{"collection":"scripture-revelation","full_text_available":true,"graph_url":"https://unchartedknowledge.5gfusion.net/v2/api/page/gutenberg_62447/graph","html_url":"https://unchartedknowledge.5gfusion.net/v2/page/gutenberg_62447","id":"gutenberg_62447","license":"Public Domain (US)","rights_basis":"gutenberg_metadata_copyright_false","source":"gutenberg","source_url":"https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/62447","summary":null,"tags":["Category: Biographies","Category: Essays, Letters & Speeches","Category: History - Religious","Category: Religion/Spirituality","Christian literature, Early","John Chrysostom, Saint, -407"],"text":"LEAVES\n FROM\n ST. JOHN CHRYSOSTOM.\n\n\n SELECTED AND TRANSLATED BY\n MARY H. ALLIES.\n\n\n Edited with a Preface by T. W. ALLIES, K.C.S.G.\n\n\n \u039c\u03b5\u03b3\u03ac\u03bb\u03b7\u03c2 \u03b4\u03c5\u03bd\u03ac\u00b5\u03b5\u03c9\u03c2 \u1f00\u03c0\u03cc\u03b4\u03b5\u03b9\u03be\u03b9\u03c2 \u03c4\u1f78 \u03b4\u03b9\u1f70 \u03c4\u1ff6\u03bd \u1f10\u03bd\u03b1\u03bd\u03c4\u03af\u03c9\u03bd \u03c0\u03b5\u03af\u03b8\u03b5\u03b9\u03bd.\n\n _Hom. iv. on 1st Epistle to Corinthians._\n\n\n LONDON: BURNS & OATES, Limited.\n NEW YORK: CATHOLIC PUBLICATION SOCIETY CO.\n 1889.\n\n _Imprimatur._\n Henricus Eduardus,\n _Cardinalis Archiepiscopus_.\n Westmonasterii,\n _Die 28 Novembris, 1888_.\n\n\n\n\n CONTENTS.\n\n\n PREFACE.\u2014ST. JOHN CHRYSOSTOM.\n\n PAGE\n Birth and Parentage, 1\n Named Preacher at Antioch, 3\n Archbishop of Constantinople, 5\n State of Constantinople, 7\n Enmity of Eudoxia, 9\n Synod of the Oak, 10\n Exile at Kucusus, 11\n Judgment of Pope Innocent I., 12\n Comana, 13\n His Death, 14\n Translation of his Body, 15\n Final Burial at St. Peter\u2019s, 16\n Summary of his Works, 17\n\n\n PART I.\n THE KING\u2019S HIGHWAY.\n\n 1. The Way, the Truth, and the Life, 23\n 2. Who is the Greater? 26\n 3. The First are Last and the Last First, 29\n 4. Variety of Human Lot, 34\n 5. Whence the Rich? 38\n 6. The Rich Young Man, 41\n 7. Different Kinds of Friendship, 46\n 8. The Buyers and Sellers in the Temple, 49\n 9. The Voice of Good Deeds, 51\n 10. The Best Controversy, 55\n 11. The Tongue a Royal Power, 63\n 12. Golden Vessels and Golden Hearts, 66\n 13. True Almsgiving, 70\n 14. I was hungry and you gave Me to eat, 73\n 15. The Archetype and the Type, 77\n 16. The Weak Things of God, 83\n 17. The Secret of our Faith, 94\n 18. The Victory of our Faith, 100\n 19. Marriages as they were and as they are, 105\n 20. \u2018Use a little Wine,\u2019 109\n 21. Possessing the Land, 118\n 22. The Word of Praise, 125\n 23. Sufferings of the Just, 130\n 24. The Folly of the Cross, 141\n 25. The Abode of the Humble, 148\n 26. The Prisoner of Jesus Christ, 152\n 27. The Seed not vivified unless it dies, 157\n 28. The Resurrection in Creation, 163\n 29. Resurrection confirmed by Signs which followed, 169\n\n\n PART II.\n THE KING\u2019S HOUSE.\n\n 1. \u2018Thou art Peter,\u2019 183\n 2. \u2018Peter rose up,\u2019 188\n 3. Built upon the Rock, 189\n 4. The Priest a Man, not an Angel, 193\n 5. The Authority of the Priest, 198\n 6. The Priest a Shepherd of Souls, 204\n 7. One Sacrifice, 212\n 8. The New Pasch, 217\n 9. The \u2018Eyes of Rome,\u2019 221\n 10. \u2018This is My Body,\u2019 228\n 11. The Union of the Holy Eucharist, 237\n 12. Bone of our Bone, Flesh of our Flesh, 241\n 13. Remembrance of the Dead, 248\n 14. The Departed at the Sacred Mysteries, 252\n 15. The Tombs of the Martyrs, 256\n 16. The Bodies of the Martyrs, 259\n 17. The Tombs of the Servants, 266\n\n\n PART III.\n PERSONAL.\n\n 1. Letter to Pope Innocent, A.D. 404, 272\n 2. Letter to some Imprisoned Bishops and Priests (404), 282\n 3. To the Priests and Monks Nicholas, Theodotus, &c. (405), 283\n 4. To some Priests and Monks in Ph\u0153nicia (405), 284\n 5. To Studius the Prefect of the City, on the Death of his Brother\n (404), 286\n 6. To Malchus on the Death of his Daughter, 288\n 7. To Olympias. The Virginal Life, 288\n 8. To Olympias. The Blessedness of Suffering, 290\n 9. To Olympias (406), 293\n 10. To P\u0153anius. \u2018Glory be to God in all things,\u2019 295\n 11. Vanity of Vanities 296\n\n\n ERRATA.\n\nPage 16, _for_ \u201csurrounded\u201d _read_ surrounds.\n\nPage 21, _for_ \u201cNirockl\u201d _read_ Nirschl.\n\n{_These are corrected in this electronic edition._}\n\n\n\n\n ST. JOHN CHRYSOSTOM.\n\n\n Birth and Parentage\n\nJohn of Antioch was born about the year 347, of a noble family. His\nfather, Secundus, held a high rank in the imperial army; he died early,\nand left a very young widow, in the bloom of age and beauty, and amply\nendowed with wealth. Many suitors sought to obtain the hand of St.\nAnthusa. She remained faithful to the memory of her husband, and devoted\nto the education of her only son. She brought him up in all the\nknowledge of the age and in strict piety, which she enforced by her\nexample. St. Anthusa, amid all the perils of Antioch, guarded her son\nJohn with the same care which her contemporary, St. Monica, bestowed in\nthe small circle of an African town on her Augustine. She was happier in\none thing. The heathen charms of Antioch exerted no such power over her\nson John as the like seductive beauty of Carthage exerted over the young\nAugustine. The prayers and the care of St. Monica and St. Anthusa were\nequally zealous. In the one case, after the most terrible fall, lasting\nover a period of at least fourteen years, the African mother had the\nunspeakable joy of seeing her son\u2019s mind delivered from the most\ndangerous heresy of the day, and was allowed to die in the arms of the\nnew-born Christian, who could share all her hopes of eternal life, which\nare recorded in the beautiful dialogue between mother and son preserved\nfor us by that son, who was to be the greatest doctor of the Church. In\nthe other case, the Antiochene parent to whom was applied that\nexpression of the admiring heathen, \u2018See what mothers these Christians\nhave,\u2019 had the still rarer gift of rearing a son who never fell, who\npursued from beginning to end a holy life, who was crowned with a\nconfessorship exceeding the glory of many martyrs, and whose least merit\nis that he was the greatest preacher of the Eastern Church, and gave to\nthe language of Plato, eight hundred years after him, in its decline, a\nglory equal to that which the Athenian gave to it in its prime.\n\nTwo men\u2014I know not if there be any others in all history\u2014have had their\npersonal name merged by posterity in the name which expressed their\nspecial qualities. As the son of Pepin is for ever Charlemagne, so John,\nthe son of St. Anthusa, is for ever Chrysostom, the Golden Mouth. It is\nthus the world calls the one great and the other eloquent.\n\nTo return to the facts of John of Antioch\u2019s life. As he grew up he had\nlessons from the renowned heathen rhetorician Libanius. He studied\nphilosophy, and distinguished himself, at twenty years of age, in\npreparation for the bar. Libanius considered him the best scholar he\nhad, and even wished to be succeeded by him in his office.\n\n\n Named Preacher at Antioch\n\nBut John speedily renounced this and all worldly renown. He practised a\nmost strictly ascetic life, and gave himself up to the study of the\nChristian religion. He was a pupil of that Diodorus, afterwards bishop\nof Tarsus, who was then held in high repute as a Scripture commentator.\nHe was also under St. Meletius, patriarch of Antioch. From him he\nreceived baptism in 369, at the age, therefore, of twenty-two years; and\nthe minor order of Lector three years later. The bishops who met at\nAntioch in 373 designated him, with his friend Basil, for the episcopal\ndignity. In his humility he took flight to the anchorets who dwelt in\nthe mountains near Antioch. With them he spent four years, and two years\nafter that in a cavern, until his health failed, and he was obliged to\nreturn to Antioch. Here the patriarch Meletius made him a deacon in 380;\nand his successor Flavian gave him the priesthood in 386, in his\nfortieth year, and named him to be preacher in the cathedral.\n\nThen during ten years the great see of the East wondered at the\neloquence, the teaching, and the zeal of the greatest preacher it had\nknown. In her sorest time of need he was at hand to comfort and support\nthe city of his birth. When a great riot broke out, and led the citizens\nin their haste and anger to insult the statues of the emperor Theodosius\nand his wife, the most pious Flaccilla, and Antioch trembled lest this\nact of treason should be followed by summary destruction; when her\npatriarch Flavian hurried across the five hundred miles to\nConstantinople, that if possible he might soften the wrath of the\nemperor before the bolt was launched, St. Chrysostom preached some of\nhis most famous sermons, those entitled, \u2018On the Statues\u2019. He kept up\nthe courage of the fainting people, and when Flavian returned with a\npardon which left untouched the privileges of the city, the preacher\nshared with the patriarch the gratitude of those who were saved.\n\nAfter ten years of incessant labours by the preacher, which form a large\npart of the writings preserved to us, the see of Constantinople fell\nvacant by the death of the patriarch Nectarius. Theodosius had died in\n395, leaving the great eastern empire in the hands of his elder son\nArcadius, scarcely out of his boyhood. The young emperor was unwilling\nto trust the see of his capital to any one of his clergy, and he\nlistened to the advice given to him to call from Antioch the man whose\ngenius was as great as his character was stainless. The great officer\nwho carried out the imperial invitation, or command, at Antioch, was\nobliged to use artifice for the purpose of securing the preacher. His\npeople would not knowingly have suffered him to leave them. He was taken\nout of the city under a plausible pretence. \u2018Asterius, count of the\nEast, had orders to send for him and ask his company to a church without\nthe city. Having got him into his carriage, he drove off with him to the\nfirst station on the high road to Constantinople, where imperial\nofficers were in readiness to convey him thither.\u2019[1] Thus he was\ncarried across Asia with all possible speed. Upon his arrival at\nConstantinople he was chosen bishop with one voice, and consecrated on\nthe 26th February, 398. His consecrator was Theophilus, patriarch of\nAlexandria, who very unwillingly performed this office. He had striven\nto get a certain priest who was devoted to himself appointed. His\nsubsequent enmity to St. Chrysostom was a main cause of the banishment\nand death which befel the man whom he had consecrated.\n\n\n Archbishop of Constantinople\n\nThus, at fifty years of age, St. Chrysostom was placed, not only without\nseeking for it, but against his wishes, upon that see which, through the\nresidence of the emperor, was already become the most conspicuous of\nepiscopal thrones in the East. From the moment that Constantine,\nsixty-seven years before, had made Byzantium Nova Roma, and founded, in\nfact, a new empire, all the ambitious spirits among the prelates of the\nEast sought to seat themselves on that perilous height. This new centre\nof temporal power was from that time forth the centre of trouble,\nheresy, and disaster to the Church. Eusebius left his former see,\nNicomedia, to possess it, and to be the emperor\u2019s bishop. One after\nanother Arian heretics succeeded. In 379, when the small number of\nCatholics remaining in the new capital invited St. Gregory Nazienzen to\ncome to their aid, he could only open in a private room a small church,\nwhich he called by the significant name of Anastasia, the Resurrection.\nIn that year Theodosius was promoted by the young Gratian to share his\nthrone, upon the destruction of his uncle Valens by the Goths. Valens\nhad all but destroyed both empire and Church in the East. It was the\ngreat effort of Theodosius to restore both. In fifteen years of\nunexampled energy, terrible trials, and almost miraculous success, he\ndid what valour, piety, and prudence could do. These years were all that\nthe Divine Providence had allowed him for a work almost transcending\nhuman power; and when he died, not yet fifty years old, in 395, the\ngreat empire of Rome, both in East and West, may be said to have fallen\ninto orphanage. His two sons, Arcadius and Honorius, one a youth of\nnineteen and the other a boy of eleven, proved to be utterly\nincompetent. Even Theodosius had failed to overcome the deep degeneracy\nand rooted party spirit to which the Arian heresy had reduced the\neastern episcopate when St. Athanasius and St. Basil had been freshly\nlaid in their tombs. The council called by Theodosius at Constantinople\nin 381 suffered St. Gregory to give up the see, which was surrounded by\nenvious rivals. For when Meletius, the patriarch of Antioch, died, in\npresiding over that council, instead of extinguishing the Antiochene\nschism by the election of Paulinus, the bishop who was already in\ncommunion with Rome and Alexandria, according to an actual agreement,\nthey suffered the schism to be prolonged by the election of Flavian.\nNectarius took the place which St. Gregory had vacated, and St.\nChrysostom was called after about fifteen years to succeed to his\npatriarchate.\n\n\n State of Constantinople\n\nSuch was the state of things when, in 398, he began the charge of a city\nwhich, in corruption, party spirit, and unquenched enmities of\nlong-standing, surpassed, if it were possible, his own native Antioch.\nIt is true, that instead of the small remnant who listened to St.\nGregory eighteen years before in the Church of the Resurrection, the\nwhole city was, in name at least, Catholic. Its bishop was seated in a\nmagnificent church, with a clergy more numerous, perhaps, than in any\nepiscopal see in the world: with vast revenues, and a position second\nonly to that of the emperor. But the court of the East was the focus of\nendless rivalries: of eunuchs who were ministers of state exercising the\nterrible autocratic powers of an emperor scarcely of age, and dominated\nby an imperious empress, whose splendid beauty held him in thraldom,\nwhile her lust of power was endless and her vanity excessive. And then\nthere were foreign and barbarian generals, whose struggle with each\nother for mastery was always keeping the empire in disquietude. And\nlastly, the rivalry of the Gallic Rufinus, whom Theodosius had left to\nadvise his son in the East with the semi-barbarian Stilicho, to whom he\nhad given both his favourite niece Serena for wife, and his younger son\nHonorius for pupil in the West, was preparing the ruin of Constantine\u2019s\nempire by its own hands.\n\nIn such an atmosphere the preacher and the saint was placed to struggle\nas he might against court intrigues, and to correct and purify a clergy\nwhose conduct left much to be desired. He showed himself throughout an\nadmirable bishop. Pursuing himself the most simple and ascetic life, he\nbestowed his whole great income as patriarch on the poor. He founded\nhospitals and homes. He celebrated the divine service with the utmost\ncare and splendour. He watched over discipline among his clergy. He was\nunwearied in preaching. Nor did his vigilance end with the limits of his\nown see. He sent missionaries to Ph\u0153nicia and Palestine; to the\nScythians, also, and the Goths. For the latter he established a special\nservice of their own\u2014he did all he could to deliver them from the fatal\nerror which the deceit of the emperor Valens had infected them with, in\npresenting them with Arianism instead of the Christian faith. He exerted\nalso the very questionable claim of his see\u2014which the council of 381 had\nattempted to exalt to the utmost\u2014by judging the case of the Exarch of\nEphesus, and removing several faulty bishops from their seats in that\nexarchate.\n\n\n Enmity of Eudoxia\n\nBut the \u2018Court\u2019s stern martyr-guest,\u2019 who was also \u2018the glorious\npreacher with soul of zeal and lips of flame,\u2019 could not go on long\npractising the life of a saint with the power of a patriarch under such\nsovereigns as the weak Arcadius and the imperious Eudoxia. His virtues\noffended many in a city of intense worldliness. His censures, delivered\nwith his wonted eloquence from the pulpit of the cathedral, roused great\nenmities. In Theophilus, patriarch of Alexandria, he had a watchful\nenemy, eager to punish, in the person of Chrysostom, the new rank which\nhis see arrogated of being the second in the Church, as the see of Nova\nRoma. By that arrogation, the see of St. Mark at Alexandria was degraded\nfrom a rank which it had held since the beginning of the Christian\nhierarchy. Not only among the magnates of the court, but among his\nbrother bishops, Chrysostom found much opposition: and at last the\nempress set herself at the head of his opponents. While he was absent in\nAsia Minor, restoring to order the exarchate of Ephesus, Severian,\nbishop of Gabala in Syria, sought, by sermons delivered in the cathedral\nitself, to take from him the favour of the people. But it received him\nwith acclamation on his return, and drove Severian out of the city.\n\n\n Synod of the Oak\n\nBut certain disturbances about the doctrine of Origen which had broken\nout among the monks in Egypt involved him in unfortunate difficulties.\nAmong many monks who fled to Constantinople from the desert of Nitria in\nEgypt, under excommunication from Theophilus, were the \u2018four tall\nbrothers\u2019. They came to accuse their patriarch before the emperor and\nChrysostom. He took them up, showing kindness and sympathy, though he\ndid not admit them to communion. Theophilus was summoned to\nConstantinople by the emperor, to answer for his conduct before a synod.\nTo escape this humiliation he used every effort to ruin Chrysostom, whom\nhe took to be his own opponent. He accused Chrysostom himself of\nOrigenism. This scheme of the Egyptian patriarch brought over to his\nside all the opponents of Chrysostom at the court. Theophilus even\nventured to appear as the accuser and judge of the patriarch in the\ncapital itself. He was able to draw together a synod of thirty-six\nbishops at the Oak, a country-house near Chalcedon, and to summon the\nbishop of Constantinople to appear before it. Chrysostom, on the double\nground of his own rank and his innocence, refused to appear. The\nunlawful synod \u2018of the Oak\u2019 condemned him, supported by the influence of\nthe empress. Forty bishops around him in Constantinople attested his\ninnocence, and objected to a proceeding utterly unlawful and, until\nthen, unknown. Chrysostom was willing to obey a command of the emperor\nthat he should cross the Bosphorus and attend; but the people threatened\ninsurrection if the command were not withdrawn. Chrysostom had to\nreturn, and was reseated in his church with the joyful acclamation of\nhis people.\n\n\n Exile at Kucusus\n\nNot long did the peace last. A statue of the empress had been\ninaugurated before the cathedral. The crowd indulged in most intemperate\nrejoicings, and paid almost idolatrous homage to the statue. This\nChrysostom, in preaching, censured. The empress took the blame to\nherself: it kindled her wrath afresh. It was whispered to her that the\ngreat preacher had alluded to her under the name of Herodias. A new\nsynod of the patriarch\u2019s opponents was convoked. It issued, in the year\n404, a second sentence of deposition against him. It alleged that\nChrysostom, after being deposed by a synod, had, contrary to the law of\nthe Church, resumed his see without being restored by another synod. The\nemperor Arcadius confirmed the decision, and subscribed a decree of\nbanishment. This time Chrysostom waited for force to be used. Soldiers\nwere sent into the church: they pushed aside the people who were\nprotecting their bishop. Blood flowed, and the church was desecrated.\n\nChrysostom was carried away to Nic\u00e6a in Bithynia, and was ordered, in\nthe midst of the summer heats, to go thence on foot, amid the greatest\nprivations and hardships, to Kucusus in Armenia. The journey brought on\nhim a grievous illness. Thus he was detained for some time at C\u00e6sarea in\nCappadocia. He was scarcely recovered when he was driven further on. In\n406, he reached Kucusus. But he kept up intercourse by letter with his\nfriends in the capital. Arsacius, in the meantime, had been intruded by\nthe emperor\u2019s power into his see; and a grievous persecution was\ninstituted against those who would not recognise the intruder.\nChrysostom consoled them in many letters. Banished as he was, he\nconcerned himself for the spread of the faith among Persians and Goths.\nHis sufferings, and the magnanimity with which he bore them, won for him\nsympathy far and wide. But his enemies remained unmoved. He besought the\nintercession of Pope Innocent I., describing to him, in a letter which\nis translated in this volume, the utter illegality of the violence which\nhe was suffering. The Pope applied to the emperor Honorius for succour,\nand was supported by him in sending a solemn deputation to the emperor\nArcadius; but he was under the dominion of the offended Eudoxia, and\nrefused to listen either to his brother emperor or the Pope.\n\n\n Judgment of Pope Innocent I.\n\nThe Pope withdrew his communion from the intruder Arsacius, who had been\nput unlawfully in the see of Chrysostom, and from his successor Atticus;\nand for many years this mark of reprobation was all that the Pope could\ndo in the difficult circumstances of the times. It lasted until the name\nof Chrysostom was replaced in the diptychs of the Church at\nConstantinople.\n\n\n Comana\n\nBut Arcadius went further, and condemned Chrysostom to a more distant\nand ruder exile at Pityus, a seaport on the most desolate eastern coast\nof the Euxine. In the utmost summer heat, with exhausted strength, the\ndeposed patriarch had to undertake this journey. He never reached the\nend. His merciless guards pressed his weakness to the utmost. When at\nComana he thought his end was near; but the guards urged him on. For an\nhour he could drag himself along; then his strength utterly failed. He\nwas taken into the small church of the Martyr Basiliscus, which was\nnear. His friend and biographer, the Bishop Palladius, thus describes\nthe last scene:\n\n\n His Death\n\n\u2018In that very night (that is, at Comana) the martyr of the place stood\nbefore him, Basiliscus by name, who had been bishop of Comana, and died\nby martyrdom in Nicomedia in the reign of Maximinus, together with\nLucian of Bithynia, who had been a priest of Antioch. And he said, \u201cBe\nof good heart, brother John, for to-morrow we shall be together\u201d. It is\nsaid that the martyr had already made the same announcement to the\npriest of the place: \u201cPrepare the place for brother John, for he is\ncoming\u201d. And John, believing the divine oracle, upon the morrow besought\nhis guards to remain there until the fifth hour. They refused, and set\nforward; but, when they had proceeded about thirty stadia, he was so ill\nthat they returned back to the martyr\u2019s shrine whence they had started.