{"collection":"chr","html_url":"https://unchartedknowledge.5gfusion.net/browse/chr/ecf/002/0020028.htm","path":"chr/ecf/002/0020028.htm","source_url":"https://sacred-texts.com/chr/ecf/002/0020028.htm","text":"Sitting in my house, and glorifying the Lord for all that I had seen, and reflecting on the commandments, that they are excellent, and powerful, and glorious, and able to save a man\u2019s soul, I said within myself, \u201cI shall be blessed if I walk in these commandments, and every one who walks in them will be blessed.\u201d While I was saying these words to myself, I suddenly see him sitting beside me, and hear him thus speak: \u201cWhy are you in doubt about the commandments which I gave you? They are excellent: have no doubt about them at all, but put on faith in the Lord, and you will walk in them, for I will strengthen you in them. These commandments are beneficial to those who intend to repent: for if they do not walk in them, their repentance is in vain. You, therefore, who repent cast away the wickedness of this world which wears you out; and by putting on all the virtues of a holy life, you will be able to keep these commandments, and will no longer add to the number of your sins. Walk, 289 therefore, in these commandments of mine, and you will live unto God. All these things have been spoken to you by me.\u201d And after he had uttered these words, he said to me, \u201cLet us go into the fields, and I will show you the shepherds of the flocks.\u201d \u201cLet us go, sir,\u201d I replied. And we came to a certain plain, and he showed me a young man, a shepherd, clothed in a suit of garments of a yellow colour: and he was herding very many sheep, and these sheep were feeding luxuriously, as it were, and riotously, and merrily skipping hither and thither. The shepherd himself was merry, because of his flock; and the appearance of the shepherd was joyous, and he was running about amongst his flock. [And other sheep I saw rioting and luxuriating in one place, but not, however, leaping about. 290 ]\nAnd he said to me, \u201cDo you see this shepherd?\u201d \u201cI see him, sir,\u201d I said. \u201cThis,\u201d he answered, \u201cis the angel 291 of luxury and deceit: p. 37 he wears out the souls of the servants of God, and perverts them from the truth, deceiving them with wicked desires, through which they will perish; for they forget the commandments of the living God, and walk in deceits and empty luxuries; and they are ruined by the angel, some being brought to death, others to corruption.\u201d 292 I said to him, \u201cSir, I do not know the meaning of these words, \u2018to death, and to corruption.\u2019\u201d \u201cListen,\u201d he said. \u201cThe sheep which you saw merry and leaping about, are those which have torn themselves away from God for ever, and have delivered themselves over to luxuries and deceits 293 [of this world. Among them there is no return to life through repentance, because they have added to their other sins, and blasphemed the name of the Lord. Such men therefore, are appointed unto death. 294 And the sheep which you saw not leaping, but feeding in one place, are they who have delivered themselves over to luxury and deceit], but have committed no blasphemy against the Lord. These have been perverted from the truth: among them there is the hope of repentance, by which it is possible to live. Corruption, then, has a hope of a kind of renewal, 295 but death has everlasting ruin.\u201d Again I went forward a little way, and he showed me a tall shepherd, somewhat savage in his appearance, clothed in a white goatskin, and having a wallet on his shoulders, and a very hard staff with branches, and a large whip. And he had a very sour look, so that I was afraid of him, so forbidding was his aspect. This shepherd, accordingly, was receiving the sheep from the young shepherd, those, viz., that were rioting and luxuriating, but not leaping; and he cast them into a precipitous place, full of thistles and thorns, so that it was impossible to extricate the sheep from the thorns and thistles; but they were completely entangled amongst them. These, accordingly, thus entangled, pastured amongst the thorns and thistles, and were exceedingly miserable, being beaten by him; and he drove them hither and thither, and gave them no rest; and, altogether, these sheep were in a wretched plight.\nSeeing them, therefore, so beaten and so badly used, I was grieved for them, because they were so tormented, and had no rest at all. And I said to the Shepherd who talked with me, \u201cSir, who is this shepherd, who is so pitiless and severe, and so completely devoid of compassion for these sheep?