρὰν καὶ μικρὰν καὶ ἄλλην μὴ ἔχουσαν δύναμιν.

ὅταν οὖν ἐπαναπαῇ ἐπὶ τὸν πένητα ὁ πλούσιος καὶ χορηγήσῃ αὐτῷ τὰ δέοντα, πιστεύει, ὅτι ἐὰν ἐργάσηται εἰς τὸν πένητα δυνηθήσεται τὸν μισθὸν εὑρεῖν παρὰ τῷ θεῷ· ὅτι ὁ πένης πλούσιός ἐστιν ἐν τῇ ἐντεύξει καὶ ἐν τῇ ἐξομολογήσει καὶ δύναμιν μεγάλην ἔχει παρὰ τῷ θεῷ ἡ ἔντευξις αὐτοῦ.

ἐπιχορηγεῖ οὖν ὁ πλούσιος τῷ πένητι πάντα ἀδιστάκτως. 		'How, Sir?' I say.

'Make [it] known to me.'

'Listen,' says he: 'The rich man has wealth, but as to the Lord he is poor, being distracted about his wealth, and he has very small intercession and confession toward the Lord, and what he has is weak and small and having no other power.

When, therefore, the rich man relies upon the poor man and supplies him with what is necessary, he believes that if he works toward the poor man he will be able to find a reward with God—because the poor man is rich in intercession and in confession, and his intercession has great power with God.

The rich man, therefore, supplies all things to the poor man unhesitatingly.
6 ὁ πένης δὲ ἐπιχορηγούμενος ὑπὸ τοῦ πλουσίου ἐντυγχάνει τῷ θεῷ εὐχαριστῶν αὐτῷ, ὑπὲρ τοῦ διδόντος αὐτῷ· κἀκεῖνος ἔτι ἐπισπουδάζει περὶ τοῦ πένητος, ἵνα ἀδιάλειπτος γένηται ἐν τῇ ζωῇ αὐτοῦ· οἶδε γάρ, ὅτι ἡ τοῦ πένητος ἔντευξις προσδεκτή ἐστι καὶ πλουσία πρὸς κύριον. And the poor man, being supplied by the rich man, intercedes with God, giving thanks to Him for the one who gives to him; and that one is even more earnest concerning the poor man, that he may become uninterrupted in his life; for he knows that the intercession of the poor man is acceptable and rich toward the Lord.
7 ἀμφότεροι οὖν τὸ ἔργον τελοῦσιν· ὁ μὲν πένης ἐργάζεται τῇ ἐντεύξει, ἐν ᾗ πλουτεῖ, ἣν ἔλαβεν παρὰ τοῦ κυρίου· ταύτην ἀποδίδωσι τῷ κυρίῳ τῷ ἐπιχορηγοῦντι αὐτῷ· καὶ ὁ πλούσιος ὡσαύτως τὸ πλοῦτος, ὃ ἔλαβεν παρὰ τοῦ κυρίου, ἀδιστάκτως παρέχεται τῷ πένητι.

καὶ τοῦτο ἔργον μέγα ἐστὶ καὶ δεκτὸν παρὰ τῷ θεῷ, ὅτι συνῆκεν ἐπὶ τῷ πλούτῳ αὐτοῦ καὶ εἰργάσατο εἰς τὸν πένητα ἐκ τῶν δωρημάτων τοῦ κυρίου καὶ ἐτέλεσε τὴν διακονίαν ὀρθῶς. 		Both, therefore, complete the work: the poor man works by his intercession, in which he is rich, which he received from the Lord; this he renders back to the Lord who supplies him.

And the rich man likewise provides unhesitatingly to the poor man the wealth which he received from the Lord.

And this is a great work and acceptable with God, because he understood concerning his wealth and worked toward the poor man from the gifts of the Lord and fulfilled his ministry rightly.
8 παρὰ τοῖς οὖν ἀνθρώποις ἡ πτελέα δοκεῖ καρπὸν μὴ φέρειν, καὶ οὐκ οἴδασιν οὐδὲ νοοῦσιν, ὅτι, ὅταν ἀβροχία γένηται, ἡ πτελέα ἔχουσα ὕδωρ τρέφει τὴν ἄμπελον καὶ ἡ ἄμπελος ἀδιάλειπτον ἔχουσα τὸ ὕδωρ διπλοῦν τὸν καρπὸν ἀποδίδωσι, καὶ ὑπὲρ ἑαυτῆς καὶ ὑπὲρ τῆς πτελέας.

οὕτως καὶ οἱ πένητες ὑπὲρ τῶν πλουσίων ἐντυγχάνοντες πρὸς τὸν κύριον πληροφοροῦσι τὸ πλοῦτος αὐτῶν, καὶ πάλιν οἱ πλούσιοι χορηγοῦντες τοῖς πένησι τὰ δέοντα πληροφοροῦσι τὰς εὐχὰς αὐτῶν 		Among human beings, therefore, the elm seems not to bear fruit, and they do not know nor understand that when a drought comes, the elm, having water, nourishes the vine, and the vine, having water uninterruptedly, renders double fruit—both for itself and for the elm.