\n\n\u2018When he got there, he asked for white vestments suitable to the tenor\nof his past life; and taking off his clothes of travel, he clad himself\nin them from head to foot, being still fasting, and then gave away his\nold ones to them about him. Then, having communicated in the symbols of\nthe Lord, he made the closing prayer \u201con present needs\u201d. He said his\ncustomary words, \u201cGlory be to God for all things,\u201d and having concluded\nit with his last Amen, he stretched forth those feet of his which had\nbeen so beautiful in their running, whether to convey salvation to the\npenitent or reproof to the hardened in sin. And being gathered to his\nfathers, and shaking off this mortal dust, he passed to Christ, as it is\nwritten, \u201cThou shalt come to thy burial like full wheat that is\nharvested in season, but the souls of transgressors shall die\nprematurely\u201d. But so great a crowd of virgins, ascetics, and those who\nhad the witness of sanctity in their life were present from Syria,\nCilicia, Pontus, and Armenia, that many thought they had come by\nagreement. With these solemn rites, like a victorious athlete, he was\nburied in the same shrine with Basiliscus.\u2019[2]\n\nIn the meantime, the empress Eudoxia had passed away in child-bed before\nher victim. In the undimmed lustre of her beauty, and the undiminished\npower of her will over her husband, she had been called to her account.\nHer husband, the emperor Arcadius, died not long after. He finished an\nutterly inglorious reign of twelve years at the age of thirty-one. His\nmiserable government had gone near to destroy the empire which his\nfather saved, and had actually thrown Alaric with his Goths upon Rome\nand Italy. He was succeeded by Theodosius II., a boy eight years old.\n\n\n Translation of his Body\n\nThirty years after, a disciple and friend of Chrysostom sat in the see\nof Nova Roma, the orthodox Proclus, who was a theologian and a saint. He\nmoved the emperor Theodosius II. to bring back the body of Chrysostom to\nits place among the bishops in the Church of the Apostles, where only\nthe bishops and the emperors were buried\u2014the former in the church, the\nlatter in the vestibule. Theodoret, bishop of Cyrus at the time, says:\n\u2018A great multitude of the faithful crowded the sea in vessels, and\nlighted up a part of the Bosphorus near the mouth of the Propontis with\ntorches. These sacred treasures were brought to the city by the present\nemperor. He laid his face upon the coffin, and entreated that his\nparents might be forgiven for having so unadvisedly persecuted the\nbishop.\u2019\n\n\n Final Burial at St. Peter\u2019s\n\nThose remains now rest in a fitter place. St. Chrysostom, in words\nquoted further on, when dilating as a fervent lover of St. Paul upon his\npraise, cried out: \u2018Rome, for this do I love, although having reason\notherwise to praise her, both for her size, and her antiquity, and her\nbeauty, and her multitude, and her power, and her wealth, and her\nvictories in war. But passing by all these things, for this I count her\nblessed: because, when alive, Paul wrote to them, and loved them so\nmuch, and went and conversed with them, and there finished his life.\nWherefore the city is on that account more remarkable than for all other\nthings together, and like a great and strong body, it has two shining\neyes\u2014the bodies of these saints. Not so bright is the heaven when the\nsun sends forth his beams, as is the city of the Romans sending forth\neverywhere over the world these two lights. Thence shall Paul, thence\nshall Peter, be caught up. Think, and tremble, what a sight shall Rome\nbehold, when Paul suddenly rises from that resting-place with Peter, and\nis carried up to meet the Lord. What a rose doth Rome offer to Christ!\nwith what two garlands is that city crowned! with what golden fetters is\nshe girdled! what fountains does she possess! Therefore do I admire that\ncity, not for the multitude of its gold, nor for its columns, nor for\nits other splendours, but for these, the pillars of the Church.\u2019\n\nThe body, therefore, of him who spoke these words, while a preacher at\nAntioch, rests more fitly than in any other place amid that matchless\ngroup of apostles, saints, and martyrs which surrounds the body of the\nFisherman, in the central shrine of Christendom. There he awaits the\nsight which he anticipated with so much joy.\n\nI must notice one more fact of the eight great brethren, the chief\ndoctors of the East and West. St. Ambrose, St. Jerome, St. Augustine,\nSt. Gregory the Great, St. Athanasius, St. Basil, St. Gregory Nazianzen,\nand himself, all suffered persecution; the life of St. Athanasius was\nfor years in danger from the bitter hatred of the emperor Constantius,\nand the emperor Valens would have destroyed St. Basil, had he dared. But\nto Chrysostom alone was given actually to lay down his life itself for\njustice\u2019 sake, and to follow St. John the Baptist not only in sanctity\nof life and preaching the cross of Christ, but in his death through the\npersecution of a woman, and the blinded tyranny of a king devoted to her\nwill.\n\n\n Summary of his Works\n\nIt may be well to give here a summary of St. Chrysostom\u2019s works. Very\nmuch of his labour he spent in commenting upon Scripture. This took the\nform of homilies, of which the larger part was delivered before the\npeople in Antioch. He belongs to the Antiochene school of literal\nexplanation. He was a fellow-pupil under Diodorus of Tarsus, with that\nTheodorus, afterwards bishop of Mopsuestia, whose writings were the\nfountain-head of what was afterwards called Nestorianism. They were\ncomposed exactly at the same time as those of St. Augustine, and were as\nprolific for evil as those of St. Augustine for good. But the piety and\naccurate doctrine of St. Chrysostom preserved him from the errors of his\nearly comrade and friend. His homilies in their structure may be divided\ninto the careful expounding of the text, even to its particles, and then\nthe moral application, both in popular yet scientific form, finished\nwith such skill that the art of eloquence seems blended with that of\nexposition in the fairest union.\n\nHe thus expounded the whole of Genesis in sixty-seven homilies; the\nPsalms in sixty homilies; the prophet Isaias, but only to the middle of\nthe 8th chapter, according to both the historical and the mystical\nsense. There are five discourses on St. Anne, the mother of Samuel;\nthree on David and Saul; two on the obscurity of the prophets; six upon\nthe seraphim, in which he speaks on the incomprehensibility of the\nDivine Being. To the gospel of St. Matthew he has given ninety homilies,\nso skilfully interweaving Christian doctrine with literal exposition\nthat, in Montfaucon\u2019s opinion, no such work exists elsewhere; and St.\nThomas Aquinas is reported to have said that he would rather have it\nthan the city of Paris. He has given seven homilies to the history of\nLazarus and Dives in St. Luke; and eighty-eight homilies to the gospel\nof St. John, shorter, however, than those on St. Matthew. To the Acts of\nthe Apostles he has given fifty-five homilies, delivered at\nConstantinople, and written down by shorthand. To the epistles of St.\nPaul he has given two hundred and forty-six homilies; which make up the\nnumber of four hundred and eighty-six on the whole New Testament.\n\nAll these are counted among his best works: but the best of all, those\non the Pauline epistles, particularly that to the Romans. St. Isidore of\nPelusium says: \u2018I believe if Paul had interpreted himself in Attic\nphrase, he would have done it no otherwise than this distinguished holy\nteacher. So admirable is his exposition in meaning, elegance, and choice\nof words.\u2019\n\nBesides biblical exposition, St. Chrysostom has left a great number of\nother discourses on various occasions.\n\nSuch are eight homilies against the Jews; twelve against the Anom\u00e6ans,\nthe worst branch of the Arians. Discourses on the great festivals;\npanegyrics on saints, among them on bishops of Antioch, Ignatius,\nBabylas, Philogonius, Eustathius, and Meletius. Seven on the Apostle\nPaul, held at Antioch, whom he seems to have chosen for his model: to\nhave read perpetually, and, as it were, to have seen at his side.\n\nOf occasional discourses, there are twenty-one \u2018On the Statues\u2019 held at\nAntioch in the Lent of 387, full of tenderness and the most stirring\neloquence. Of moral discourses, there are two to \u2018those about to be\nilluminated,\u2019 that is, baptised: nine upon penance. Eleven at\nConstantinople in 398 and 399, one of these in praise of the empress\nEudoxia when she came at night to Sancta Sophia to venerate the relics\nof the martyrs; nine others on various subjects.\n\nAmong his dogmatic works are the demonstration against the Jews that\nChrist is God, proving the divine dignity of the Messias from the\nfulfilment of Old Testament prophecies, from the wonderful spread of the\nChristian faith, from the fulfilment of the prophecies of Christ,\nespecially on the temple and the Jewish people: the writing on St.\nBabylas, and against Julian and the heathen. He points out how the\nmiracles worked at Antioch in Julian\u2019s attack on Daphne were a warning\nto the restorer of heathenism, disregarding which, he was punished by an\nearly death. A treatise on two books to Theodorus, when he lapsed, the\nTheodorus mentioned above: on compunction, two books: on Providence,\nthree books, to a friend grievously troubled. To the opposers of the\nmonastic life, three books: the comparison between a monk and a king: on\nthe priesthood, six books, written in solitude, in 376. It dwells on the\nholiness and exalted character of the New Testament priesthood: on its\ndivine powers in offering the sacrifice and forgiving sins; on the\ndifficulty and the dangers of preaching; on the great qualities required\nby a priest and a bishop. So he excuses himself to his friend Basil for\nrecommending him to an office which he fled from himself. A treatise on\nthe virginal life, which he gives only as a counsel, not as a precept,\nrecognising the honour due to marriage. Two books to a young widow,\nadvising her not to remarry. Against the prohibited dwelling of\nunmarried women in the same house with priests, and a most beautiful\ntreatise upon \u2018No one can be hurt except by himself,\u2019 written in the\nlast moments of his own banishment, of which his own life and death is\nthe best assurance; and a like one \u2018on those who are scandalised at\nmisfortunes\u2019.\n\nLastly, we possess 238 letters, all but one called forth by the\nincidents of his own banishment. These show the holy confessor in the\nwhole beauty of his magnanimous life. They are instinct throughout with\ntrust in the Divine Providence, like the last words which he uttered\nwhen he lay down to die.\n\nOut of this vast mass of works, the largest left to us by any Greek\nFather, the Translator has ventured to make a small selection, which,\ntogether with the translation itself, is entirely her own; and for which\nher excuse is the desire to bring in the easiest form specimens of so\ngreat a writer, and of one greater yet in deed than in writing, greatest\nof all in his death, before some who know him rather by the reputation\nhe has left in the Church than by his actual words.[3]\n\n THOS. W. ALLIES.\n\n_11th July, 1888._\n\n\n\n\n PART I.\n THE KING\u2019S HIGHWAY.\n\n\n The Way, the Truth, and the Life.\n (_Homilies on St. Matthew_,[4] lxxvi., vol. ii., p. 395.)\n\n \u00b7 \u00b7 \u00b7 \u00b7 \u00b7 \u00b7 \u00b7\n\nIs not it with justice, then, that He turns away from us and chastises\nus, since in everything He is offering us Himself, and we are resisting\nHim? This is clear to all. \u2018For,\u2019 He says, \u2018if you wish to adorn\nyourself you have My adornment, or to arm yourself you have My arms, or\nto dress yourself you have My clothing, or to eat you have My table, or\nto walk you have My road, or to inherit you have My inheritance, or to\ngo into your own country you have that city of which I am the Builder\nand the Architect, or to build a house you have My tents. I do not\ndemand of you a reward for the things which I give, but I owe interest\nto you besides for that reward if you are willing to make use of all\nthat is Mine.\u2019 What could equal this munificence? \u2018I am father, I am\nbrother, I am bridegroom, I am dwelling-place; I am food, I am clothing,\nI am root and foundation; I am all things whatsoever you desire: stand\nin need of no man. I will also be a slave, for I came to minister, not\nto be ministered to. I am a friend too; I am member and head, and\nbrother, and sister, and mother; I am all things; only hold Me for your\nown. I am poor for you, and a wanderer for you; I was on the cross for\nyou, and in the tomb for you; I intercede with the Father for you up\nabove, and I came down to earth as a messenger to you from the Father.\nYou are all things to Me\u2014brother and co-heir, and friend and member.\u2019\nWhat more do you ask? Why do you turn away from Him, your Lover? Why do\nyou labour for the world? Why do you pour water into a broken pitcher?\nFor this is to toil for the life which now is. Why do you spin a web for\nburning? Why beat the air? Why run at random? Has not every art an\nobject? This is clear to everyone. Show me, then, you also, the object\nof your labour in life. You have none.\n\n_Vanity of vanities, and all is vanity._ Let us go into a churchyard;\nshow me now your father, show me your wife. Where is he who was clothed\nin gold? Where is he who rode in his chariot? Where is he who had an\narmy at his command, he who had a treasury, and he who held a public\noffice? Where is he who killed some and cast others into prison, who\nslew whom he pleased and acquitted whom he pleased? I see nothing except\nbones, and the moth and the cobweb; all those things were dust and\nfable, and dream and shadow, and idle talk and an epitaph\u2014indeed, not\neven an epitaph, for we see an epitaph on a figure, but in this place\nnot even a figure. And would that evils ended here! Now, that which\npertains to honour and feasting and great name is like a shadow and idle\ntalk, but that which they produce is by no means a shadow or idle talk.\nTheir effects remain, and will abide with us there and be evident to\nall\u2014rapacity and selfishness, fornication, adultery, and a thousand\nvices of the same kind. These are not in the image nor in the ashes, but\nboth words and deeds are written above. With what eyes, then, shall we\nlook upon Christ? For if a man would not venture to see his father if he\nwere conscious in his own mind of sinning against him, how shall we in\nthat hour confront Him Who is infinitely gentler than a father? How\nshall we bear Him? For we shall stand before the tribunal of Christ, and\nthere will be a strict scrutiny of all things. But if anyone disbelieve\nin that future judgment, let him consider things as they are on\nearth\u2014those in prisons, for instance, those in mines and on dung-hills,\npossessed men, madmen, those who are fighting with incurable disease,\nthose who are pinched by persistent poverty, those who are mated with\nhunger, those who are given over to unhealable sorrow, those who are in\ncaptivity. Men, indeed, would not now suffer these things if He did not\nordain that reward and punishment should await all those who have been\nguilty of the like transgressions. And if these men incur no penalty in\nthis world, you must take this to yourself as a sign that there is to be\nsomething in the next after our departure hence. For He Who is the Lord\nof all would not chastise some and leave others, who had been guilty of\nthe same or of worse things, unchastised, if He did not reserve a\npunishment for them in the next world.\n\n \u00b7 \u00b7 \u00b7 \u00b7 \u00b7 \u00b7 \u00b7\n\n\n Who is the Greater?\n (_Homilies on St. Matthew_, lviii., vol. ii., p. 167.)\n\n \u00b7 \u00b7 \u00b7 \u00b7 \u00b7 \u00b7 \u00b7\n\n_At that time the disciples came to Jesus, saying: Who, then, is the\ngreater in the kingdom of heaven?_ The disciples had a human feeling,\nthis is why the Evangelist lays special stress upon it, saying, _at that\ntime_\u2014that is, when He had singled out Peter for special honour. For in\nthe case of James and John one was the first-born, but He did nothing of\nthe kind for them. As, then, they are ashamed to own to their annoyance,\nthey do not say openly: \u2018Why hast Thou honoured Peter more than us?\u2019 or,\n\u2018Is he greater than we?\u2019 they would not say this, but ask indefinitely:\n_Who is the greater?_ When they saw the three singled out for special\nhonour, they had felt nothing of the kind; they _were_ grieved, however,\nwhen so great a distinction was conferred upon one. This was not all,\nfor their feeling was intensified by putting many other favours\ntogether. For Our Lord said to him: _I will give thee the keys, and,\nBlessed art thou, Simon Bar Jona_, and again, _Give it to them for Me\nand thee_; and, seeing Peter\u2019s great fearlessness, they were irritated.\nAnd if Mark says that they did not put their question, but thought it in\ntheir own minds, this is not in any way contrary to Matthew\u2019s account.\nFor it is probable that they did both one and the other, both that they\nfelt this at one time, and that at another they spoke out, and also had\ntheir own thoughts about it. Now, do not look merely at the accusation,\nbut consider further, first, that they are not seeking earthly things,\nand secondly, that they afterwards overcame this feeling, and ceded the\nfirst places to each other. We, on the contrary, are neither able to\nreach their defects, nor do we seek who is the greater in the kingdom of\nheaven, but who is the greater in the kingdom of the world, who is the\nricher and the more powerful.\n\nNow, what does Christ say? He reveals their conscience to them, and\nanswers this feeling rather than their mere words. _Calling unto Him a\nlittle child, He said: Unless you be converted and become as little\nchildren, you shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven._ \u2018You, indeed,\nenquire who is the greater, and dispute about the first places; _I_ tell\nyou that he who has not become meeker than all the rest is not worthy\neven to enter into that kingdom.\u2019 And He brings the example before them\nin a beautiful way; and not only does He bring it before them, but He\nsets the child in the midst of them, admonishing them by the sight, and\nurging them to be both humble and unaffected. For a child is free from\nenvy and from vainglory, and from the love of the first places, and he\npossesses the greatest virtue\u2014simplicity, and unaffectedness and\nhumility. It is not sufficient to have courage and prudence, but this\nvirtue also: I mean humility and simplicity. For with the greatest, our\nsalvation will be at fault, if we have not these. Contempt, blows,\nhonour, or praise cause a child neither annoyance nor envy, nor is he\nthereby inflated. Do you see again how He excites us to natural\nqualities, showing us that these may be rightly directed by a free\nchoice, and how He thus condemns the wretched fury of the Manicheans?\nFor if nature be bad, why does He take from nature illustrations in\nfavour of asceticism? The child seems to me most truly a child standing\nin the midst of them, free from all these passions. Such a child,\nindeed, is without folly, and the love of reputation, without jealousy\nand envy, and every affection of the kind; and having many\nvirtues\u2014simplicity, humility, unmeddlesomeness\u2014he is not puffed up by\nany one of them; it is doubly wise to possess these things and not to be\nvain of them. This is why Our Lord called the child and set him in the\nmidst of them; nor did He close His argument here, but He adds this\nfurther exhortation, saying: _He who shall receive one of these children\nin My name receives Me_. \u2018Not only if you have become like to them shall\nyou have a great reward, but also if you honour those like them for My\nsake, I will give you a kingdom as a reward for your honour of them.\u2019 He\nsays, indeed, more than this in the words _receives Me_. Thus, ardently\nam I to desire meekness and unaffectedness. Hence He calls men who ate\nthus simple and humble, and cast off by the multitude, and despised,\nchildren.\n\n \u00b7 \u00b7 \u00b7 \u00b7 \u00b7 \u00b7 \u00b7\n\n\n The First are Last and the Last First.\n (_Homilies on St. Matthew_, lxvii., vol. ii., p. 285.)\n\n \u00b7 \u00b7 \u00b7 \u00b7 \u00b7 \u00b7 \u00b7\n\nLet no sinner despair: let no just man give way to sloth. Neither let\nthe just be presumptuous, for it often happens that the harlot outstrips\nhim; nor let the sinner be downcast, for he may overtake those who are\nfirst.\n\nListen to what God says to Jerusalem: _I said all these things after her\nadultery, Turn to Me, and she did not turn_. As often as we return to\nthe burning charity of God, He no longer remembers our former sins. God\nis not as man: He does not reproach those who come to Him, or say, if we\nbe really changed, \u2018Why hast thou wasted so much time?\u2019 but He loves us\nwhenever we go to Him. Let us only go to Him in the right way. Let us\ncling fast to Him, and nail our hearts to His fear. These things have\ntaken place not only recently, but they happened also of old. What was\nworse than Manasses? Yet he was able to appease God. Who was more\nblessed than Solomon? But torpor made him fall. Indeed, I can show the\ntwo things happening in one man; in Solomon\u2019s father, for he himself was\njust and became wicked. Who was more blessed than Judas? Yet Judas\nbecame a traitor. What could be more miserable than Matthew? But he\nbecame an evangelist. What was worse than Paul? Still, Paul became an\napostle. Who was more zealous than Simon? And yet Simon himself became\nthe most wretched of all. How many more of the same vicissitudes would\nyou contemplate\u2014those both of the past and those which are taking place\nevery day? So I say, neither let the man who is on the stage despair,\nnor let the man who is in the Church make too bold. To the latter it was\nsaid: _He who seems to stand, let him be careful lest he fall_, and to\nthe former: _Does the fallen man not rise up again?_ and, _Restore\nlanguid hands and disabled knees_. Again, to the just it was said:\n_Watch_, but to sinners: _Arise, thou who sleepest, and rise from the\ndead_. The former have need to watch over what they possess, and the\nlatter to become that which they are not as yet: the just to preserve\ntheir health, sinners to put off their sickness. For they _are_ sick,\nbut many of the sick are sound, and some of the sound, by their\ncarelessness, become sick. For it was to these that Our Lord said, _Go,\nthou art sound: sin no more, lest something worse should befal thee_;\nbut to sinners, _Wilt thou be made sound? Take up thy bed and walk, and\ngo into thy house._ Sin is indeed a dire paralysis, or, rather, it is\nnot only a paralysis, but something more fearful. For a paralysed man is\nnot only lacking good things, but is also a prey to bad ones. Still, if\nyou are even in this state, and are willing to make a small effort to\nrise, all sins are remitted. Even if your sickness has lasted\nthirty-eight years, yet you strive to become sound: there is no one to\nprevent you. Christ is at hand now as then, and He says, _Take up thy\nbed_. Only be willing to rise; do not lose heart. Have you no man? You\nhave God. Have you no one to put you into the pool? But you have One Who\nwill not allow you to require the pool in vain. Have you no one to hold\nyou in it? You have One Who commands you to take up your bed. You have\nnot to say, _When I come, another gets down before me_. For if you wish\nto go down to the fountain no man hinders you. Charity is not spent nor\nconsumed: it is a source which is always flowing upwards: out of His\nfulness we are all cured as to our soul and as to our body. Now,\ntherefore, also, let us approach Him. Rahab was a harlot, yet she was\nsaved; and the thief was a murderer, but he became a citizen of\nparadise; and Judas, being in the society of the Master, was lost,\nwhilst the thief on the cross became a disciple. These are God\u2019s\nparadoxes. Thus it was that the Magi found favour, that a publican\nbecame an evangelist, and a blasphemer an apostle.