\u201d \u201cThis,\u201d he replied, \u201cis the angel of punishment; 296 and he belongs to the just angels, and is appointed to punish. He accordingly takes those who wander away from God, and who have walked in the desires and deceits of this world, and chastises them as they deserve with terrible and diverse punishments.\u201d \u201cI would know, sir,\u201d I said, \u201cOf what nature are these diverse tortures and punishments?\u201d \u201cHear,\u201d he said, \u201cthe various tortures and punishments. The tortures are such as occur during life. 297 For some are punished with losses, others with want, others with sicknesses of various kinds, and others with all kinds of disorder and confusion; others are insulted by unworthy persons, and exposed to suffering in many other ways: for many, becoming unstable in their plans, try many things, and none of them at all succeed, and they say they are not prosperous in their undertakings; and it does not occur to their minds that they have done evil deeds, but they blame the Lord. 298 When, therefore, they have been afflicted with all kinds of affliction, then are they delivered unto me for good training, and they are made strong in the faith of the Lord; and 299 for the rest of the days of their life they are subject to the Lord with pure hearts, and are successful in all their undertakings, obtaining from the Lord everything they ask; and then they glorify the Lord, that they were delivered to me, and no longer suffer any evil.\u201d\nI said to him, \u201cSir, explain this also to me.\u201d \u201cWhat is it you ask?\u201d he said. \u201cWhether, sir,\u201d I continued, \u201cthey who indulge in luxury, and who are deceived, are tortured for the same period of time that they have indulged in luxury and deceit?\u201d He said to me, \u201cThey are tortured in the same manner.\u201d 300 [\u201cThey are tormented p. 38 much less, sir,\u201d I replied; 301 ] \u201cfor those who are so luxurious and who forget God ought to be tortured seven-fold.\u201d He said to me \u201cYou are foolish, and do not understand the power of torment.\u201d \u201cWhy, sir,\u201d I said, \u201cif I had understood it, I would not have asked you to show me.\u201d \u201cHear,\u201d he said, \u201cthe power of both. The time of luxury and deceit is one hour; but the hour of torment is equivalent to thirty days. If, accordingly, a man indulge in luxury for one day, and be deceived and be tortured for one day, the day of his torture is equivalent to a whole year. For all the days of luxury, therefore, there are as many years of torture to be undergone. You see, then,\u201d he continued, \u201cthat the time of luxury and deceit is very short, 302 but that of punishment and torture long.\u201d\n\u201cStill,\u201d I said, \u201cI do not quite understand about the time of deceit, and luxury, and torture; explain it to me more clearly.\u201d He answered, and said to me, \u201cYour folly is persistent; and you do not wish to purify your heart, and serve God. Have a care,\u201d he added, \u201clest the time be fulfilled, and you be found foolish. Hear now,\u201d he added, \u201cas you desire, that you may understand these things. He who indulges in luxury, and is deceived for one day, and who does what he wishes, is clothed with much foolishness, and does not understand the act which he does until the morrow; for he forgets what he did the day before. For luxury and deceit have no memories, on account of the folly with which they are clothed; but when punishment and torture cleave to a man for one day, he is punished and tortured for a year; for punishment and torture have powerful memories. While tortured and punished, therefore, for a whole year, he remembers at last 303 his luxury and deceit, and knows that on their account he suffers evil. Every man, therefore, who is luxurious and deceived is thus tormented, because, although having life, they have given themselves over to death.\u201d \u201cWhat kinds of luxury, sir,\u201d I asked, \u201care hurtful?