So also the poor, interceding with the Lord on behalf of the rich, complete their wealth; and again the rich, supplying the poor with what is necessary, complete their prayers.
9 γίνονται οὖν ἀμφότεροι κοινωνοὶ τοῦ ἔργου τοῦ δικαίου.

ταῦτα οὖν ὁ ποιῶν οὐκ ἐγκαταλειφθήσεται ὑπὸ τοῦ θεοῦ, ἀλλ' ἔσται γεγραμμένος εἰς τὰς βίβλους τῶν ζώντων. 		Both, therefore, become partners in the righteous work.

The one who does these things, therefore, will not be abandoned by God, but will be written in the books of the living.
10 μακάριοι οἱ ἔχοντες καὶ συνιέντες, ὅτι παρὰ τοῦ κυρίου πλουτίζονται, ὁ γὰρ συνίων τοῦτο δυνήσεται καὶ διακονῆσαί τι ἀγαθόν. Blessed are those who possess and understand that they are enriched by the Lord; for the one who understands this will also be able to perform some good ministry.'"
Summary
Parable 2 (Similitudo 2) develops the social ethics introduced in Similitudo 1 by using the agricultural practice of training grapevines up elm trees (ulmi et vites). It sets forth an early Christian theology of social symbiosis between the rich and the poor within the ecclesiastical community.

The Botanical Allegory: The vine produces valuable fruit but is weak and rots if left prostrate on the ground (ἐρριμμένη χαμαί). The elm tree is inherently fruitless (ἄκαρπον), yet its sturdy trunk supports the vine, while its deep roots draw water during times of drought (ἀβροχία). Together, they produce double fruit (διπλοῦν καρπόν).

Eschatological Reciprocity:

 The Rich Man (ὁ πλούσιος): Possesses material resources (χρήματα) granted by God as a trust, but is spiritually weak, distracted (περισπώμενος), and possesses feeble prayers (βληχρὰν ἔντευξιν).

 The Poor Man (ὁ πένης): Lacks earthly assets but is spiritually "rich in intercession" (πλούσιος ἐν τῇ ἐντεύξει). His petitions possess immense power (δύναμιν μεγάλην) before God.

 Socio-Spiritual Partnership (Κοινωνία): When the rich supply the physical needs of the poor (ἐπιχορηγεῖ), the poor offer powerful intercessory prayers on behalf of their benefactors. Wealth is thus redeemed from a spiritual liability into a tool for mutual salvation, rendering both partners co-workers (κοινωνοί) in righteousness.

 The Heavenly Registry: Faithful stewardship of wealth through almsgiving ensures that the rich believer will be enrolled in the celestial record (γεγραμμένος εἰς τὰς βίβλους τῶν ζώντων).
Key Themes & Socio-Theological Context
 The Redemptive Value of Almsgiving: Directly addresses the tension between wealth and faith in the metropolis of Rome. Rather than demanding total liquidation or ascetic renunciation of property, Hermas proposes a functional integration: wealth finds its divine justification through charity.

 The Power of Poor Believers' Prayer: Subverts Roman social hierarchies. Though economically dependent, the poor hold superior spiritual leverage before God's court, acting as intercessory patrons for their wealthy benefactors.

 Stewardship (Διακονία): Reaffirms that material abundance is not personal property, but a divine deposit (δωρήματα τοῦ κυρίου) given to fulfill a specific ministry (διακονία).
Significant Greek Expressions
 ἡ πτελέα καὶ ἡ ἄμπελος: "The elm and the vine." A classic Roman agricultural image (cf. Virgil's Georgics) adapted by Hermas into a Christian ecclesial allegory.

 βληχρὰν καὶ μικρὰν [ἔντευξιν]: "Weak and small [intercession]." Describes the spiritual enervation caused by material wealth and business distractions.

 ἐπιχορηγέω: "To supply / furnish / support." A technical term for providing support or funding, frequently used in the New Testament for divine provision and Christian charity (e.g., 2 Corinthians 9:10; 2 Peter 1:5).

 κοινωνοὶ τοῦ ἔργου τοῦ δικαίου: "Partners in the righteous work." Emphasizes that both rich and poor contribute essential capital—material and spiritual—to the economy of salvation.

 γεγραμμένος εἰς τὰς βίβλους τῶν ζώντων: "Written in the books of the living." An apocalyptic motif (cf. Daniel 12:1; Philippians 4:3; Revelation 3:5) assuring that active, generous love secures eternal life.

Hermas: The Shepherd
Book Three
Parables