\n\nConsider these things, and never despair, but be of good heart always,\nand raise yourself up. Keep to that path alone which leads above, and\nyou will make rapid progress. Close not the doors nor block up the\nentrance. This time is short and the labour small. And if it were heavy,\neven then we should not refuse it. For if you are not weary with this\nmost delicious weariness of wisdom and virtue, you will be weary with\nthe weariness of the world, and will be worn out in another way. But if\nthere be weariness here too, why do we not choose for ourselves that\nother which is so productive of fruit and has so great a reward? And yet\nthis last weariness is not as the former. For in worldly things there\nare always risks and continuous penalties: hope is uncertain, much\nslavery of spirit is required, and there is expenditure of money, and of\nstrength of body and of mind, and even then the compensation of results\nis far below the expectation, if there be any results at all. The sweat\nand toil of worldly business do not, indeed, in all cases produce fruit.\nEven in those instances in which they are not fruitless, but rich in\nresults, these are short-lived. For it is when you grow old, and have no\nlonger an acute sense of enjoyment that your labour yields its fruit.\nThe hard work falls to the lot of the body at its prime, whereas the\nfruit and its enjoyment come when it is worn and aged, and time has\ndulled its perceptions, or, if it has not dulled them, the prospect of\nan approaching end forbids enjoyment. It is not so in the other case,\nbut labour is the part of a mortal and corruptible body, and the crown\nbelongs to a glorified and immortal one which is eternal. The labour\ncomes first and is slight, but the reward comes last and is infinite, so\nthat you may rest with security and be untroubled as to the future.\nThere is no fear of change or of misfortune as there is here on earth.\nWhat goods, then, are these\u2014insecure, slight, and earthly, which\ndisappear before they appear, and are possessed with so much toil? How\nare they equal to those immutable, undecaying good things which are free\nfrom all hardships, and crown you in the time of warfare? The man who\ndespises money receives his reward even on earth: he is free from care\nand envy, slander, treachery, and heart-burnings. The wise man, he who\nlives decorously, is crowned and in luxury before his flight hence, in\nhis freedom from unseemliness and senseless laughter, and dangers and\naccusations, and all evils. In the same way, virtue, of whatever other\nkind, puts us already in possession of our reward. Let us then, fly from\nevil and choose the good, so that we may arrive at both present and\nfuture rewards. Thus we shall both enjoy our lives here and possess our\ncrowns in heaven, which may it be given to us all to do through the love\nand mercy of Our Lord Jesus Christ, to Whom be glory and power for ever\nand ever. Amen.\n\n\n Variety of Human Lot.\n(_Homilies on the First Epistle to the Corinthians_,[5] xxix., vol. ii.,\n p. 359.)\n\n \u00b7 \u00b7 \u00b7 \u00b7 \u00b7 \u00b7 \u00b7\n\n_One and the same Spirit worketh all things, distributing to each his\nown gifts according to His pleasure._ Therefore he says, let us not be\ntroubled or grieved, thinking to ourselves, \u2018Why have I received this\nand not received that?\u2019 Neither must we scrutinise the doings of the\nHoly Spirit. For if you know that He has shown you favour out of\nkindness, considering that out of the same kindness He has also put a\nlimit to His gift, acquiesce and rejoice in what you have received, and\nbe not down-hearted about what you have not received, but rather give\nthanks that your gift is not beyond your power. If it behoves us not to\nbe over-eager in spiritual things, how much less in those of the flesh;\nbut we should be at ease, and not be disturbed because one man is rich\nand another poor. In the first place, not every rich man gets his wealth\nfrom God, but many become rich through injustice and avarice and\ngraspingness. For how could He, Who commands us not to lay up riches,\nhave given that which He prohibited our taking? Now, in order that I may\nsilence those who differ from us in this with the more authority, let us\ngo deeper into the argument. Tell me why were riches given by God? Why\nwas it that Abraham was rich, and that Jacob even wanted bread? Were not\nboth righteous men? Had not God said equally of the three, _I am the God\nof Abraham, and of Isaac, and of Jacob_? Why then was the one rich and\nthe other in poverty? Or, rather, why was Esau, the unjust and\nfratricidal man, rich, and Jacob in servitude for so long? Again, why\ndid Isaac pass his whole life in ease, and Jacob in toils and hardships,\nso that he said, _My days are short and miserable_? Why did David, too,\nbeing both prophet and king, as he was, live his life in labour, whilst\nhis son Solomon was, during forty years, the richest of men, in the\nenjoyment of enduring peace, glory, and honour, and every possible\nluxury? Why, in short, amongst the prophets was one tried more and\nanother less? Because thus it was profitable to each. Therefore, every\nman should say, _Thy judgments are a deep abyss_. For if God exercised\nthose great and admirable men in different ways\u2014one through poverty,\nanother through riches; one by a life of ease, another by tribulation\u2014it\nbehoves us all the more to take the same lesson now to heart. Together\nwith these considerations, we must admit that many things happen to us,\nwhich are not according to His judgment, but the result of our own\nwickedness. Say not, then, \u2018Why is it that a man is rich, being bad, and\nanother man is poor, being just?\u2019 We may easily explain this, and say\nthat neither does the just man suffer any harm from his poverty, which\nis a source of greater merit to him, and that the unjust man, unless he\nbe converted, possesses in his riches a store of wrath, and that, in\nplace of chastisement, the riches of many men have often been the cause\nof evil to them, and led them into a thousand abysses. But God leaves\nthem these riches, showing everywhere the free action of divine choice,\neverywhere teaching other men not to fight nor to strive for money.\n\u2018What, then,\u2019 you say, \u2018if a bad man becomes rich, and suffers no harm?\nIf a righteous man were to become rich, it would be just, but what are\nwe to say when a bad man does?\u2019 That on this account he is to be pitied.\nFor wealth added to wickedness increases the intensity of passions. But\na man is just, and he is starving. Well, it does him no harm. But he is\nbad, and starving. Well, he has his just deserts, or, rather, what is\nfor his good. \u2018But so and so,\u2019 you say, \u2018received his wealth from\nancestors, and has squandered it on bad women and parasites, and he is\nnone the worse.\u2019 How is this? Will you call him a dissolute man, and say\nhe is none the worse? He is a drunkard, and do you call it enjoyment? He\nwastes for no good purpose, and do you look upon him as enviable? What\ncould a man do worse than to be making his soul an ignominy? If a body\nwere to be distorted or maimed, you would think it the saddest matter in\nthe world; yet, contemplating that man\u2019s soul wholly maimed, do you\nconsider him a happy man? \u2018But,\u2019 you say, \u2018he does not feel it.\u2019 And for\nthis very reason he is the more to be pitied, just as men who lose their\nwits are. For he who knows that he is ill will seek the physician\nhonestly and apply remedies; whereas he who does not know it will be\nbeyond cure. Tell me, then, is this the man you consider happy? But this\nis not astonishing, for the majority of men are devoid of a right\nestimate of things. So it is that, when chastised, we pay the extreme\npenalty, and are not freed from wrath; hence come desires and\ndespondencies and perpetual anxieties, since, when God shows us a\npainless life, that of goodness, by removing ourselves from it, we\nchoose another road, the way of riches and money, which is productive of\na thousand evils. We act as a man would act, who, not being able to\njudge of physical beauty, but, ascribing everything to clothes and\nadornment, should pass over a young woman, possessing comeliness of\nbody, and take to himself an ugly one, deformed and crippled, merely for\nher fine dress. The great mass of men now do something of this kind in\nthe matter of goodness and badness, by following their bad nature on\naccount of its outward attraction, and by turning away from the good\nnature, which is blooming and beautiful, on account of its unadorned\ncomeliness, the very reason why they should have chosen it.\n\n \u00b7 \u00b7 \u00b7 \u00b7 \u00b7 \u00b7 \u00b7\n\n\n Whence the Rich?\n(_Homilies on First Epistle to Corinthians_, xxxiv., vol. ii., p. 430.)\n\n \u00b7 \u00b7 \u00b7 \u00b7 \u00b7 \u00b7 \u00b7\n\nYou ask, \u2018Whence come the rich?\u2019 for it is written, _Riches and poverty\nare from the Lord_. Now let us ask those who urge this upon us, \u2018Then is\nall wealth and all poverty from the Lord?\u2019 Who would say as much? For we\nsee many laying up riches for themselves through rapacity, through the\nspoliation of tombs, through sorcery, and other means of the same kind,\nand that those who possess these riches are unworthy even of living.\nNow, tell me, is this the wealth we recognise as from God? No, far from\nit. Whence, then, does it come? From sin. For a bad woman grows rich by\nmisusing her body, and the handsome youth often bartering the flower of\nhis years possesses his money in ignominy, and the invader of graves who\nunearths tombs amasses the wealth of unrighteousness, just as the thief\ndoes by breaking down walls. Therefore not all wealth is from God. How\nthen, you ask, shall we answer this argument? In the first place,\nunderstand that poverty was not made by God either, and then we will\nexamine our argument. When a licentious youth either spends his riches\nupon bad women, or upon magical arts, or upon any other lusts of the\nsame nature, and thus becomes poor, is it not evident that it is brought\nabout not by God, but by his own riotousness? Again, if a man were to\nbecome poor through sloth, or to fall into poverty because of his want\nof sense, or to engage in perilous and unlawful pursuits, is it not\nevident once more that no one of these or those like them would be\nthrust into this want by God? Then, is the Scripture false? God forbid,\nbut those who lay down the law on all the Scripture with insufficient\ndiscernment are wanting in sense. For if it be asserted that the\nScripture is trustworthy, and it be proved that not all wealth is from\nGod, then the difficulty lies in the weakness of those who put an\ninconsiderate construction upon such things. I ought indeed to have let\nyou alone on this point, having first cleared the Scripture of blame, in\norder to make you pay a penalty for your carelessness concerning it; yet\nsince I have great pity on you, and cannot bear to see you more troubled\nand confounded, let me add the explanation, considering in the first\nplace who said it, then when it was said, and to whom.\n\nFor God does not speak in the same way to all, just as we ourselves do\nnot use children as we use men. Now, when is it said, and by whom, and\nto whom? By Solomon of old to the Jews, who were familiar with sensible\nthings only, and measured God\u2019s power by these. It is they who say, _Is\nHe not able to give us bread_? and, _What sign dost Thou show us? Our\nfathers ate manna in the desert, whose belly is their God_. Since they\nestimated Him by these things, he tells them that God is also able to\nmake men rich and poor, not that He Himself does it altogether, but that\nHe can do it if He choose, as when He says, _He rebuketh the sea, and\ndrieth it up, and bringeth all the rivers to be a desert_, although this\nnever happened at all. How, then, does the prophet say that it did? Not\nas really taking place, but implying His power to do it. Now, what sort\nof poverty does He give and what sort of wealth? Call to mind the\npatriarch, and you will see what the riches are which God bestows. For\nit was He Who made Abraham rich, and Job after him, as Job admitted in\nthe words: _If we have received good things from the Lord, shall we not\nendure the bad things as well?_ And later on their twofold increase was\nHis gift. And Jacob\u2019s riches began from the same source. There is a\npoverty which is praised by Him, that which He proposed to that rich\nyoung man, saying, _If thou wilt be perfect, go sell what thou hast, and\ngive to the poor, and come and follow Me_; and again, when legislating\nfor the disciples, He said, _Ye shall not possess gold nor silver nor\ntwo cloaks_. Therefore, do not say that He gives wealth to all without\nexception, for I have shown you that it is put together by murders and\ncovetousness and a thousand other like causes.\n\n \u00b7 \u00b7 \u00b7 \u00b7 \u00b7 \u00b7 \u00b7\n\n\n The Rich Young Man.\n (_Homilies on St. Matthew_, lxiii., vol. ii., p. 227.)\n\n_And behold one came and said to Him: Good Master, what shall I do that\nI may inherit eternal life?_ Some reject this young man as insidious and\nbad. I, however, would not deny that he was a lover of money, and unable\nto resist it, since Christ convicted him of this; but I should not admit\nthat he was insidious, because it is not safe to make a venture upon\nwhat is unknown, especially in accusations, and because St. Mark has\nremoved this doubt. For he says _that running up and kneeling before_\nHim, he asked Him a question, and again, that _Jesus, looking upon him,\nloved him_. But great is the tyranny of money as we gather from this;\nfor even if we be quite faultless as to other things, it alone spoils\neverything else. St. Paul too justly called it the root of all evils.\n_The love of money_, he says, _is the root of all evils_. Now, why did\nOur Lord answer him by saying, _No man is good_. Because the youth\napproached Him as a mere man, as one of many, and a Jewish teacher: on\nthis account Our Lord spoke as man to man with him. For He frequently\nanswers according to the secret mind of those who come to Him, as, for\ninstance, when He says, _We adore what we know_, and, _If I bear witness\nto Myself, My witness is not true_. When, then, He says, _No man is\ngood_, He does not say it to repudiate His own goodness\u2014far from it; for\nHe does not say, \u2018Why do you call _Me_ good? I am not good,\u2019 but, _No\nman is good_, that is, no man at all.\n\nWhen He speaks in this way, He is not defrauding men of all goodness,\nbut making a distinction as to God\u2019s goodness. So He added: _Only God is\ngood_. And He did not say, \u2018Only my Father,\u2019 that you may know that He\ndid not disclose Himself to the youth. Thus, higher up, He called all\nmen bad, saying, _But if you who are bad know how to give good gifts to\nyour children_. And if He called them wicked in this place, He did not\ncondemn human nature as altogether bad (for He says _you_, not \u2018you, the\nhuman race\u2019). He so called them, because He was putting the goodness of\nman by the side of the goodness of God, and therefore He added, _How\nmuch more will your Father give good gifts to those who ask Him_. And,\nyou may say, what necessity or advantage was there that He should answer\nthe young man in this way? He leads him up by degrees, teaches him to\nput off all deception, withdraws him from the things of earth, nailing\nhim to God, inducing him to seek the things to come, to know the good,\nthe root and foundation of all things, and to refer honour back to Him.\nAnd thus when He says, _You shall call no man master upon earth_, He\nsaid it to make a distinction as to Himself, that they might learn Who\nwas the first Beginning of all things. For, so far, the young man had\nshown no slight willingness by rushing eagerly to embrace this love; and\nwhilst others had come, some to tempt, others for the curing of disease,\nwhether it was their own or their neighbours\u2019, he had come and had\nspoken for the sake of eternal life. The soil indeed was rich and moist,\nbut the brambles overpowered and stifled the seed. For consider how far\nup to this point he is disposed to obey commands. _What shall I do_, he\nsays, _that I may inherit eternal life?_ Thus ready was he to accomplish\nwhat he should be told. But if he had come to Our Lord to tempt Him, the\nEvangelist would have told us so, as he does in other instances, and in\nthat of the advocate. But if the young man was silent, Christ would not\nhave allowed him to escape unknown, but would have convicted him wisely,\nor have hinted at his meaning, so that the youth should not think he had\ndeceived and escaped without recognition, and so have been misled. If he\nhad come to tempt, he would not have gone away sad, because of what he\nheard. This, at least, was not what any one of the Pharisees of the day\ndid; but when they were silenced, they were angry. It was not so with\nthe young man: _he_ went away cast-down, which was no small proof that\nhe had come with a weak rather than a bad intention, with the desire of\nlife, but weighed down by another and a stronger passion.\n\nTherefore, when Our Lord said, _If thou wilt enter into life, keep the\ncommandments_, he asks, _Which commandments?_ This was not said\ntempting\u2014far from it\u2014but thinking that he was to know of other\ncommandments besides those of the Law, which would help him to life.\nThis showed a great desire on his part. Then, when Jesus enumerated\nthose of the Law, he said, _All these have I kept from my youth_. And he\ndid not stop his enquiry here, but asked further, _What is yet wanting\nto me?_ which in itself was a proof of his eagerness. His thinking\nhimself to be still wanting in something, and his deeming that the\nthings already specified were not sufficient, was no small step towards\ngaining what he desired. What does Christ say? As He was about to\naccomplish a great work, He put the prize before the youth and said, _If\nthou wouldst be perfect, go, sell what thou hast and give to the poor,\nand thou shalt have a treasure in heaven, and come and follow Me_. Do\nyou see what rewards and crowns He sets for this career? If the young\nman had been tempting, he would not have spoken these things to Him. But\nnow He does speak, and, as it were, draws him to Himself, shows him the\nreward to be exceedingly great, and unfolds the whole before his mind,\nhiding throughout the semblance of irksomeness in the advice. Therefore,\nbefore speaking of the combat and the labour, He shows him the reward,\nsaying, _If thou wilt be perfect_; then He adds, _Go, sell what thou\nhast and give to the poor, and_, again returning to the rewards, _thou\nshalt have a treasure in heaven, and come and follow Me_. For the\nfollowing Him is a great compensation. _And thou shalt have a treasure\nin heaven._ Hence, as the matter turned on money, and He was exhorting\nthe young man to strip himself of everything, He points out that He does\nnot take away possessions, but adds to them, and that He gives more\nthings than those of which He commanded the sacrifice; and not merely\nare they more, but they are as much greater as heaven is than earth, and\neven more. He spoke of a treasure which is double the thing given,\nshowing it to be abiding and secure, intimating thus through human\nthings what His listener was to understand. Indeed, it is not enough to\ndespise money, but a man must also feed the poor and follow Christ above\nall things; that is, he must carry out all His commandments, hold\nhimself in readiness to be slaughtered and to suffer death any day. _If\nany man wish to come after Me, let him deny himself and take up his\ncross and follow Me._ As this command was a much higher one than the\ngiving up of money\u2014even the shedding of blood\u2014so the giving up of money\nis no slight help towards its fulfilment. And when the young man had\nheard this word, _he went away sad_. Then, as if to show that he had\nfelt nothing unreasonable, the Evangelist said, _for he was very rich_.\nThose who possess a little and those who are steeped in abundance are\nnot equally restrained; then it is that love becomes more tyrannical. So\nI will not cease to say that the addition of superfluities is fuel to\nthe fire, that it makes their possessors poorer, that it increases,\nindeed, their desires, and makes them conscious of greater needs. See\nhow, in this case, passion showed its strength. For when Our Lord\ncommanded the man, who came to him with joyful readiness, to renounce\nhis money, he was so cast down and perturbed as to go away without\ngiving any answer at all; and having become silent and sad and gloomy,\nhe thus departed.\n\n \u00b7 \u00b7 \u00b7 \u00b7 \u00b7 \u00b7 \u00b7\n\n\n Different Kinds of Friendship.\n (_Homilies on St. Matthew_, lx., vol. ii., p. 199.)