\u201d \u201cEvery act of a man which he performs with pleasure,\u201d he replied, \u201cis an act of luxury; for the sharp-tempered man, when gratifying his tendency, indulges in luxury; and the adulterer, and the drunkard, and the back-biter, and the liar, and the covetous man, and the thief, and he who does things like these, gratifies his peculiar propensity, and in so doing indulges in luxury. All these acts of luxury are hurtful to the servants of God. On account of these deceits, therefore, do they suffer, who are punished and tortured. And there are also acts of luxury which save men; for many who do good indulge in luxury, being carried away by their own pleasure: 304 this luxury, however, is beneficial to the servants of God, and gains life for such a man; but the injurious acts of luxury before enumerated bring tortures and punishment upon them; and if they continue in them and do not repent, they bring death upon themselves.\u201d\nThe Vatican has a sentence before this: \u201cFor if you sin not afterwards, you will greatly fall away from your former [transgressions].\u201d\n36:290\nFound only in Pseudo-Athanasius. It occurs in none of the translations.\n36:291\n[The use of the word \u201cangel,\u201d here, may possibly coincide with that in the Apocalypse, rebuking an unfaithful and luxurious pastor, like the angel of Sardis (Rev. iii. 1-5). The \u201cyellow\u201d raiment may be introduced as a contrast to the words, \u201cthou has a few names even in Sardis which have not defiled their garments, and they shall walk with me in white.\u201d]\n37:292\n\u03ba\u03b1\u03c4\u03b1\u03c6\u03b8\u03bf\u03c1\u03ac\u03bd, translated in Pal. And Vat. by defectio, apostasy, as departure from goodness and truth. The \u00c6thiopic has \u201cruin.\u201d\n37:293\nOf \u2026 deceit, omitted in Lips. Our translation is made from the Vat.\n37:294\nPseudo-Athanasius has, \u201cof such men the life is death.\u201d\n37:295\nPseudo-Athanasius has, \u201cCorruption, therefore, has a hope of resurrection up to a certain point.\u201d [Death here must mean final apostasy (Heb. vi. 4-6, x. 26\u201331, xii. 15\u201317). But a certain death-in-life, which is not final, is instanced in Rev. iii. 1; note also 1 John 3:14, 15, v. 16, 17.]\n37:296\n[The idea is, the minister of discipline, as St. Ambrose is represented with a scourge in his hand. The Greek (\u1f10\u03ba \u03c4\u1ff6\u03bd \u1f00\u03b3\u03b3\u03ad\u03bb\u03c9\u03bd \u03c4\u1ff6\u03bd \u03b4\u03b9\u03ba\u03b1\u03af\u03c9\u03bd) favours the idea that faithful pastors are here symbolized,\u2014just stewards and righteous men.]\n37:297\n\u03b2\u03b9\u03c9\u03c4\u03b9\u03ba\u03b1\u03af. The Vatican and Pal. render this, \u201cthe various punishments and tortures which men suffer daily in their lives.\u201d Pseudo-Athanasius has: \u201cFor when they revolt from God, thinking to be in rest and in wealth, then they are punished, some meeting with losses,\u201d etc. [1 Tim. i. 20. Remedial discipline is thus spoken of, 1 Cor. v. 5.]\n37:298\nPseudo-Athanasius has: \u201cAnd they cannot bear for the rest of their days to turn and serve the Lord with a pure heart. But if they repent and become sober again, then they understand that they were not prosperous on account of their evil deeds; and so they glorify the Lord, because He is a just Judge, and because they suffered justly, and were punished (\u1f10\u03c0\u03b1\u03b9\u03b4\u03b5\u03cd\u03b8\u03b7\u03c3\u03b1\u03bd) according to their deeds.\u201d\n37:299\nThe Vatican inserts the following sentence before this: \u201cAnd when they begin to repent of their sins, then the works in which they have wickedly exercised themselves arise in their hearts; and then they give honour to God, saying that He is a just Judge, and that they have deservedly suffered everything according to their deeds.\u201d So does Pal. The \u00c6thiopic becomes very condensed in this portion. [Note this class of offenders, having suffered remedial chastisement, are not delivered over the Satan finally, but \u201cdelivered unto me (the angel of repentance) for good training.\u201d]\n37:300\n\u03c4\u03c1\u03cc\u03c0\u03bf\u03bd. The Vat. and Pal. have, \u201cfor the same time\u201d (per idem tempus).\n38:301 38:302\nPseudo-Athanasius has \u201cnothing\u201d (\u03bf\u1f50\u03b4\u03ad\u03bd) instead of \u1f10\u03bb\u03ac\u03c7\u03b9\u03c3\u03c4\u03bf\u03c2.\n38:303\n\u03c0\u03bf\u03c4\u03ad. [The pleasures of sin are \u201cfor a season\u201d (Heb. xi. 25), at most: impenitence is the \u201ctreasuring up of wrath against the day of wrath\u201d (Rom. ii. 5).]\n38:304\n[Ps. 4:6, 7, cxix. 14, lxxxiv. 10. Dr. Doddridge\u2019s epigram on Dum Vivimus Vivamus will be brought to mind.]","title":"Ante-Nicene Fathers, Vol II: THE PASTOR OF HERMAS: Similitude Sixth. Of the Two Classes of Voluptuous Men, and of Their Death, Falling Away, and the Duration of Their Punishment.","type":"page"}