\n\n \u00b7 \u00b7 \u00b7 \u00b7 \u00b7 \u00b7 \u00b7\n\nLet us now consider the various forms which friendship takes with the\nmajority of men. One man loves because he is loved; another because he\nhas been honoured; another shows a liking for a man who has been of use\nto him in some practical matter or other; another, again, for some such\nsimilar reason; but it is difficult, indeed, to find a man who loves his\nneighbour thoroughly and as he ought for Christ\u2019s sake. For in most\ncases it is temporal business which brings men together. St. Paul did\nnot love in this way: he loved for Christ\u2019s sake, so that he loved\nothers whether he was loved by them or not, and did not break charity,\nsince he had laid a strong foundation for his love-charm. It is not so\nnow; indeed, if we search diligently, we shall find in most men a\nfictitious friendship rather than this. And if anyone gave me power to\nenquire into the matter in so great a multitude, I could show that the\nmajority are bound to each other for worldly reasons. This is apparent\nfrom the causes which produce enmity. Since, then, men are bound to each\nother for motives so paltry, there is neither warmth nor fidelity in\ntheir mutual dealings; but contempt, and money losses, and jealousy, the\nlove of honour, or any similar thing showing itself, destroys the\nlove-charm. It rests not upon a spiritual foundation. If it were so,\nworldly things would never break up spiritual things. The love, indeed,\nwhich is born of Christ is strong and enduring and invincible, and\nnothing has power to dissolve it\u2014neither calumnies, nor dangers, nor\ndeath, nor any other of these things whatsoever. If a man who thus loves\nshould suffer in a thousand ways, contemplating that on which love\nrests, he stands unmoved. But the man who loves because he is loved, if\nhe should suffer some foolish thing or other, breaks up his friendship,\nwhilst the former is firm to the end. This is why St. Paul said,\n_Charity never falleth away_. What answer would you make? That the man\nwhom you have honoured is a reviler? or that the one whom you have\nbenefited would wish to put you to death? But if you love for Our Lord\u2019s\nsake, this encourages you to love all the more. For those things which\nare destructive to love in other cases become productive of it in this\nparticular one. How so? In the first place, because the man so loved is\nthe cause of your reward; secondly, because one thus situated requires\nspecial help and much care. On this account a man who loves for Our\nLord\u2019s sake does not enquire about family, or country, or riches, or\ndemand love in return: he concerns himself about none of these things,\nbut even if he be hated, or despised, or destroyed, he still loves,\nbecause his affection is built on a strong foundation\u2014Christ. Hence he\nstands firm, steadfast, immutable, with his eyes on Our Lord. So it was\nthat Christ loved His enemies\u2014harsh men, scoffers, blasphemers, haters,\nthose who wished not even to see Him, those who preferred stones and\nwood to His love, and He loved them with the charity from above, in\ncomparison with which there is no other charity to be found. _For_, He\nsays, _no man hath greater charity than this, that he giveth his life\nfor his friends_. See how loving He ceases not to be towards the very\nmen who crucified Him and reviled Him. He even spoke for them to His\nFather, saying, _Forgive them, for they know not what they do_. And,\nlater on, He charged His disciples with those same men. Let us, then, be\nzealous for this same charity, and strive to possess it, that, being\nmade the imitators of Christ, we may enjoy both present and future good\nthings by the grace and tenderness of Our Lord Jesus Christ, to Whom be\nhonour and glory for ever and ever. Amen.\n\n\n The Buyers and Sellers in the Temple.\n (_Homilies on St. Matthew_, lxvii., vol. ii., p. 277.)\n\n_And Jesus went into the temple of God, and cast out all them that sold\nand bought in the temple, and overthrew the tables of the\nmoney-changers, and the chairs of them that sold doves. And He saith to\nthem: It is written, My house shall be called the house of prayer; but\nyou have made it a den of thieves._ John says the same thing, but he\nsays it in the beginning of his gospel, whereas Matthew says it towards\nthe end. Hence it is evident that the thing recounted took place twice\nand at different times. This is clear from the time and from the answer.\nIn St. Matthew it happened at the very time of the Pasch; in St. John a\ngood deal before it. In the latter the Jews say, _What sign dost Thou\nshow us?_ but in the former they are silent as if rebuked, because He\nwas an object of wonder to all men. His doing the same action twice, and\nthis in an authoritative way, strengthens the charge against the Jews,\nfor they remained at their traffic, and called Him God\u2019s enemy, when\nthey should have learnt from this His action how much He honoured His\nFather and what His own power was. For He was working wonders, and they\nsaw a correspondence between His words and His deeds. Still they were\nunmoved and discontented, and this in the face of the loud testimony of\nthe Prophet and of children witnessing to Him, with a wisdom beyond\ntheir years. This is why He Himself uses as an arm against them the\naccusing words of Isaias: _My house shall be called the house of\nprayer_. He shows His power not only in this way, but in the curing of\nmany kinds of diseases; for the lame and the blind came to Him and He\ncured them, and He shows forth His power and His authority. They,\nhowever, were not persuaded in this way; but after seeing these wonders,\nand listening to children bearing witness to Him, they say, _Dost Thou\nnot hear what these say?_ This was what Christ might have said to\n_them_: \u2018Do you not hear what these say?\u2019 for they sang to Him as to\nGod. What does He do? Since they spoke against visible signs, He makes\nuse of a stronger correction, saying, _Have you never read, Out of the\nmouths of infants and of sucklings Thou hast perfected praise?_ He said\nwell, _out of the mouths_. For that which they said did not come from\nthemselves, but from that power of His which controlled the words of\ntheir tongues. This indeed was a type amongst the nations of those who\nfaltered and cried out confusedly, speaking great things with\ndiscernment and faith. Hence it was no small encouragement to the\nApostles also. In order that they should not be perplexed as to how\nthey, being unlearned, are to announce the Gospel tidings, these\nchildren by anticipation have cast out their fear, because He who has\ncaused the children to sing will give them also reasoning powers. This\nwas not all that the wonder made manifest: it showed Him to be the Lord\nof creation. These children of unripe age, on the one hand, gave voice\nto words of good omen which were in harmony with the things above; but\nmen, on the contrary, to outbursts of folly and madness. Such was their\nbadness. Whilst then, they had many incitements to anger, the attitude\nof the crowd, the throwing over of the tables of the buyers, the voice\nof His wonders, that of the children, He again leaves them, allowing\ntheir passion to cool, and not wishing to begin His teaching lest,\nboiling over with jealousy, they should be still more angered at what\nhad been said.\n\n \u00b7 \u00b7 \u00b7 \u00b7 \u00b7 \u00b7 \u00b7\n\n\n The Voice of Good Deeds.\n (_Homilies on St. Matthew_, xlvi., vol. ii., p. 14.)\n\n \u00b7 \u00b7 \u00b7 \u00b7 \u00b7 \u00b7 \u00b7\n\nIf twelve men leavened the whole world, consider what _our_ wickedness\nmust be, inasmuch as we, being so many, are unable to convert the\nremainder, when we ought to suffice for the leavening of a thousand\nworlds. \u2018But,\u2019 some one says, \u2018they were apostles.\u2019 What does this\nmatter? Had not they the same surroundings as you? Were they not reared\nin cities? Did they not lead the same sort of life? Did they not follow\na trade? Were they angels? Did they come down from heaven? \u2018But,\u2019 you\nsay, \u2018they worked wonders.\u2019 It was not the wonders which made them\nfamous. How long shall we use our own softness as a pretext for not\nconsidering those wonders? For many who cast out devils, since they\nafterwards worked iniquity, did not become renowned, but were even\nchastised. And what is it, you ask, which pointed them out as great? The\ndespising of money and of reputation, and the withdrawal from worldly\nbusiness. If they had been without these things, and had been slaves to\ntheir passions, even if they had raised up a thousand dead men, not only\nthey would have done no good, but they would have been looked upon as\ndeceivers. Thus, it is the life in every case which is resplendent, and\nwhich draws upon itself the unction of the Spirit. Did not John work a\nsign when he made so many cities hang upon his words? Yet listen to the\nEvangelist saying that he worked no wonder: _John did no wonder_. How\ndid Elias become renowned? Was it not by his outspokenness with the\nking\u2014by his zeal for God\u2019s service\u2014by his possessing nothing\u2014by his\nsheep-skin, and his cavern, and his mountains? For he worked his wonders\nafter all these things. What sign did the devil see Job doing when he\nwas struck with amazement? Not any at all, but he found him leading a\nresplendent life, which showed forth an endurance firmer than adamant.\nWhat sign had David accomplished for God to say of him, when still a\nyouth, _I have found David, the son of Jesse, a man after My own heart_?\nWhat dead man did Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob raise to life? What leper\ndid they cleanse? Do you not know that, if we are not watchful,\nwonder-working is often harmful? Thus it was that many of the\nCorinthians fell into schism and many Romans lost their right mind.\nThus, too, that Simon was cast out, and that the man who desired to\nfollow Christ refused the call when he heard that _foxes have holes, and\nbirds of the air have nests_. Each of these, the one seeking money, and\nthe other glory from the working of signs, fell away and were lost. But\npurity of life and the love of goodness not only do not produce this\ndesire, but they take it away where it exists. And what did He Himself\nsay when He was laying down the law to His disciples? Did He say, \u2018You\nshall do signs in order that men may see\u2019? Not at all, but, rather, _Let\nyour light shine before men, that they may see your good works, and\nglorify your Father Who is in heaven_. Nor did He say to Peter, \u2018If thou\nlovest Me, work wonders,\u2019 but, _Feed My sheep_. And, honouring Peter,\nwith James and John, in every instance more than the rest, how does He\nshow this honour, tell me? Is it in the doing of wonders? No; for they\nall cleansed lepers, and raised the dead to life, and to all He gave\nauthority in equal measure. How then were those three distinguished? By\ninterior virtue. Do you see that, everywhere, life is the need, and the\nmanifestation of works? _By their fruits_, He said, _you shall know\nthem_. What is it which approves our life? Is it the manifestation of\nwonders or an irreproachable conduct? Clearly it is the latter; for the\nreason which calls forth signs belongs to this world, and they cease in\nthe next. The man who gives an example of a good life draws this charity\nupon himself; and he who shines by charity shines in this way, in order\nthat he may correct the life of others. Since Christ also worked those\nwonders in order that He might appear worthy of confidence in this\nworld, and, drawing men to Himself, might introduce virtue into life;\ntherefore, more stress is laid upon this point. For He is not contented\nwith signs alone, but He threatens hell, and He preaches the kingdom,\nand He enacts those marvellous laws, and everything is done with a view\nto His making men like to angels. But why do I say that Christ does\neverything unto this end? Tell me, if anyone gave _you_ your choice\neither to raise up the dead in His name or to die for His name\u2019s sake,\nwhich would you choose? The latter surely; for the one is a sign and the\nother is a deed. Again, if anyone offered you the power of turning grass\ninto gold, or that of looking down upon all gold as if it were grass,\nwould you not rather choose the latter, and with good reason? It would\nbe this which would attract men. For if they were to see food turned\ninto gold, and were even desirous of taking the same power into their\nown hands, as Simon was, the love of money would be increased in them;\nbut if they were to see all men looking down upon money as upon grass,\nand making little of it, they would be cured of this disease.\n\n \u00b7 \u00b7 \u00b7 \u00b7 \u00b7 \u00b7 \u00b7\n\n\n The Best Controversy.\n (_Homilies on St. Matthew_, xv., vol. i., p. 201.)\n\n \u00b7 \u00b7 \u00b7 \u00b7 \u00b7 \u00b7 \u00b7\n\nThen He goes on to a higher example\u2014_You are the light of the world_. It\nis again _of the world_; not of one people, nor of twenty cities, but of\nthe whole world; and it is a reasonable light, far superior to this\nphysical light, just as spiritual salt is to material salt. And first\nthey are salt, and afterwards light, in order that you may learn the\nforce of strong words and the advantage of this holy teaching. For it is\nurgent and will not be diverted from its aim, and, leading us by the\nhand, makes us look towards goodness. _A city seated on a mountain\ncannot be hidden. Neither do men light a candle and put it under a\nbushel._ He leads them once more through these things to purity of life,\nteaching them to be soldiers, as if before the eyes of all men and\nwrestling in the midst of the arena of the whole world. \u2018Look not,\u2019 He\nsaid, \u2018to rest now whilst you are in a small corner; for you are to be\nvisible to all men, like a city seated on a mountain, and like a candle\nshining upon all those in the house.\u2019 Where, now, are they who have\ndistrusted the power of Christ? Let them listen to these things, and,\nbeing frightened by the might of the prophecy, let them fall down and\nadore His almightiness. Think what great things He promised to those who\nwere not known even in their native place: that they are to go over land\nand sea, and to lift up their voice against the temptations of the\nworld, or rather not their voice, but the force of their goodness. For\nit was not their universal fame which made them conspicuous: it was the\nmanifestation of works. As if they had had wings, they spread over the\nwhole earth quicker than light, sowing the light of piety. Hence, it\nseems to me that He stimulates them unto fearlessness, for His saying,\n_A city seated on the mountain cannot be hidden_, was the manifestation\nof His own power; for, if it were useless to hide that, so neither could\nthe Gospel tidings be hushed or concealed. And to prevent them from\nthinking that persecutions, and accusations, and plots, and wars, since\nHe spoke of these things, would have power to check them, He encourages\nthem by saying that not only these persecutions will not pass unnoticed,\nbut that they will shine forth to the whole world, and that through this\nvery fact they themselves were to be renowned and famous. In this, then,\nHis own power is manifested; but He furthermore requires fortitude from\neach one of them, saying, _Men do not light a candle and put it under a\nbushel, but upon a candlestick, and it gives light to all in the house.\nSo may your light shine before men, that they may see your good works\nand glorify your Father Who is in heaven._ \u2018For it is I Who have\nenkindled the light,\u2019 He says. Whether, however, it remains lighted or\nnot must depend upon your zeal, not on your own account alone, but for\nthe sake of those who are to enjoy this beacon, and whom it is to lead\nto the truth. For the slanderings of men will not be able to veil your\nbrightness if you yourselves are leading strict lives, and thus are\npreparing to convert the whole world. Show forth, therefore, a life\nworthy of grace, that, as the truth is preached everywhere, so your life\nmay harmonise with it. And, again, He holds out another advantage\nbesides the salvation of men, which is capable of firing them with\ncourage and making all zealous. Not only will you reform the world, He\nsays, by living upright lives, but you will also prepare the glory of\nGod; just as by the contrary course you destroy men, and cause the name\nof God to be blasphemed. \u2018And how,\u2019 you ask, \u2018is God to be glorified\nthrough us if men are to slander us?\u2019 Not all men are to do this; but\nthose who do so hypocritically will wonder and admire you in secret,\njust as outward flatterers of those who are living in wickedness despise\nthem in their own minds. \u2018How, then, would you have us live for show and\nvainglory? No, indeed, I said nothing of the kind. I did not say, Make\nhaste to bring forth your good deeds before men; nor did I say, Point\nthem out; but, _Let your light shine_; that is, let your virtue be\nsolid, and the fire plentiful, and the light undimmed.\u2019 Whenever virtue\nis thus great, it cannot possibly be hidden, even if he who pursues it\nconceal it in a thousand ways. Show forth a spotless life and let them\nhave no real ground of accusation, and then, even if accusers be\nnumbered by hundreds, no man shall have power to overcloud you. And His\nexpression, _the light_, was pertinent. For nothing distinguishes a man\nso much, even if he wish to be hidden a thousand times over, as an\nexample of goodness. Just as physical light envelops a man, so does he\nshine forth with greater brightness, not letting his rays sink into the\nearth, but directing them beyond heaven itself. So He encourages them\nthe more. \u2018If,\u2019 He says, \u2018you are grieved at being reviled, many men\nthrough you will be in admiration of God.\u2019 He lays both wages to your\naccount\u2014God\u2019s glorification through you, and your being blasphemed for\nGod\u2019s sake. In order, therefore, that we should not give heed to evil\nspeaking, knowing that it procures us a reward, He did not simply\nmention the thing itself, but made two distinctions\u2014that of calumny and\nthat of calumny for God\u2019s sake; and He shows, moreover, that patience\nunder it bears much fruit, by referring the glory back to God; and He\nholds out pleasant hopes to them. The accusation of the wicked, He says,\nis in nothing so powerful as in helping others to see your light. When\nyou act foolishly, then only it is that they will trample you down, not\nwhen, doing what is right, you are cast aside. Then many will be in\nastonishment, not at you alone, but, through you, at our common Father.\nHe said the Father, not God, laying already the seeds of the spiritual\nbirth which He was to give them. Then, showing His equality with the\nFather, He said higher up, \u2018Grieve not for evil report; for it is\nsufficient for you that it is on My account\u2019. Thereupon He speaks of the\nFather, manifesting their equality everywhere.\n\nRecognising, therefore, our gain from this zeal and the danger of our\nnegligence (for it is much worse that our Master should be blasphemed\nbecause of us than that we should be lost), _Let us not give offence to\nthe Jews, or to heathens, or to the Church of God_; and, showing forth a\nlife more shining than the sun, even if anyone should wish to accuse us,\nnot grieving at evil report, but at hearing a just report unworthily.\nFor if we are living in wickedness and there be no accuser, we are the\nmost miserable of men, but if we are practising virtue, even if the\nwhole world should speak ill of us, we shall be the most enviable of\nall, and we shall draw all those who are called to be saved to\nourselves; for it is not by the accusation of the wicked but by a good\nlife that they will cleave to us. And a good example speaks louder than\nany trumpet, and a pure life is more resplendent than the very light,\neven if there be a thousand adversaries. If we are all that I have\nspecified\u2014if we are meek and humble and merciful, and clean of heart and\nlovers of peace, and when we are slandered do not repine but rejoice\u2014we\nshall draw those who look upon us to ourselves no less than by signs,\nand every man will deal kindly with us, whether he be a wild beast or a\ndemon, or anything else whatsoever. Still, if there should be\ncalumniators, do not be troubled at this, nor at seeing yourself\npublicly accused, but examine their inmost heart, and you will find that\nthey applaud and admire you, and are loud in your praises. Just consider\nhow Nabuchodonosor praised the children in the furnace, although he was\ntheir declared enemy; and when he saw their brave endurance, he\nacclaimed and acknowledged them for nothing else whatever than for\nturning away from his commands to listen to those of God. For when the\ndevil sees that he is accomplishing nothing, he desists, fearing lest he\nshould be the means of increasing our crowns; and when he is gone,\nhowever bad and depraved a man may be, he recognises virtue, that mist\nbeing removed from before his eyes. And if men should form a wrong\njudgment, you will have greater praise and admiration from God.\nTherefore, be not sorrowful or wavering, since the Apostles themselves\nwere an odour of death to some and of life to others. If you have\noffered no offence to any man, and have kept free from all reproach, you\nare blessed indeed. Shine, then, by your life, and make no account of\nslandering words. For it is quite impossible that a man who cultivates\ngoodness should not have many enemies; but this is nothing to him, for\nthrough these very enemies his life will shine the more. Taking these\nthings to heart, let us seek for one thing\u2014to order our own life with\npurity, for in this way we shall lead those who sit in darkness to that\nfuture life. Such, indeed, is the power of this light, that it not only\nshines here, but it escorts those who follow it to that heavenly\ncountry. Whenever men see you looking down upon all present things, and\nholding yourselves in readiness for eternal ones, your works will\nconvince them better than any argument. Who so foolish as not to deduce\na clear proof of the future life when he sees a man, thinking yesterday\nonly of luxury and money-making, giving up everything, freeing himself\nfrom all cares, and stretching out his hand towards hunger, and poverty,\nand hardship, and dangers, and blood-shedding, and a violent death,\ntowards everything which seems an evil? But if we are wholly engrossed\nwith present things, and plunge into them deeper and deeper, how are men\nto be persuaded that we are looking for another home? What excuse shall\nwe have if the fear of God cannot do among us that which human fame did\namongst Greek philosophers? Some of them also gave up money and despised\ndeath, in order to be a spectacle to men, and so their hopes were vain.\nWhat can be said for us with these things before us, and so great a\nphilosophy being unfolded, that we cannot do even what they did, but are\ndestroying ourselves and others too? For a heathen who acts against his\nconscience does not do the same harm as a Christian who thus acts, and\nmost justly. Their reputation is corrupt, whereas ours, through God\u2019s\ngoodness, is sacred and manifest even amongst impious men. Consequently,\nwhenever they want particularly to reproach us, and to make their\naccusation more telling, they bring this additional charge against us:\n\u2018So and so is a Christian,\u2019 which they would not do if they had not a\ngreat opinion of Christian teaching. Have you not heard how many and\nwhat great things Christ enjoined? Now, how can you observe one of those\ncommandments when, forgetting the rest, you go about investing your\nmoney, looking greedily after interest, involving yourself in lawsuits,\nbuying herds of slaves, preparing silver plate, laying up stores of\nfields and houses, and quantities of furniture? And would that this were\nall! When you add iniquity to these inopportune pursuits\u2014encroaching\nupon the land of others, pulling down houses, aggravating poverty,\nincreasing hunger\u2014how will you be able to mount up to those gates? But\nsupposing that you are merciful to the poor, I know what this means, and\nit again will call for a great expiation hereafter. For if you are\nmerciful through conceit or vainglory, so that you gain no merit even\nfrom good works, what could be more wretched than to be shipwrecked in\nharbour? In order to prevent this from happening, seek not a reward from\nme when you have done a good action, so that God may be your debtor.\n_Lend_, He says, _to him from whom you expect no return_.\n\n \u00b7 \u00b7 \u00b7 \u00b7 \u00b7 \u00b7 \u00b7\n\n\n The Tongue a Royal Power.\n (_Homilies on St. Matthew_, li., p. 76.)\n\n \u00b7 \u00b7 \u00b7 \u00b7 \u00b7 \u00b7 \u00b7\n\nLet us understand what those things are which sully a man, and when we\nhave understood let us shun them. In the church we see a certain habit\nprevailing amongst the majority of men\u2014how they are eager to come in\nwith spotless clothes and clean hands, whilst they do not trouble\nthemselves about how they are to offer up a pure heart to God. I say\nthis, not forbidding men to wash their hands or their mouths; my wish,\nhowever, is that they should wash them in the right way, not with water\nalone, but rather with virtues. For slandering, blasphemy, foul\nlanguage, bad words, laughter at low jokes, are the mouth\u2019s defilement.\nIf, then, you perceive that you are not dwelling on any of these things,\nnor guilty of this uncleanness, approach with good heart; if, on the\ncontrary, you have laid yourself open to these numerous stains, why are\nyou so foolish as to rinse your tongue with water whilst you carry in it\nthis pernicious and destructive impurity? Tell me, now, if you had dirt\nor dung in your hands, would you dare to utter a prayer? Certainly not.\nYet one is not at all harmful, and the other is perdition. How comes it\nthat you are particular in things of no consequence, and negligent about\nthe prohibited ones? \u2018What, then,\u2019 you ask, \u2018are we not to go on\npraying?\u2019 Certainly you are, but not in this filthy condition, nor with\nthis dirt upon you. \u2018What am I to do,\u2019 you ask, \u2018if I fall by accident?\u2019\nThen, purify yourself. How, and in what manner? Be in mourning and\ngroaning, give alms, apologise to the man you have insulted, and\nreconcile him to yourself by these things; purify your tongue in order\nthat you may incite the less the anger of God. For if anyone with his\nhands full of mud were to grasp your feet in supplication, not only\nwould you not listen to him, but you would kick him away; how, then, are\nyou so bold as to approach God in this way? The tongue of those who pray\nis a hand, and through it we touch the knees of God.[6] Therefore do not\ndefile that tongue, lest He should say to you, _And when you multiply\nyour prayer I will not hear_. For, _in the hand of the tongue are life\nand death_; and, again, _By thy words thou shalt be justified, and by\nthy words thou shalt be condemned_. Therefore guard the tongue more\ncarefully than the pupil of the eye. The tongue is the horse of a king.\nIf you put a bridle upon him and teach him to walk at a measured pace,\nthe king will rest and lean upon him; but if you allow him to be at\nlarge unbridled, and to be unmanageable, he becomes the vehicle of the\ndevil and his angels.... Dishonour not the tongue, for how will it pray\nfor you when it has lost its proper confidence? Adorn it rather with\nmildness and humility; make it worthy of the God Whom you are invoking;\nfill it with words of kindness and much almsgiving. For there is an alms\nwhich is to be given by words: _The good word is better than the gift_;\nand, again, _Answer the poor man in mildness and gentleness_. And make\nthe rest of your time profitable by dwelling on the divine laws._ Let\nall thy conversation be on the law of the Most High._ Thus adorning\nourselves, let us go forth to the King and fall at His feet, not with\nthe body only, but with our mind. Let us consider Whom we go to, for\nwhat purpose, and what it is we wish to accomplish. We go to that God\nfrom Whom the seraphim turned away their gaze, unable to bear His\nsplendour, on Whom the earth trembles to look. We go to God, Who is in\nthe region of light inaccessible. And we are going to Him in order to\nescape hell, for the remission of our sins, to deliver ourselves from\nthose overwhelming penalties, for the winning of heaven and the goods\nwhich are there.\n\n \u00b7 \u00b7 \u00b7 \u00b7 \u00b7 \u00b7 \u00b7\n\n\n Golden Vessels and Golden Hearts.\n (_Homilies on St. Matthew_, l., p. 62.)\n\n \u00b7 \u00b7 \u00b7 \u00b7 \u00b7 \u00b7 \u00b7\n\nLet us then, too, touch the hem of His garment, or rather, if we please,\nwe have Himself whole and entire. For His body too is now put before us,\nnot His garment only, but His very body, not to be merely touched, but\nto be eaten and taken away. Let us therefore approach with faith, each\none with his own infirmity. For if those who touched the hem of His\ngarment drew forth so much strength, how much more those who possess the\nwhole of Him? Approaching with faith is not only taking what is there\nbefore us, but touching with a pure heart, and being so disposed as if\nwe were going to meet Christ Himself. What matters it if you hear no\nvoice? You see Him before you, or rather you _do_ hear a voice, that of\nHimself speaking through the Evangelists. Believe, therefore, that even\nnow there is that banquet at which He Himself sat. Nor is this banquet\ndifferent from that; nor is ours the work of a man, and that the work of\nGod, but God is the worker now as He was then. When, then, you see the\npriest offering it to you, think that it is not the priest who is doing\nthis, but that it is the hand of Christ which is presenting it. Just as,\nwhen he baptises, it is not he who is baptising you, but it is God Who\nis holding your head with an invisible power, and neither angel nor\narchangel nor anyone else whatsoever presumes to approach and touch you;\nso it is now. For whenever God generates, it is His gift alone. Do you\nnot know how those who adopt sons in this world do not entrust their\nadoption to servants, but appear themselves in the court? In like manner\nGod has not entrusted His gift to angels, but He is Himself present,\ncommanding, and saying, _You shall call no man your father upon earth_,\nnot wishing you to dishonour your natural parents, but that before all\nthe rest you may prefer Him Who created you, and Who wrote your name\namongst His children. For He Who gives more, that is, Who gives Himself,\nwill all the more certainly not disdain to make over His body to you.\nLet us then, both priests and laity, consider what that is of which we\nhave been made worthy; let us consider and be in awe. He gave us to be\nfilled with His sacred flesh, and placed before us Himself offered up in\nsacrifice. Now, what will our excuse be, if feeding on such food we\ncommit such sins; when we eat the Lamb and are become wolves; when we\neat the sheep and ravage like lions? For this mystery obliges us to\npurify ourselves not only from robbery but from the merest enmity. This\nmystery is indeed a mystery of peace; it cannot be conciliated with a\nstruggle for money. For if He did not spare Himself for our sakes, what\nshould we deserve for hoarding up money and neglecting our soul, on\nwhich account He did not spare _Himself_? God indeed bound the Jews to a\nremembrance of their domestic blessings every year at the feasts, but\nyou He has bound to a daily remembrance, so to say, through these\nmysteries. Be not, then, ashamed of the cross, for these are our august\nthings, these are _our_ mysteries, we are adorned with this gift, and it\nis our beauty. Even when I say that He stretched the firmament overhead,\nand unfolded earth and sea, that He sent forth prophets and angels, I\nspeak of nothing equal to this. This is the fountain-head of all good,\nthat He did not spare His only Son in order to save alienated servants.\nTherefore, let neither Judas nor Simon approach this table, for avarice\ndestroyed both one and the other. Let us avoid this abyss, and think not\nthat it is sufficient for our salvation, if, after stripping widows and\norphans, we offer a cup of gold and precious stones for this table. If\nyou wish to show honour to the sacrifice, offer your soul for whose sake\nit was sacrificed. Make this golden, for if _it_ should be inferior to\nlead and potsherd, what is the gain of the vessel being of gold? Then,\ndo not let us be concerned only about how we are to offer a vessel of\ngold, but let it be also a vessel of honest labours, for that which is\nwithout avarice is more precious than gold. The church is neither a gold\nnor a silver-smith\u2019s shop, but an assembly of angels, therefore souls\nare what we want, and these things are acceptable to God through souls.\nThe table which He then used was not of silver, nor was the chalice a\ngolden one out of which Christ gave His own blood to His disciples; but\nall those things were sacred and terrible, since He filled them with the\nSpirit. Would you honour the body of Christ? Leave Him not naked, nor\nhonour Him _there_ with silk coverings, passing Him by outside in cold\nand nakedness. He who said, _This is My body_, ratifying the deed by His\nword, said likewise, _You saw Me in want and did not feed Me_, and,\nagain, _Inasmuch as you did not do it for one of the least of these, you\ndid it not for Me_. For the former does not require the giving of\ngarments but a pure heart, whereas the latter demands great attention.\nLet us, then, learn to be wise and to honour Christ as He Himself\nwishes, for to Him Who is honoured, that honour is the sweetest which He\nchooses for Himself, not that which may be according to our judgment.\nSince Peter, too, thought to honour Him by forbidding Him to wash his\nfeet, he was not showing honour, but the reverse. So in your case do you\nhonour Him with the honour which He Himself laid down, by giving your\nriches to the poor. God has no need of golden vessels, but of golden\nhearts.\n\n\n True Almsgiving.\n(_Homilies on St. Paul\u2019s Second Epistle to the Corinthians_, xvi., vol.\n iii., p. 182.)\n\n \u00b7 \u00b7 \u00b7 \u00b7 \u00b7 \u00b7 \u00b7\n\nCharity is, indeed, a great thing, and a gift of God, and when it is\nrightly ordered, likens us to God Himself as far as that is possible;\nfor it is charity which makes the man. Some one, at least, wishing to\ncharacterise man, did it in these words: _Man is great, and the merciful\nman is honourable_. Kindness is better than raising up the dead. For it\nis a much greater thing to feed Christ in His hunger than to raise the\ndead in the name of Jesus. By feeding Christ you confer a benefit upon\nHim; in the other case He is benefiting you. And the reward is for\ndoing, not for receiving. As to the signs, you are under an obligation\nto God, but with regard to the almsgiving, you put God under an\nobligation to you. It is an alms when you give willingly, generously,\nthinking that you are rather taking than giving; when you give as if you\nwere receiving something, as gaining rather than losing, otherwise there\nwould be no thanks in it. He who helps his neighbour should be in\ngladness, not in gloom. In truth, is it not foolish that in removing the\ndespondency of another you yourself should be despondent? You will not\nsuffer it to be a real alms. If you are sad because you are taking away\nanother man\u2019s sadness, you are giving a proof of extreme unkindness and\ninhumanity; it is better to leave it undone than to do it in this way.\nWhy are you sad at all? Is it for fear of diminishing your money? If\nthis is your motive, then do not give; if you are not encouraged by the\nthought that it will be made up to you over and above in heaven, do not\nput out your hand in alms-giving. Perhaps you look for a compensation in\nthis world. What is the good of this? Let your alms be alms and not\ntraffic. Now, many have received their due here on earth, yet not so\nthat they will be on this account much better than those who have not;\nthese have been a few of the weaker, since they did not go vigorously\nafter the things above. And like greedy and common people, slaves of\ntheir belly, who, called to a royal table, and not waiting for the right\ntime, do as children do, spoil their own mirth by snatching up and\nsatiating themselves with inferior food: so, indeed, is it that they who\nseek and receive temporal good things lessen the reward above. Again, in\nlending your money, you become desirous of securing the capital after a\ntime, or, perhaps, of not spending it, so that you may lay up more for\nthe future, whereas in this case you demand it at once, although you are\nnot always to be here, but for ever there. Nor are you to be judged\nhere, but to give an account there. Supposing that a man prepared houses\nfor you where you did not mean to stay, you would view his act as a\npenalty; and would you wish to grow rich in a place from which you may\nbe called away before the evening? Know you not that we are spending our\ntime in a foreign land, like sojourners and strangers, and that\nsojourners may be cast out when they are not thinking of it or expecting\nit. And this is our case. So it is that we leave behind us whatever we\nmay have busied ourselves with on earth. Our Master does not allow us to\ntake our labours with us, whether it is that we build houses, or buy\nestates, or slaves, or furniture, or anything else of the kind. Not only\nHe does not allow us to go away with them, but He refuses you a reward\nfor them. He told you beforehand that you should not build or spend with\nthe property of others, but with your own. Why, then, leaving your own,\ndo you labour with what is not yours, and squander it so that you will\nlose both your labour and your reward, and endure the extremity of\npunishment? Do not so act, I beseech you; but, as we are sojourners by\nnature, let us become so by choice, so that we may not be aliens there,\nrejected without honour. If we wish to be citizens in this world we\nshall be so neither here nor there, but if we remain sojourners, and\nspend our time after the fashion of sojourners, we shall receive the\nassurance of being citizens both here and there. For the just man, even\nwith nothing, will be as free on earth with the common property of all\nas if it were his own, and when he departs hence to heaven he will look\nupon the eternal dwelling-places; he will neither suffer any\nunpleasantness in this world, nor will any man be able to make him a\nsojourner, who has the whole world for his city; and in taking\npossession of his country, he will, moreover, receive true riches. In\norder, then, that we may gain both the things of time and the things of\neternity, let us use present goods in the right way. Thus we shall\nbecome citizens of heaven, and enjoy much consolation. May this be the\nportion of us all, through the love and mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ,\nto Whom, with the Father and the Holy Ghost, be glory and power for\never. Amen.\n\n\n I was hungry and you gave Me to eat.\n (_Homilies on St. Matthew_, xlv., vol. ii., p. 5.)\n\n \u00b7 \u00b7 \u00b7 \u00b7 \u00b7 \u00b7 \u00b7\n\nAre you unable to practise the virginal life? Then make a prudent\nmarriage. Are you unable to do without possessions? Give, then, of what\nyou possess. Is such a burden too heavy for you? Divide your goods with\nChrist. Are you not willing to cede Him everything? Make over to Him at\nleast the half or the third part. He is your brother and co-heir; make\nHim your co-heir even on earth. How much soever you give to Him you give\nthat to yourself. Do you not listen to the Prophet\u2019s words, _Despise not\nthy own flesh_? But if we may not despise relations, how much less the\nMaster, Who, besides His superiority, has the rights of relationship on\nHis side, and many other stronger claims? He has made you a partaker of\nHis own possessions, taking nothing from you, but being the first to\ngive to you out of His unspeakable mercy. Then, is not it extreme folly\nneither to grow kind by this gift, nor to return a reward for a favour,\nand to give less instead of more? For He has made you heir to the\nkingdom of heaven, but you have not even given Him a share of the things\nof earth. You He reconciled without any merit of your own, when you were\neven His enemy; will you not make any return to your lover and\nbenefactor, although, over and above the kingdom and all His other\ngifts, it was just that you should feel grateful to Him for the giving\nitself? Servants, indeed, when they call their masters to dinner, deem\nnot that they are offering, but receiving; here, however, it was just\nthe contrary. It was not the servant who first called the Lord, but the\nLord Who first called the servant to His own table; and will you not\ncall Him even after this? He was the first to bring you under His own\nroof; can you not even follow His example? He covered you in your\nnakedness, and in the face of this do you refuse to bring in a stranger?\nIt was He Who first gave you to drink of His own cup, and will you not\noffer Him even cold water? He gave you the Holy Spirit to drink, and\nwill you not relieve bodily thirst? He gave you the Spirit to drink, who\nwere worthy of chastisement, but do you disregard a thirsty man whilst\nyou are about to do all this out of what is His? Do you not consider it\na great honour to hold the cup out of which Christ is about to drink,\nand to approach it to His mouth? Do you not see that the priest alone\nmay give the chalice with the Blood? \u2018I go into none of these\nparticulars.\u2019 Our Lord says: \u2018If you yourself give it I receive it; even\nif you are a layman I do not refuse it. I do not require what I have\ngiven, for I seek not blood but cold water.\u2019 Consider, then, _Whose_\nthirst you are relieving, and be in awe. Consider that _you_ have become\nChrist\u2019s priest, giving with your own hands not flesh but bread, not\nblood but a drink of cold water. He has put on you the robe of\nsalvation, and has clothed you through Himself; do you also clothe _Him_\nin the person of a child. He has made you a name in heaven; do you drive\naway cold, and nakedness, and unseemliness. He has made you a citizen of\nthe angels; if you can bear it, give Him a portion only, give Him\nhouse-room as you would your servant. He says, \u2018I will not turn away\nfrom this refuge, and that when I have opened all heaven to you. I have\ndelivered you,\u2019 He says, \u2018from the bitterest captivity: _I_ do not\nrequire this, nor do I say, Deliver Me; but if you only see Me in\nchains, this is sufficient to console Me. I raised you from the dead:\nthis I do not require from you; but I say, only visit Me when I am\nsick.\u2019 Since, then, the gifts given to us are thus great, and the things\ndemanded of us so very small, and we do not offer even these, what sort\nof hell should we not deserve? It is just that we should go down into\nthe fire which was prepared for the devil and his angels, since we are\nharder than a rock. For, tell me, what insensibility is this, receiving\ngifts so great with the prospect of the same hereafter, to be the slaves\nof money, which in a little while we shall have to give up, and to give\nup unwillingly? Others have laid down their lives and shed their blood,\nbut you have not hazarded the smallest thing for heaven or for those\nunfading crowns. What sort of excuse or pardon would you deserve for\nenjoying all things with the fat of the earth, neglecting nothing for\nputting your money out to interest, and yet being cruel and inhuman in\nfeeding your Lord in the person of the indigent? Pondering all this in\nour minds, and considering what we have received, and what we are going\nto receive, and what we are asking for, let us show forth all our zeal\nin spiritual things. Let us, then, become gentle and kind, so that we\nmay escape the weight of that tremendous judgment. What is there which\nis not sufficient to condemn us?\u2014the enjoyment of things so wonderful,\nthe being asked for nothing great, the fact that we shall have to give\nup what we are asked for in spite of ourselves when we leave this world,\nthe ostentation of great ambition in worldly things. Each one of these\nis by itself sufficient to condemn us, but when they are all combined,\nwhat hope will there be of salvation? In order, then, that we may escape\nthis great condemnation, let us show ourselves kind towards the poor.\n\n \u00b7 \u00b7 \u00b7 \u00b7 \u00b7 \u00b7 \u00b7\n\n\n The Archetype and the Type.\n(_Homilies on the Epistle to the Philippians_, xiii., vol. v., p. 136.)\n\n \u00b7 \u00b7 \u00b7 \u00b7 \u00b7 \u00b7 \u00b7\n\nThe Apostles presented a type, maintaining in their own persons a\ncertain archetype. Consider how austere their life was, as if offering\nan archetype, and example, and living laws. For they set forth to all,\nthrough their deeds, that which the Scripture said. This is the best\nteaching, which has power to lead the disciple. You may talk and use\nfine words, but if your actions do the contrary you are no teacher. The\ndisciple thinks very little of fine words; they should be accompanied by\nthe teaching and leading of works: this makes both the master venerable,\nand disposes the disciple to agree with him. How so? When he hears a man\nmaking a display of words, he says that he has enjoined what is\nimpossible, and that he who is not a doer is the first to prove their\nimpracticability. Now, if he saw a man practising goodness in deed, he\nwould not be able to say this. Moreover, supposing the master\u2019s life be\ncareless, let us rouse ourselves, and listen to the Prophet, saying,\n_All shall be taught by God_, and again, _They shall teach_ _no more\nevery man his brother, saying: Know the Lord; for all shall know Me,\nfrom the least of them even to the greatest_. Have you no righteous\nteacher? You have the real Master, Him Whom alone you may call Master,\nlearn of Him. _He_ said, _Learn of Me, for I am meek_. Cleave, then, to\nno teacher, but to Him and to His teaching. Take your model from Him;\nyou have a most excellent one; fashion yourself after it. The Scripture\noffers us numberless examples of a holy life; choose which you will, and\nfollow the Master with His disciples. One shone by poverty, another\nthrough riches; for instance, Elias by poverty, Abraham by his wealth;\nchoose whichever you think the easier and securer. Again, the one was\nholy through marriage, the other through virginity, as Abraham and\nElias: choose your road, for each leads to heaven. John was holy by\nfasting, and Job without it. Job, moreover, was what he was by despising\nwife, and sons, and daughters, and house, having great wealth, whilst\nJohn possessed nothing except his sheep-skin. And why do I speak of\nhouse and abundance and money, since a king has it in his power to win\ngoodness for himself. A royal palace would be found to be far more\ntroublesome than any private house. David, then, shone in his royalty,\nand his purple and his crown impeded him in nothing: another was\nentrusted with the leadership of a whole people\u2014I mean Moses\u2014which is a\nmore difficult thing. In the latter, power was greater, therefore the\ndifficulty was greater. Do you see men who gained a good name both in\nriches and in poverty, in marriage and in continency? Now look, on the\nother hand, at those who were lost both in marriage and in continency,\nin riches and in poverty. For instance, many men, living in the married\nstate, have been lost, like Samson, not because of marriage, but through\ntheir own will; in virginity, too, as the five virgins; in abundance, as\nthe rich man who despised Lazarus; in poverty, for thousands of poor are\nlost every day. I can show you many men lost in monarchy, many in\nleading the people. Would you like to know of some in armies who have\nbeen saved? There is Cornelius. And of some in stewardships? There is\nthe eunuch of the Ethiopian. Thus, if everywhere we use wealth as we\nshould, it does us no harm; if we do not, everything harms us\u2014royalty\nand poverty and riches. Nothing can hurt the man who is watching. Tell\nme, has captivity ever harmed anyone? No, never. Think of Joseph in\nservitude, bearing goodness in his mind; think of Daniel and the three\nchildren taken captive, how they shone the more. Everywhere goodness is\nresplendent and invulnerable, and nothing can master it. Why do I speak\nof poverty and captivity and slavery? I may add hunger and ulceration\nand a painful illness, for this is worse than slavery. Lazarus suffered\nthis, and Job, and Timothy with his frequent infirmities. Do you see how\nnothing can overcome goodness? Neither wealth, nor poverty, nor power,\nnor leadership, nor being at the head of affairs, nor illness, nor being\nunknown, nor cast aside: disregarding all these things on the earth, it\nmakes its way to heaven. Only have a brave spirit, and there is no\nobstacle against goodness. When the labourer is strong, no external\nthing hinders him. And so, in the case of handicrafts, when a mechanic\nis experienced and steadfast, and possesses all his art, even if illness\nshould come, he has it still; or if he should be in poverty, he has it;\nand whether he has the instrument in his hands or not, whether he works\nor not, it is not diminished, because the science is in himself. So is\nit with God\u2019s servant: even if you throw him into riches, his art is\nshown forth; or into poverty, or disease, or health, or contempt, or\nfame, it is all the same. Did not the Apostles work through everything?\n_Through honour and dishonour, and evil report and good report._ This\nshows the soldier, the being invulnerable against everything. For this\nis the nature of virtue. If you say, \u2018I am unable to be set over many, I\ndo best alone,\u2019 you insult virtue, for it can benefit all, and show\nitself, let it only be in the mind. Has hunger to be endured? or is\nthere abundance? Virtue, again, shows its own strength; as Paul said: _I\nknow both how to be brought low, and I know how to abound_. Was it\nnecessary to work? He was not ashamed, but laboured for two years. Was\nhunger to be borne? He neither pined nor doubted. Had he to die? He did\nnot lose heart, but showed in all things a brave soul and his skill. Now\nlet us emulate him, and we shall have no cause for sorrow. For, tell me,\nwhat is capable of grieving such a man? Nothing. As long as no one robs\nus of virtue, the man who possesses it is the happiest of creatures even\nhere\u2014not only there. Supposing there is a holy man, with wife and\nchildren, and money, and a great name, and he still remains holy in\nspite of them: take them away, and he will still be holy: neither\ndejected by tribulation, nor elated by his righteousness, but like a\nrock which stands immovable whether the sea rages or whether it is calm,\nnot troubled by the waves nor affected by the calm, so does the\nsteadfast soul stand bravely both with calm, and with foaming waves.\nAnd, as children sailing on the sea are frightened whilst the pilot sits\nstill and laughs at them, sees their trouble and is of good cheer, so\ndoes the mortified soul recline as if on some land or oasis of\ncontentment, whilst all men are troubled, and laughing in an untimely\nway at the vicissitudes of things. For what can disturb the soul of a\npeaceful man? Death? But this is the beginning of a better life. Or\npoverty? This helps that soul on to virtue. Or illness? It accounts both\nrefreshment and suffering as nothing, for it punished itself beforehand.\nOr being defamed? But the world is crucified to it. Or the loss of\nchildren? It had no fear if fully convinced of the resurrection. What,\nthen, can make it miserable? Nothing whatever. If this man be rich, is\nhe puffed up? By no means, for he knows that money is nothing. What of\nfame, then? He has been taught that _all human glory is like the flower\nof the field_. Or luxury, again? He has listened to Paul\u2019s words: _She\nthat liveth in pleasure is dead while she is living_. Now, since this\nsoul is neither lifted up nor dejected, what could come up to this\nwell-being? Not all souls are so disposed, but they are more changeable\nthan wind or weather, so that it is most ludicrous to see the same man\nnow laughing, now weeping, now buried in thought, now loquacious beyond\nmeasure. Therefore he said: _Be not conformed to this world_: our\ncitizenship is in heaven, where there is no change. Immutable rewards\nare offered to us: let us show forth that citizenship whence we have\nalready received good things. But what if we cast ourselves into\nuncertainty and a surging sea, into a storm or a hurricane? Let us be at\npeace. The point lies not in riches or poverty, or glory or dishonour,\nor sickness or health, or weakness, but in our own soul. If this be\nsteadfast and well-grounded in goodness, all things will be easy to it,\nand even here it will behold its rest, and the peaceful harbour, and\ndeparting hence it will gain endless goods. May it be granted to us all\nthrough the love and kindness of Our Lord Jesus Christ, to Whom, with\nthe Father and the Holy Spirit, be glory, power, and praise now and for\never. Amen.\n\n\n The Weak Things of God.\n (_Homilies on First Epistle to Corinthians_, vi., vol. ii., p. 59.)\n\n \u00b7 \u00b7 \u00b7 \u00b7 \u00b7 \u00b7 \u00b7\n\n_And I was with you in weakness, and in fear, and in much trembling._\nHere, again, is another point. Not only are those who believe\nilliterate, not only is the teacher illiterate, not only is the mode of\nteaching replete with illiterateness, not only is the teaching itself\nqualified to terrify\u2014for it was the Cross and death\u2014but together with\nthese there were other obstacles: dangers and plottings, and daily\nanguish, and harassing pursuit. For he often calls persecution weakness,\nas he does in another place: _Ye have not spurned the weakness in my\nflesh_; and again: _If it behoves me to glory, I will glory in my\nweakness_. What weaknesses are these? _The governor of king Areta was\nkeeping the city of Damascus, wishing to take me._ And again: _Therefore\nI rejoice in my infirmities_. Then, going on to distinguish what\ninfirmities, he added: _In contumely, in want, in persecutions_. So here\nhe speaks in the same way; for, saying, _And I was in weakness_, he\nadded, _and I was with you in fear and in much trembling_. What is this?\nDid Paul himself fear dangers? He did indeed, and greatly too; for, if\nhe was Paul, he was also a man. This is no accusation against Paul, but\na weakness of nature, and an encomium of his choice, that whereas he\n_did_ fear stripes and death, this fear did not lead him to do any\nunworthy action; so that those who say he did _not_ fear stripes not\nonly do not exalt him, but take much away from his praises. If, indeed,\nhe did _not_ fear, where is the fortitude and where is the merit of\nbraving dangers? For my own part, this is what I admire in him, that,\nfearful as he was, and not only fearful, but trembling at dangers, he\ncame out victorious through everything, and in no case surrendered,\ncleansing the world, and sowing the Gospel all over the earth and sea.\n_And my speech and my preaching was not in the persuasive words of human\nwisdom_\u2014that is, it has not outward wisdom. If, therefore, his preaching\nhad no subtlety about it, and those who were called were uncultured as\nwell as the preacher, and there was, besides, persecution, and fear, and\ntrembling, tell me, how did they gain the mastery without divine power?\nSo, in saying, _That which I say and preach does not consist in the\npersuasive words of wisdom_, he added, _but in the manifestation of the\nSpirit and of power_. Do you see how the folly of God is wiser than man,\nand how the weakness is stronger? Illiterate as they were who preached\nthese things, in chains and imprisoned, they overcame those who bound\nthem. How? Was it not through showing the faith which is of the Spirit?\nThis, indeed, was an irrefutable argument. For, tell me, what man,\nseeing the dead arise and devils put forth, would not have received\ntheir teaching? Since, however, there are powers of deception, such as\nthose of magicians, he removed this ambiguity. He did not speak of power\nonly, but first of the Spirit and then of power, thus showing that what\nhad taken place was spiritual. Consequently, there having been no\nlearning about the preaching of the Gospel is no lessening of its value,\nbut its greatest glory. This, at least, shows it to be divine, and to\nhave had its root above, in heaven. On this account he continued: _That\nyour faith may not be in the wisdom of man, but in the power of God_. Do\nyou see how clearly in everything he pointed out the gain of\nilliterateness and the harm of culture? While human wisdom made the\nCross vain, ignorance proclaimed the power of God: the one disposed men\nnot to find the necessaries of life, and so to glory in themselves; the\nother, to receive the truth and to glory in God. Again, wisdom persuaded\nmany men to regard dogma suspiciously as human; ignorance pointed it out\nclearly as divine, and coming down from heaven. Now, whenever a proof is\narrived at by word-wisdom, it is very often the bad men who get the\nbetter of the more moderate, being the more skilful in their arguments,\nand falsehood outwits the truth. It is not so here: for neither does the\nHoly Spirit take possession of an unclean soul, nor when He has taken\npossession can He be ever lessened, even if all the clever words in the\nworld be used. A manifestation through works and signs is much clearer\nthan that of words.\n\nBut some one might reasonably say that, if the Gospel is bound to\nconquer, and the Cross needs no eloquence, that it may not be proved\nvain, why is it that miracles have now ceased? Why is it? Do you speak\nas an unbeliever, and not receive those which took place in the case of\nthe Apostles, or do you honestly seek to learn? If as an unbeliever,\nthen I will first direct myself to this. Now, if miracles did _not_ take\nplace then, how did they make themselves heard, standing up against\nwhole peoples and speaking such things, driven about as they were,\npursued, in fear, in chains; one and all an object of hatred to the\nworld; at the mercy of everyone\u2019s ill-treatment; having nothing\nattractive of their own\u2014neither eloquence, nor fame, nor riches, nor\ncity, nor nationality, nor family, nor career, nor reputation, nor any\none of these things, but just the reverse of them all, an illiterate and\nsorry condition, poverty, hatred, and enmity? Their injunctions also\nentailed much hardship and their teaching many dangers, and the hearers\ntoo who were to be persuaded were given up to much feasting and\ndrunkenness and vice. Now, tell me, whence their power of persuasion,\nwhence their titles of credence? As I was saying, if they _did_ gain men\nwithout miracles, the wonder appears very much greater. Therefore do not\nconclude that because there are no miracles now there were none then. It\nwas to the point, both that they took place then and that they do not\ntake place now. Persuasion by word alone now is no security that the\nGospel lies in the possession of wisdom. For they who in the beginning\nwere sowers of the Word were uncultured and ignorant, and they spoke\nnothing of themselves, but they gave to the world that which they had\nreceived from God; now, we also spread abroad not our own inventions,\nbut we speak to all what we have received from them. We do not persuade\nby arguments now but by Holy Scripture, and the signs which then took\nplace inspire us with confidence in what we say. Neither did they\npersuade by signs alone, but also by discoursing, whilst the signs made\ntheir words appear the more powerful together with the testimony of the\nOld Testament, not the cleverness of what was said. \u2018Why,\u2019 you ask,\n\u2018were miracles good then and not now?\u2019 Let us suppose a case, for so far\nmy contest has been directed against a heathen, and therefore I will\nsuppose something that must undoubtedly happen; let us then suppose a\ncase, and let the unbeliever submit to believe, for instance, that\nChrist will come, even if he take my word for it; well, then, when\nChrist shall come and all the angels with Him, and He is shown to be\nGod, and all things are under His dominion, will not the heathen too\nbelieve? It is evident that he will fall down in adoration and confess\nHim to be God, however stubborn he may be. Who, indeed, seeing the\nheavens opened and Christ Himself seated on the clouds, with all the\nheavenly host surrounding Him, the rivers running fire, all men standing\nby in great fear, would not worship Him and acknowledge Him as God? Tell\nme now, shall that worship and knowledge be accounted to the heathen as\nfaith? By no means. For it is _not_ faith; sheer force produces it, and\nthe manifestation of visible things. It is not a matter of choice, but\nreason is constrained by the greatness of the vision. Therefore, the\nmore evident and undeniable that which happens is, by so much is faith\ndiminished, and this is why miracles are not worked now. And that it is\nso, listen to Our Lord\u2019s words to St. Thomas: _Blessed are they who have\nnot seen yet have believed_. Therefore the reward of faith is diminished\njust in proportion to the greater evidence of the sign, so that if signs\ntook place now the same would follow. In the words, _Now we walk through\nfaith, not through sight_, Paul made it clear that then we shall no\nlonger know Him by faith. Thus, if you believe then, you will not be\nconvinced by the wonder of the thing, so neither would you be now if the\nsame signs took place as of old. Whenever we receive things which are in\nno sort of way discoverable to anyone by reasoning, that is faith. On\nthis account, too, hell is threatened, but is not apparent, for if it\nwere, the same would be the case here also. Still, if you seek for\nmiracles, you will see them even now, though they are not the same kind\nof miracles. You will see a thousand prophecies concerning a thousand\nthings, the conversion of the world, the holy life of barbarians, the\nchange of cruel habits, the increase of piety.\n\n\u2018What prophecies are these?\u2019 you ask. \u2018For all that was foretold was\nwritten down after the event.\u2019 Tell me when, and where, and by whom, and\nhow long ago? Shall we say it was fifty years ago or a hundred?\nTherefore a hundred years ago there was nothing at all written down.\nThen how did the world receive the teaching and all other things, as\nmemory did not suffice? How did they know that Peter was crucified? How\nafter this did it occur to men to foretell such things, for instance, as\nthat the Gospel should be preached in the whole world, that the Jewish\ndispensation should stop and not come back again? How would those who\nhad staked their lives for the Gospel have borne to see it\ncounterfeited? How were the writers trusted when there were no more\nmiracles? How did those writings penetrate into uncivilised lands, and\ninto India, and even unto the farthest extremities of the ocean, if the\nspeakers were not worthy of faith? Now, who were the writers? When and\nwhere did they write? Why did they write? Was it to make themselves\nfamous? Why did they ascribe the Scriptures to others? Were they\ndesirous of embodying a system of doctrine? Then was it true or false?\nFor if they looked upon it as false, there was no pretext for their\ncoming forward at all; but if as true, there was no need of\ncounterfeits, as you truly say. Moreover, the prophecies are such that\nup to the present day what has been said cannot be restricted by time.\nIf, on the one hand, the destruction of Jerusalem took place many years\nago, there are other prophecies dating from the same time which reach up\nto His coming. Examine these, if you like\u2014as, for instance, _I am with\nyou always, even unto the consummation of time_, and, _Upon this rock I\nwill build My Church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against\nit_; again, _This Gospel shall be preached to all nations_, and the deed\nof the woman who was a sinner, and many more than these. Now, whence\ncomes the truth of this prophecy if it was an invention? How have the\ngates of hell not prevailed against the Church? How is Christ always\nwith us? If He were not with us, the Church would not have conquered.\nHow has the Gospel been spread about the whole world? Our adversaries\nare able to bear witness to the antiquity of our Scriptures\u2014I mean\nCelsus and his party, and the man of Batavia after him\u2014for they did not\ncontradict what those who came after them put together; moreover, the\nwhole world with one voice has received it. For if it was not the grace\nof the Spirit, there could not have been so great an unity from end to\nend of the earth, but the inventors would speedily have been convicted,\nnor would successes so great have been produced by forgeries and\nfalsehood. Do you not see the whole world coming to meet it, and error\nextinguished?\u2014the mortification of monks shining brighter than the sun?\nDo you not see bands of virgins, the piety of barbarians, men all\nserving under one yoke? Nor are these things foretold by us alone, but\nfirst by the prophets. You must not overlook those prophecies of theirs\neither, for our Scriptures are present to our enemies, and Greeks have\nset themselves eagerly to translate them into the language of Greece.\nThese prophecies foretell many things, and show that He Who was to come\nis God.\n\nNow, why do not all men now believe? Because things have been going to\nthe bad, and it is we who are the cause of it. The rest of my discourse\nis for your benefit. It was not, indeed, through signs only that they\nthen believed, but many were led on by an example of life. _Let your\nlight shine before men_, Our Lord says, _that they may see your good\nworks and glorify your Father Who is in heaven_. And, again, _They all\nhad one heart and one mind, and no man among them called anything his\nown, but they had all things in common, and to each man was given\naccording to his need_, and their life was an angelical one. And if this\nwere to take place now, we should convert the whole world even without\nwonder-working. In the meantime, let those who wish to be saved follow\nthe Scriptures: there they will find both these successes and many more\nbesides. For the teachers themselves surpassed those deeds, living their\nlives in hunger and thirst and nakedness; we, on the contrary, wish to\nenjoy much feasting, and refreshment, and security. Not so those men who\ncried out: _Up to the present hour we are in hunger and thirst and\nnakedness, and are homeless and beaten about_. Some went out from\nJerusalem as far as Illyria, one to the Indies, one to the Moors,\nanother to all parts of the earth; we, on the other hand, have not\ncourage to leave even our own country, but seek for luxury, and splendid\nhouseholds, and abundance of every kind. Which of us ever suffered\nhunger for God\u2019s Word, or went into the desert, or took a long journey\nfor it? What teacher living by his hands has come to the help of others?\nWho has encountered death day after day? Hence our people are growing\nsofter. For if anyone were to see soldiers and generals wrestling with\nhunger and thirst, and death, and every possible evil, and bearing cold\nand dangers with the fortitude of lions, and conquering; and if, after\nthis, he were to see them giving up their life of heroism, becoming\nfaint-hearted, loving money, absorbed in their own affairs and business,\nand then defeated by their enemies, it would be extreme folly to seek\nfor the reason. Let us apply this to ourselves and our forefathers, for\nwe have grown weaker than anyone else, and we are nailed to this present\nlife. Even if a man be found with a trace of the old mortification, who\nleaves the city and the market-place, and the thick of the fray, and the\nordering of others, and flies to the mountain, and if anyone ask why he\nretires, he will discover no sound reason for it. He says: \u2018I withdraw\nthat I may not perish, and that I may not become weak in goodness\u2019. How\nmuch better it would be that you _should_ grow weaker and gain others,\nthan remain on the heights and see your brethren perishing. Now, when\nsome neglect goodness, and others who _do_ care for it are withdrawn\nfrom their rank in the fight, how shall we gain our enemies? If signs\ntook place now, who would be convinced? Or who of those without would\nattach himself to us whilst vice is so apparent? An upright life on our\npart seems to the multitude more convincing. For signs from shameless\nand bad men arouse a suspicion of evil, but a pure life is able to shut\nthe devil\u2019s mouth with great force. These things I say both to rulers\nand ruled, and to myself, before all, in order that we may show forth an\nadmirable life, and, forming ourselves into battle array, may disregard\nall present things. Let us despise money, and not despise hell; think\nlittle of fame, but not little of our salvation; let us endure struggles\nand labours here, that there we may not encounter chastisement. Thus let\nus fight the heathen, thus let us take them prisoners in a captivity\nwhich is better than freedom. But we talk persistently and often about\nthese things, and scarcely ever do them. However, whether we do them or\nnot, it is right always to insist upon them. For if some cheat through\nfine words, how much more should those who are leading others to the\ntruth not weary of speaking what is due. For if cheaters make use of\nthese tactics\u2014for they lay up money, and bring arguments to bear, and\nencounter dangers, and make their power felt\u2014how much more should we,\nwho lead men away from deceit, endure dangers, and death, and all\nthings, so that, gaining ourselves and others, and standing invincibly\nagainst our adversaries, we may arrive at the promised goods in Christ\nJesus our Lord, to Whom be glory and power for ever and ever. Amen.\n\n\n The Secret of our Faith.\n (_Homilies on First Epistle to Corinthians_, iii., vol. ii., p. 27.)\n\n \u00b7 \u00b7 \u00b7 \u00b7 \u00b7 \u00b7 \u00b7\n\nShow me, if you can, whether Peter and Paul were scholars. But you\ncannot; for they were ordinary men and unlettered.[7] Just as Christ,\nwhen He sent His disciples out into the world, showed His power first to\nthem in Palestine, saying, _When I sent you without purse, and scrip,\nand shoes, did you want anything?_ Afterwards He charged them to have a\nscrip and a purse, and so He did in this case. For that which was aimed\nat was to show the power of Christ, not that the lack of external\naccomplishments should cause those who approached to be rejected from\nthe faith. Now, whenever heathens accuse the disciples of being\nunlearned, let us be even louder than they in our accusations. Let no\none say that Paul was skilful, but praising great men amongst them for\ntheir skill, and those remarkable for their clever speeches, let us say\nthat all of ours are unlearned. We shall not a little overthrow them on\nthis side too, so brilliant will be the victory. I have said these\nthings because I once heard a Christian making himself ridiculous in\ndiscussion with a heathen, and each in their fight against the other\ndestroying his own side. That which the Christian should have said the\nheathen said, and that which it would have been natural for the heathen\nto say the Christian put forward. For, Paul and Plato forming the\nsubject of dispute, the heathen, on the one hand, tried to show that\nPaul was uneducated and unlearned, and, on the other, the Christian, out\nof simplicity, was all eager to prove that Paul was a better reasoner\nthan Plato. Thus the heathen gained the victory, as this consideration\nprevailed. For, if Paul _had_ been a better dialectician than Plato,\nmany would naturally have used the argument that he succeeded through\nhis skilful speech rather than by grace. So the Christian\u2019s argument\ntold for the heathen, and the heathen\u2019s for the Christian. For if Paul\nwas untaught and still conquered Plato, as I have said, it was a\ntriumphant victory. The unlearned Paul, taking Plato\u2019s disciples,\nconvinced them and drew them to himself. Hence, it is evident that the\nGospel was not preached by human wisdom, but by the grace of God. In\norder, then, that we may not encounter the same defeat, nor make\nourselves ridiculous when we are thus in discussion with heathens, let\nus condemn the Apostles as unlearned: this very condemnation is praise.\nAnd when they tell us that the Apostles were rustic, let us admit and\nconfess that they were untaught, and unlearned, and poor, and needy, and\nunintelligent, and obscure. This is no blasphemy of the Apostles, but\ntheir glory, that, being what they were, they appeared more famous than\nthe whole world. Those very unlearned, rustic, untaught men beat down\nmen wise in their conceits, powerful men, tyrants, men who were enjoying\nriches and glory and all outward goods, as if they had not been men at\nall. Whence it is clear that the power of the Cross was great, and that\nit was not through human strength that these things took place. They do\nnot, indeed, come from nature at all, but that which was accomplished\nwas above nature. Whenever something takes place which is above nature,\nand very much above it, and is also opportune and good, it is evident\nthat it happens by a certain divine power and co-operation. For,\nconsider\u2014a fisherman, a tent-maker, a publican, an unlearned man, and an\nuntaught man, coming from their outlandish province of Palestine, drove\nout from their own stronghold philosophers, and orators, and\nrhetoricians, and overcame them in a short time in the midst of many\ndangers, peoples and kings resisting them, nature itself being adverse:\ninveterate custom, force of habit, fighting them to the teeth: evil\nspirits armed against them: the devil in agitation setting all things in\nmotion\u2014monarchies, and rulers, and democracies, and nations, and cities,\nbarbarians, heathens, philosophers, orators, sophists, lawmakers, laws,\ntribunals, every sort of chastisement, and manifold deaths. And yet all\nthese things were overcome, and gave way at the voice of fishermen, just\nas a little dust which is unable to resist the force of strong winds.\nLet us learn, therefore, so to speak with the heathens as not to be like\na herd of sheep or cattle, but let us be prepared to prove the hope\nwhich is in us. And, meanwhile, let us insist on the chief point, which\nis no small one, and say to them, How was it that the weak circumvented\nthe strong, that twelve men conquered the world, not in the strength of\ntheir own weapons, but in their nakedness fighting armed men? For, say,\nif twelve men, inexperienced in war, breaking in upon a huge array of\narmed warriors, not only weaponless themselves, but feeble in body, were\nto suffer nothing at their hands, and were to escape scatheless from a\nthousand missiles, and, standing in their midst with unprotected bodies,\nwere to put them all to flight, not using weapons, but fighting with\ntheir hands, slaying some and taking others into captivity, and not\nreceiving a scratch themselves, nor reached by a thousand blows aimed at\nthem\u2014who would ascribe this to man alone? Yet the victory of the\nApostles was far more wonderful than this. For it is much more\nstupendous that an unlearned man, an untaught man, and a fisherman\nshould circumvent so much cleverness, than that an unarmed man should\ncome scatheless out of the fight: that they should be held back neither\nby their small numbers nor their poverty, nor by dangers, nor by force\nof habit, nor by the difficulty of the enterprise which they had\nundertaken, nor by death looking them daily in the face, nor by the\nmultitude of those deceived, nor by the fame of deceivers.\n\nIn like manner, then, let us overthrow them, and fight against them, and\nlet us strike them down rather by our life than by arguments. For this\nis the great strife, and the most unanswerable argument is that of\nworks, since we may philosophise with our tongues in a thousand ways,\nand yet if we show not forth a better life than theirs, we gain nothing\nwhatever. They do not give heed to our reasonings, but take note of what\nwe do, and they say, \u2018First yield obedience to your own words, and then\nadvise others. If you speak of the innumerable goods of the next world,\nand yet seem to be given up to present ones, as if those others did not\nexist, your deeds are more convincing to me than your words. For when I\nsee you seizing others\u2019 property, grieving inordinately over the dead,\ncommitting many other sins, how can I believe you when you tell me that\nthere is a resurrection?\u2019 Even if they do not put this into words, they\nthink it, and bear it in their minds. And this it is which prevents\ninfidels from becoming Christians. Let us, then, lead them by our life.\nMany illiterate men have thus struck down the mind of philosophers, by\nshowing them the philosophy of works, sending forth a voice louder than\na trumpet through their own manner of life and conduct: this voice is\nindeed much more powerful than the tongue. Whenever I say that it is not\nlawful to bear malice to anyone, and then injure a heathen in a thousand\nways, how shall I be able to persuade him by my words since I frighten\nhim away by my deeds? Let us, therefore, catch them by our daily life,\nand build up the Church through these souls, and collect this wealth.\nNothing whatsoever is of so much worth as a soul, not even the whole\nworld. If you should give thousands of pounds to the poor, you do\nnothing in comparison to the one who converts a soul. _He who makes an\nhonourable man out of a worthless one shall be as My mouth_, God says.\nCompassion for the poor is also a great good, but it is nothing compared\nto withdrawing a soul from error; the man who does this becomes like\nPeter and Paul. For we may point out the Gospel which they preached; not\nthat we be imperilled as they were, and have hunger and pestilence and\nother evils to endure, for this is a time of peace, but so that we may\nshow forth the zeal of a willing spirit. _This_ fishing may, indeed, be\ncarried out by those who sit at home. If any man have a friend, or\nrelation, or servant, this let him do and say, and he will become like\nPeter and Paul. And why do I say Peter and Paul? He will be the mouth of\nChrist. For _he who makes an honourable_ _man out of a worthless one\nshall be as My mouth_, He says. If you should not persuade to-day, you\nwill to-morrow, and, even if you never persuade at all, you will have\nthe full reward. And if you cannot persuade all, you can persuade a few\nout of many, since the Apostles themselves did not convince all the men\nof their day; but still they conversed with them all, and have the\nreward for all. For God is wont to bestow His crowns, not according to\nwhat is accomplished by good deeds, but according to the intention of\nthose who do them. If you put down only two mites He receives them, and\nHe will do for those who teach what He did for the widow. Therefore,\nbecause you are not able to save the world, do not despise the few, nor\nturn away from small things in your desire for great things. If you\ncannot give a hundred, look after the ten; and if you cannot give ten,\ndo not despise the five; and if five are beyond you, do not overlook the\none; and if you cannot even give the one, do not lose courage, and do\nnot neglect your part.\n\n \u00b7 \u00b7 \u00b7 \u00b7 \u00b7 \u00b7 \u00b7\n\n\n The Victory of Our Faith.\n (_Homilies on St. Matthew_, lxxv., vol. ii., p. 376.)\n\n \u00b7 \u00b7 \u00b7 \u00b7 \u00b7 \u00b7 \u00b7\n\nWe may wonder the more at the power of Christ, and at the courage of the\nApostles, because they were announcing the Gospel at the very time when\neverything Jewish was particularly attacked, and the Jews were\nproscribed as seditious, and the Roman emperor commanded their total\ndispersion. And this happened in a state of things which we may describe\nin this way. There is a great tempest at sea, the whole atmosphere is\nwrapped in darkness, wreck follows upon wreck, on board all the sailors\nare in open rebellion, and from below monsters are darting up, and\ntogether with the waves are destroying the men; thunderbolts are\nfalling, pirates attacking, and on board all is mutiny. Suppose that in\nthis extremity anyone should order men who were ignorant of nautical\nmatters, nor even knew the sea, to sit at the rudder, to guide the helm,\nand to fight their way. And then, in the face of an experienced crew\nequipped with much labour suppose that these men should use a light\nboat, in the state of tumult which I have described, and overcome and\nmaster it. For as Jews they were hated by the Gentile world, and as the\nenemies of their own laws they were stoned by the Jews; nowhere was\nthere any standing-ground. Thus, on all sides there were precipices,\nchasms, and rocks; cities, country-places, dwelling-houses, offered them\nnothing else; one and all opposed them\u2014commander, and magistrate, and\nthe man in private life, all races and all peoples\u2014and there was a\ndisturbance with which men could not reason. For, indeed, the Jewish\nrace was exceedingly hateful to the Roman rulers, inasmuch as it had\ncaused them trouble in a thousand ways, and yet the Gospel tidings were\nnot prejudiced thereby, but the city itself was ravaged and set on fire,\nand numberless ills fell upon its inhabitants. Nevertheless the\nApostles, going forth from that city, bringing in new laws, mastered\neven the Romans. Oh, what new and wonderful deeds are these! The Romans\nat that time subdued countless thousands of Jews, and they did _not_\ncircumvent twelve poor unarmed men. What words can adequately express\nthis wonder? For there are two things which teachers should possess\u2014the\nbeing worthy of confidence and the love of their disciples; and over and\nabove these, that what they say should be well received, and the time in\nwhich they say it free from agitation and fear. But then everything was\njust the reverse. For neither did they appear to be worthy of\nconfidence, and yet they were to detach those whom men, apparently thus\nworthy, had deceived. They were not loved, but even hated, and they drew\nmen off from those things which they clung to, from habits of life, and\nfrom country, and from laws. Moreover, their injunctions were\nexceedingly hard, but those from which they took men were most pleasant.\nMany were the dangers and the deaths to be encountered both by them\nthemselves and by those who listened to them; and with all this, the\ntime itself was a time of great trouble, fruitful in wars, tumults, and\nagitation, so that if there had been no one of the things which we have\nenumerated, it alone might have upset everything. We may say,\npertinently: _Who shall declare the powers of the Lord? who shall set\nforth all His praises?_ For if the friends of Moses did not listen to\nhim when he spoke with miraculous signs simply because of bricks and\nclay, who was able to withdraw from an idle life men who day after day\nare killed and slaughtered, and are suffering intolerable evils? Who was\nable to make them prefer this insecure life of blood-shedding and death\neven to the other, the heralds of these tidings being of another race,\nand on all accounts most hostile? Let a man bring in, not to a race, or\ncity, or people, but into one small household, one who is hated by\neverybody in it, and let him try hard through that person to withdraw\nmen from those he loves, from father and wife and children, will he not\nbe seen torn to pieces before he opens his mouth? And if he bring to the\nhouse contention and strife between husband and wife, will they not take\nand stone him before he again crosses the threshold? If besides he is\ncontemptible, and yet enjoins disagreeable things, ordering luxurious\nmen to practise an ascetic life; and with all this, if the combat be\nagainst men much more numerous and powerful than himself, is it not\nevident that he is wholly undone? And yet this very thing which it was\nimpossible to do in one household is what Christ has done in the whole\nworld, through precipice and fire, and chasm and rock, with earth and\nsea fighting against Him, by introducing the healers of the world. And\nif you wish to learn these things more accurately,\u2014I mean famines, and\nplagues, and earthquakes, and other visitations,\u2014go over the history of\nthese things as it is contained in Josephus, and you will see it all\nmost clearly. This is why He Himself said: _Be not disturbed, for all\nthings must come about_; and _He who perseveres unto the end shall be\nsaved_; and again, _This Gospel shall be preached throughout the whole\nworld_. For He revives those who are discouraged and drooping for fear\nat what He has told them, by saying, that whatever happens, the Gospel\nmust be preached in every part of the world, and that then the end will\ncome. Do you see what a state things were in at that time, and how war\nwas everywhere? And this at the outset, when that which is established\nmost especially requires much peace. Now, what was this state? There is\nno reason why we should not recapitulate the same things. The first war\nwas that of deceivers, for He said: _There shall arise false Christs and\nfalse prophets_; the second, that of the Romans: _You are about to hear\nwars_; the third was that which was to bring in famine; the fourth, that\nof plagues and earthquakes; the fifth, _They shall give you up to fear_;\nthe sixth, _You shall be hated by all_; the seventh, _They shall traduce\nand hate each other_; hence clearly civil war; hence false Christs and\nfalse brethren; hence _Charity shall grow cold_, which is the cause of\nall evils without exception. Do you see how war was there in every\nshape, both novel and marvellous? Still, with all this and much more\n(for war amongst kindred was added to civil discord), the Gospel tidings\ntook possession of the whole world. _For_, He said, _the Gospel shall be\npreached in the whole world_.\n\n \u00b7 \u00b7 \u00b7 \u00b7 \u00b7 \u00b7 \u00b7\n\n\n Marriages as they were and as they are.\n (_Homilies on St. Matthew_, lxxiii., vol. ii., p. 355.)\n\n \u00b7 \u00b7 \u00b7 \u00b7 \u00b7 \u00b7 \u00b7\n\nHave you not heard that men and women were assembled together in the\nupper room, and that that gathering was worthy of heaven? And with\nreason. The women of those days put in practice a high ascetic life, and\nmen were grave and wise. Listen at least to the seller of purple saying:\n_If you have judged me to be faithful to the Lord, come unto my house\nand abide there_. Listen to the women who followed the Apostles about\nfrom place to place with the spirit of true men\u2014a Priscilla, and a\nPersis, and the others\u2014from whom the women of to-day are as far removed\nas the men are from the men. For then even when going about they gave no\nscandal, but now, delicately nurtured in their houses, they hardly avoid\nthis suspicion. These scandals arise from people decking themselves out\nand from luxury. Those women of old made it their business to spread\nabroad the Gospel tidings: _now_ women\u2019s anxiety is to have fine figures\nand comely faces. They care no more for their good name than for their\nsalvation; and as to high and great deeds of goodness, they do not even\ndream of them. What woman shows eagerness to make her husband better?\nWhat man is anxious to bring his wife to amendment? Not one; but the\nwife\u2019s whole anxiety is about jewels and clothes, and the other\nadornments of the body, and how she may increase her substance; and the\nhusband\u2019s is the same, except that he has many more cares, and they are\nall worldly cares. Who that is about to marry would inquire into the\ngirl\u2019s manners and education? No one; but he would be particular enough\nabout money and land, and the accurate estimate of her fortune, as if he\nwere going to buy something, or to carry out some low contract. This is\nwhy they speak of marriage as a contract. For I have heard many say,\n\u2018Such a man has made a contract with such a girl; that is, he has\nmarried\u2019. They trample upon the very gifts of God, and marry and are\nmarried, as if they were buyers and sellers. Indeed, deeds require more\naccuracy than the business of buying and selling. Consider how men\nmarried of old, and emulate their example. Now, _how_ did they marry?\nThey enquired about the ways and habits of their bride, and about her\ngoodness of heart. Therefore they had no need of contracts, nor of\npen-and-ink settlements; the bride\u2019s character was everything to them.\nSo I admonish you, too, not to look for money and wealth, but for\ndisposition and goodness. Seek out a virtuous and earnest girl, and she\nwill be of more worth to you than thousands of pounds. If you look for\nthe things of God, the other things will come of themselves; but if you\npass over the former and insist on the latter, you will not gain even\nthese. But you will say, \u2018Such a man became rich through his wife\u2019. Are\nyou not ashamed to bring forward such instances? I have heard many say,\n\u2018I would rather be poor a thousand times over than grow wealthy through\nmy wife\u2019. For what is more unacceptable than that wealth? What is more\npungent than that abundance? What is more humiliating than to be the man\nthus noted and pointed at by everyone as the \u2018man who became rich\nthrough his wife\u2019. I would set forth the domestic vexations which would\nof necessity befal this man from his act, viz., his wife\u2019s temper, his\nstate of slavery, their contentions, the scoffs of servants who call him\n\u2018a poor beggar, a nobody sprung from nowhere, for what had he to offer?\nDid not everything belong to the lady?\u2019 But these words make no\nimpression on you, for you have not an independent spirit. Since\ntoad-eaters, too, have to hear what is still more outrageous, and do not\ncare, so neither are these men troubled, but they glory in their\nshamelessness, and when we talk to them about it, one of them answers,\n\u2018Let me alone, it is very pleasant; and it can put an end to me for all\nI care\u2019. Oh! the malice of the devil for making certain sayings\ncommonplaces in life, which are capable of poisoning the whole existence\nof such men. See, at least, what deadly havoc this one diabolical phrase\nworks; for it says in so many words, \u2018Have no care for sobriety or for\njustice: let everything of the kind be thrown aside, and look only for\none thing\u2014pleasure\u2019. Even if this pursuit oppress you, choose it; even\nif all who meet you spit upon you, and throw mud in your eyes, and drive\nyou about like a dog, bear it. What else could swine say if they had a\nvoice? or unclean dogs? Indeed, often _they_ would not give voice to\nthose things which the devil has induced men to rave about. Therefore I\nstrongly advise those who know the heartlessness of these words to fly\nfrom such proverbial sayings, and to confute them by the contrary ones\nof Holy Scripture. Which are they? _Go not after thy lusts, and turn\naway from thy own will._ And, again, concerning the harlot, its words\nare opposed to that other phrase: _Mind not the deceit of a woman. For\nthe lips of a harlot are like a honeycomb dropping, and her throat is\nsmoother than oil. But her end is bitter as wormwood, and sharp as a\ntwo-edged sword._ Let us listen to these, and not to those words. For on\nthe latter base-minded and servile men ground their sophistry; hence, in\nthis, men become unreasoning things, in that they elect to seek pleasure\neverywhere according to the world\u2019s standard, which is despicable even\napart from our showing. For after the surfeiting, what is the gain of a\nsweet taste? Cease, then, from this mirth, and from committing\nyourselves to hell and the unquenchable fire, and let us look forward as\nwe ought to the things to come, putting off the scales from our eyes, so\nthat we may reach that future life in due time in great piety and\ncontentment, and may gain its good things through the love and kindness\nof Our Lord Jesus Christ, to Whom be power for ever and ever. Amen.\n\n\n \u201cUse a Little Wine.\u201d\n(_Homilies de Statuis_,[8] xxi., _preached at Antioch_, tom. ii., p. 2.)\n\n \u00b7 \u00b7 \u00b7 \u00b7 \u00b7 \u00b7 \u00b7\n\nSince, therefore, we melt down the gold of the Apostle\u2019s mines, not\nthrowing it into the furnace, but putting it by in the understanding of\nour soul, not enkindling a flame, but the fire of the Spirit, let us\npick up diligently even the tiny shavings. For if the word is brief, its\npower is great. If the special worth of pearls lies not in their bulk\nbut in their beauty, so is it in the reading of the Divine Scriptures.\nOn the one hand, secular education has a care for much that is trifling,\nis full of silly talk to its pupils, and sends them away empty-handed,\nwithout gain small or great. It is not so with the grace of the Spirit,\nbut just the contrary. By a few words it brings asceticism before all,\nand often one word is sufficient for the provision of a whole lifetime.\n\nSince we have this wealth before us, let us rouse ourselves, and receive\nthese words with a pure mind. And I am prepared to show that this word\n(of St. Paul to St. Timothy) contains a great deal. This advice has\nseemed to many superfluous and trifling, and they make some such remark\nas, \u2018Might not Timothy have known himself how much wine he was to take,\nwithout waiting to be told it by his master?\u2019 Now, as the master not\nonly gave the order, but enforced it by letter, as on a metal slab, in\nthe epistle which he wrote to him, was he not ashamed to establish a\nrule for such things in writing to his disciple? Learn, then, that this\nadvice, far from being superfluous, was necessary and most useful. It is\nnot Paul\u2019s doing, but the grace of the Spirit. I am speaking not only of\nits having been said, but also of its having been made emphatic in\nwriting, and published by this same epistle to all future generations. I\nshall come presently to this proof. Together with the remarks I have\nnoted, some people question another and a not less important point,\nasking themselves why God allowed a man of so great courage, whose bones\nand body put forth devils, to fall into this great bodily weakness; for\nhe was not merely ill, he was always and persistently ill with illnesses\nfollowing close upon each other, so as to leave him no breathing time.\nHow do we know this? From Paul\u2019s own words; for he did not say, _because\nof thy infirmity_, nor thy infirmities alone, but to show that they were\nconstant he said, _thy frequent infirmities_. Let as many as are given\nup to a long sickness, and are in great distress and weariness, listen\nto this. Our enquiry does not concern itself only with the fact that,\nbeing a holy man, he was sick, or that he was so thus constantly, but\nthat he was entrusted with the concerns of the world. If he had been one\nof those dwellers on the mountain heights, or bound fast to a tent in\nthe desert, and thus leading a life without business, the question would\nbe less puzzling; but exposed to view as he was, with the cares of\nchurches so great upon him, traversing entire cities and countries, and\nthe whole world itself, with so much readiness, that _he_ should have\nbeen given up to the powerlessness of illness, this it is which is the\nmost perplexing of all to a man without reflection; for if not for\nhimself, he wanted his health for others. He was an excellent general:\nhe had waged war, he said, not against unbelievers only, but against\ndemons and the devil himself. All his enemies were fiercely assailing\nhim, dispersing his army, and taking it captive. This man could lead\nthousands to the truth, and he was sick. If no further harm than this\nhad been done to our work by that illness, a man says, that alone was\nsufficient to make believers grow more careless and negligent. If\nsoldiers see their general confined to bed, they grow careless and less\neager for battle; so it was much more natural that the faithful of those\ndays, seeing the master who worked signs so great constantly ill and\nweak in his body, should suffer, humanly speaking, at the sight. This is\nnot all; but enquiries go on to something else, and ask again why\nneither he cured himself, nor his master, who saw him thus prostrated,\ncured him either; whereas they were raising the dead, and casting out\ndemons, and conquering death with authority, they did _not_ cure this\none sick body; and whilst in life and in death they were showing forth a\nwonderful power in other bodies, they did _not_ restore this ailing\nstomach. And, what is more, Paul was not ashamed, after wonders so great\nas he had shown forth, by a mere word writing to Timothy, of advising\nhim to try the remedy of wine-drinking. Not that drinking wine is bad.\nFar from it. This is what heretics assert; but that he deemed it not\nbeneath him that the cure of one sick member could not be affected\nwithout this help. He was so far from being ashamed of this that he made\nit clear to all succeeding generations. Do you see how deeply we have\ngone into the matter: how that which appears a small thing gives rise to\nendless questions? Let us, then, add the explanation, for we _have_ gone\ninto it thus deeply in order to rouse your minds and establish them in\nsecurity.\n\nYou must allow me, before coming to the explanation in question, to say\nsomething about Timothy\u2019s goodness and Paul\u2019s care for him. What was\nkinder than he, who at so great a distance, and in a round of so much\nbusiness, made the well-being of his disciple\u2019s stomach his care, and\ntold him clearly what to do for his restoration to health? And what\ncould equal Timothy\u2019s virtue? He so looked down on luxury and scorned a\nrich table as to grow weak from his extreme severity and excessive\nfasting. Listen to Paul\u2019s words plainly showing that he was not this by\nnature, but that he had lost his strength of stomach through fasting and\nwater drinking; for he did not merely say, _Use a little wine_, but\nsaying in the first place, _Do not still drink water_, he added his\ncounsel about drinking wine. The _still_ was a proof that until then he\nhad drunk water, and had so become weak. Who would not be struck with\nhis mortification and severity of life? Timothy was taking heaven itself\nby storm, and pressing on to the height of virtue, and to this his\nmaster bears witness in the words: _I have sent you Timothy, who is my\nbeloved child and faithful in the Lord_. Now, when Paul calls him his\nchild, and his faithful and beloved child, these words sufficiently show\nall his worth; for the judgments of the saints are not given either out\nof love or hatred, but are free from all prejudice. If Timothy had been\nPaul\u2019s child according to nature, he would not have been as enviable as\nhe is now renowned, for whereas Timothy was nothing to him according to\nthe flesh, through the attraction of piety he drew him into his sonship,\npreserving carefully in all things the characteristics of Timothy\u2019s\nasceticism. Just as a calf yoked with a bull, so did Timothy bear the\nyoke with him all over the world, and made no difference as he grew\nolder, but his ardour induced him to vie with the labours of his master.\nPaul, again, witnesses to this, saying: _Let no one set him at nought,\nfor he is doing the Lord\u2019s work as I am myself_. Do you see how he\nproclaims Timothy\u2019s zeal as equal to his own? And that you may not think\nthat favouring prompted him so to speak, he makes his listeners\nthemselves witnesses of his child\u2019s goodness, saying: _You know what his\ntest has been; how he has served with me in the Gospel as a child his\nfather. You have had a proof by this of his virtue and of his tried\nspirit._ Yet whilst Timothy was rising to these great heights of\ngoodness, he did not presume of himself. On the contrary, he was in\nwrestling and fear. On this account he was diligent in fasting, and did\nnot act as the majority of men do, who, having given themselves up to\nfasting, some for ten months only, others for twenty, suddenly break up\neverything. He did not suffer this, nor did he say anything of this kind\nwithin himself: \u2018Why should I go on fasting? I have got the better of\nmyself: I have conquered my desires, I have mortified my body, I have\nterrified demons, I have cast out the devil, I have raised the dead, I\nhave cleansed lepers, the opposing powers hold me in fear, what further\nneed have I of fasting and of the weakness which it brings?\u2019 He said\nnone of these things, nor were they in his mind; but the greater his\nabundance of good deeds, the more he feared and trembled, and this\nasceticism he had learnt from his master; for he who had been rapt into\nthe third heaven and taken into paradise, who had heard ineffable words\nand had participated in mysteries so high, who had traversed the whole\nworld as if with wings, said, in writing to the Corinthians: _I fear\nlest, having preached to others, I myself should be cast out_. Now, if\nPaul, who was able to say, _The world is crucified to me and I to the\nworld_, is in fear after all these his wonderful deeds, how much more\nshould _we_ fear, and this should increase in proportion to the number\nof our good actions. For the devil storms and rages the more when he\nsees us ordering our lives with care. When he sees much goodness pressed\ntogether and an accumulation of merits, then it is that he sets himself\nto bring about a completer shipwreck. For a poor and abject man, even if\nhe be supplanted and fall, does not so injure the common good. Now, when\nhe who stands, as it were, gloriously on the heights of virtue, seen and\nknown to all, the object of general admiration, falls into temptation,\nhe effects great ruin and havoc, not only because he fell from a high\nplace, but also because he made those who looked up to him more\nslothful. Just as in the body, when a member withers up, the harm is not\ngreat, yet, if the eyes fail or the head is injured, the whole body\nbecomes useless, so is it with the saints and with those who do great\nthings. When these are extinguished, when they admit any stain, they\nwork immense harm to the whole body.\n\nNow, Timothy had all this before him, and he fortified himself on all\nsides; for he knew that youth is hard to manage: unstable, easily\ndeceived, unsteady, and that it needs a strong bridle; for it is a pyre\nwhich embraces all external things and is easily ignited. Therefore, he\nwas careful to put a check upon it on all sides, and he tried in every\nway to quench this fire, and he drove the horse, which was unruly and\nrefractory, with much spirit, until he had broken him in and made him\nobedient, and brought a strong hand to bear upon him, so that he\nlistened to reason\u2019s word of command: \u2018Let my body be weak but not my\nsoul,\u2019 he said. \u2018Let the flesh be bridled, and my soul in its course\nheavenwards not be impeded.\u2019 Together with this, what we should\nespecially wonder at in him was, that weakened down as he thus was, and\nfighting with weakness, he did not neglect God\u2019s work, but was more\nactive than those in full and robust health. He was seen with his\nmaster, now at Ephesus, now at Corinth, often in Macedonia, in Italy,\neverywhere by land and by sea, ever taking part in his toils and in his\ncontinual dangers, nor did his weakness of body get the better of his\nasceticism of spirit. This is zeal according to God, which makes\nhigh-soaring easy. Thus, they who are in good case and sound in body\nwill gain nothing by it if their soul be cast down, and soft, and\nslothful; so the weak will not be harmed by their want of health if\ntheir soul be strong and alert. Now, this advice and counsel seem to\nsome to warrant unlimited wine-drinking, which is by no means the case.\nIf anyone would weigh the word carefully, he would find it is rather an\nexhortation to fasting. For consider, this advice of Paul\u2019s was given\nnot from the first and at the outset. It was given when he knew that\nTimothy\u2019s whole strength was broken, and even then not unrestrictedly,\nbut with a condition. He did not merely say, _Use wine_, but, _a little\nwine_, and this not because Timothy required the advice, but because\n_we_ do. Therefore, in writing to him, he limits and restricts\nwine-drinking, telling him to drink as much as would overcome weakness,\nand restore health to the body; not what would encourage another\ncomplaint. Immoderate wine-drinking breeds complaints no less than\nexcessive water-drinking, or rather much worse ones, both in soul and\nbody. It incites the war of passions, and leads a tempest of foolish\nfancies into the mind, weakens and enervates strength of body. An\nabundance of water falling on the earth does not more persistently break\nup the soil than constant wine-drinking does bodily strength by\nweakening and wasting it. Let us, therefore, avoid both extremes, and\ntake care of our health, whilst we keep it within due bounds. For wine\nwas given us by God, not that we should be drunk with it, but that we\nshould be temperate, that we should be made glad and not sorry. _Wine\nrejoices the heart of man_, the Scripture says. Now, you turn it into a\ncourse for despondency. Those who drink too much are sullen, and their\nreason is overclouded. Used with moderation, it is the best medicine.\nThis will be a useful argument against heretics who attack what God has\nmade. If it had been forbidden, Paul would not have counselled it, nor\nhave said, _Use wine_. And not against heretics only is it good, but\nagainst our own simpler brethren, who, when they see certain men\ndegrading themselves by drink, instead of blaming _them_, attack God\u2019s\ngift, saying, _Let there be no wine_. Then we may answer them: \u2018Let\nthere be no drunkenness\u2019. For wine is God\u2019s, whilst drunkenness is the\ndevil\u2019s. It is not wine which makes inebriety, but intemperance. Do not\nslander God\u2019s creature, but the madness of your fellow-man. Will you\nneglect to punish and correct the sinner whilst you despise the\nBenefactor?\n\n \u00b7 \u00b7 \u00b7 \u00b7 \u00b7 \u00b7 \u00b7\n\n\n Possessing the Land.\n (_Homilies on Second Epistle to Corinthians_, ix., vol. iii., p. 110.)\n\n \u00b7 \u00b7 \u00b7 \u00b7 \u00b7 \u00b7 \u00b7\n\nSince, then, the things which we see are temporary, but the things which\nwe do not see eternal, let us turn our minds to these. For what excuse\nshould we have for choosing passing things instead of eternal ones? If\nthe present time be indeed pleasant, it does not last, whilst the pain\nwhich it produces endures relentlessly.\n\nHow will those who have been made worthy of the Spirit be justified,\nenjoying so great a gift, if they remain crawling upon the earth and\nclinging to it? For I hear many men making use of foolish speeches, such\nas: \u2018Give me to-day and take to-morrow; for, if things are what you\npretend hereafter, it is one thing against another; but, supposing there\nis no hereafter at all, it is two things instead of nothing\u2019. What is\nmore senseless or more idle than such words? We are talking about heaven\nand the ineffable goods of eternity, and you bring before us the\narguments of a racing-course, and are not ashamed to speak words worthy\nof madmen. Do you not blush so to cleave to present things? Will you not\ndesist from madness and foolishness, and from wasting your youth? That\nheathens should speak in this way is not astonishing, but what will\nbelieving men who so rave have to say for themselves? Would you call in\nquestion those immortal hopes or doubt them altogether?\n\nAnd what is your excuse? \u2018Who has ever come,\u2019 you say, \u2018and told us\nabout the next world?\u2019 No man ever did; but God, Who is the most worthy\nof belief, has revealed these things. \u2018But we cannot see them.\u2019 Neither\ncan you see God; and do you doubt His existence because you cannot see\nHim?\u2019 \u2018I believe in it most thoroughly,\u2019 you say. Now, then, if an\nunbeliever ask you, \u2018Who has ever come from heaven and told us these\nthings?\u2019 what will you answer? How do you know that there is a God?\n\u2018From visible things,\u2019 you reply; \u2018from the order which is in the whole\ncreation; from the fact that this is evident to all.\u2019 Therefore, apply\nthe same argument to that which concerns judgment. \u2018How am I to do\nthis?\u2019 you ask. I will tell you, and you will say if I am right. Is God\njust, and does He give to each one according to his works, or, on the\ncontrary, is it His wish that the wicked should do well and feast, and\nthe good be in trouble and want? \u2018Certainly not,\u2019 you say; \u2018for not even\na man would suffer this.\u2019 Then where are those who are upright here to\nenjoy good things? Where are the wicked to suffer, if there is to be no\nfuture life and no retribution after this world? Do you see that so far\nit is one against one, and not two things instead of one? I am showing\nyou that the just will have not one thing rather than another, but two\nthings rather than nothing, and that with sinners and those who feast\nhere just the reverse is the case. For those who feast in this world\nhave not even one thing against another, but those who persevere in\nvirtue have two things instead of nothing. Who will be in\nrefreshment\u2014those who misuse this present life or those who lead an\nascetic one? You say the former, but I point out the latter, and call in\nas witnesses those very people who have enjoyed present things, and they\nwill not be ashamed of what I am going to say. For they have often\ncursed match-makers and the day on which the marriage-tie was completed,\nand have envied the unmarried. Many young men, who could easily have\nmarried, have desisted for no other reason except its irksomeness. I say\nthis, not in disparagement of marriage\u2014for it is honourable\u2014but against\nthose who misuse it. For if married people have often called their life\ninsupportable, what shall we say of those who have fallen into the\nabysses of lust, and who have led a life more slavish and miserable than\nany captivity?\u2014of those who have rotted in luxury, and drawn down a\nhundred disorders upon their body? \u2018Still,\u2019 you answer, \u2018it is pleasant\nto be somebody.\u2019 Nothing in the world is bitterer than this servitude.\nThe vain man and he who wishes to please all-comers is more servile than\nany slave; whereas he who looks down upon vainglory is exalted above\nall, and troubles himself not with what others say. \u2018But having money is\ndelightful.\u2019 We have often shown you that those are in greater plenty\nand refreshment who have given up these things and are rather possessors\nof nothing. \u2018But drunkenness is pleasant.\u2019 Who would say so? Therefore,\nif poverty is pleasanter than riches, the unmarried rather than the\nmarried life, obscurity rather than reputation, fasting than feasting,\nit follows that those have the most who do not cleave to present things.\nI mean that the one, although he may be torn with numberless cares,\nrests on a good hope; whereas the other, even if he enjoy luxury a\nthousand times over, has fear of the future to spoil and mar his\npleasure. And this is indeed not a slight punishment, as it is\ndestructive to feasting and enjoyment. Together with these there is a\nthird sort of punishment. What is this? That earthly feasting is seen to\nhave no real existence, since nature and the action of time disprove it;\nwhereas eternal things not only do exist, but remain unchanged. Do you\nsee that it is not only two things against nothing, but three, five,\nten, twenty, or a thousand against nothing. In order to teach you this\nfrom an example, take the case of Dives and Lazarus: the one enjoyed the\npresent life and the other eternal life. Now, does it seem to you that\nyou can set the one thing against the other: to be chastised for ever\nand to suffer hunger for a short time; to be sick in a perishing body,\nand to be burnt in a fierce fire with an immortal body; to be crowned,\nand to feed on eternal goods after short suffering, and to be tortured\nendlessly after a brief enjoyment of temporal things? Who would say so?\nWhat would you have me reckon? Quantity, quality, order, God\u2019s\ndetermination respecting each of us? How long will you speak as an\ninsect might who is always wallowing in the mire?\n\nIt does not belong to consistent men to throw away so precious a soul\nfor anything whatsoever, when a little labour is required to conquer\nheaven. Shall I show you by another example that a formidable tribunal\nis awaiting us there? Open the door of your conscience and see the judge\nwho is sitting in your mind. If you exercise judgment upon yourself,\nselfish as you are, and could not bear the judgment not to be just, how\nmuch more will God have a care for the righteous, and judge every man\nimpartially rather than allow all things to be carried out for nothing\nand in vain! Who, indeed, would say this? No man whatsoever, but\nheathens, barbarians, poets, philosophers, and all the human race will\nagree with us in these matters, if not in the same way, and will admit\nthat there is some kind of tribunal in hell, because the thing is so\nclear and evident.\n\n\u2018And why,\u2019 you ask, \u2018does He not chastise in this world?\u2019 In order that\nHe may show forth His own long-suffering, and give us an opportunity of\nsalvation by contrition; that He may not use harshness with our race,\nnor deprive of salvation those who may be saved by a perfect conversion.\nIf He immediately chastised sins and destroyed sinners, how would Paul\nhave been saved or Peter, the chief teachers of the world (\u03bf\u1f31 \u03ba\u03bf\u03c1\u03c5\u03c6\u03b1\u1fd6\u03bf\u03b9\n\u03c4\u1fc6\u03c2 \u03bf\u1f30\u03ba\u03bf\u03c5\u00b5\u03ad\u03bd\u03b7\u03c2 \u03b4\u03b9\u03b4\u03ac\u03c3\u03ba\u03b1\u03bb\u03bf\u03b9)? How would David have reaped salvation from\nhis repentance? or the Galatians? or many others? This is why He does\nnot demand the payment of every penalty here, but some of the whole\nnumber, nor all there, but one man pays in this world and another in the\nnext, in order that He may arouse the most insensible through those whom\nHe chastises, and prove the future state through those whom He does not\nchastise. See you not how many men have received their punishment\nhere\u2014those, for instance, who were buried by the tower, those whose\nblood Pilate used for the sacrifices, those amongst the Corinthians who\ndied a premature death for partaking unworthily of the mysteries; or\nagain, Pharaoh, or those amongst the Jews who were slaughtered by the\nGentiles, or so many others then, and now, and at all times? And, again,\nmany great sinners have departed hence without paying any penalty here,\nlike the rich man in Lazarus\u2019 case, and numerous others. This he does,\nand so leads unbelievers to future things, and makes believers more\nfervent. _For God is a just, and a strong, and a long-suffering judge,\nand remembers not His anger day by day._ Yet, if we misuse His\nlong-suffering, a time will come when He will be patient no more, and\nwill instantly apply the penalty. Let us not then encounter chastisement\nduring endless ages for the enjoyment of one moment, which is our\npresent life, but let us labour during this critical moment that we may\nbe crowned for ever. Do you not see that this is how the majority of men\nact in worldly things? And they choose a short labour in preference to a\nlong rest, even if the issue be unfavourable to them. Here there is\nequality of labour and gain, or, on the other hand, there is often\nendless labour and a small harvest, or none at all; whereas in the case\nof the kingdom the travail is little, and the pleasure great and\nnever-ending. For consider, the husbandman toils all the year round, and\ntowards the end of it he is often defrauded of the fruits of his many\nlabours. Again, the sailor and the soldier are in wars and toils till\nextreme old age, and it often chances that each dies, the one without\nhis wealth of cargoes, the other losing his life as well as victory on\nthe battlefield. Now, tell me what excuse shall we have if we choose\nlabours in worldly things, that we may rest for a while, or not even\nthat, because hope is uncertain, whereas in spiritual things we do the\nvery contrary, and draw down upon us an unspeakable chastisement for the\nsake of short ease?\n\n \u00b7 \u00b7 \u00b7 \u00b7 \u00b7 \u00b7 \u00b7\n\n\n The Word of Praise.\n (_Homilies on Second Epistle to Corinthians_, i., vol. iii., p. 8.)\n\n \u00b7 \u00b7 \u00b7 \u00b7 \u00b7 \u00b7 \u00b7\n\nLet us not lose heart in temptation. For no man that feasts, and\nslumbers, and flags, is united to Christ, nor any of those who lead this\nsoft and dissolute life; but the man in tribulation and temptation, he\nwho walks on the narrow path, is near to Christ. For this was His path,\nand so He said: _The Son of man hath not whereon to lay His Head_.\nTherefore do not grieve that you are tried, seeing Whom you are like in\nthis, how you are purified by temptations, and what great things you\ngain. Nothing is grievous except falling out with God. Short of this\nneither tribulation, nor snares, nor anything else, has power to afflict\nthe wisely-tempered soul; but just as a small spark falling into a deep\nabyss goes out at once, so the force of despondency sinking into a good\nconscience is destroyed and quickly disappears. Thus it was that Paul\nalways rejoiced, since he drew his courage from the things of God, and\ndid not even perceive human evils: he was grieved as a man, but did not\nfall. Thus, too, that patriarch of old was in gladness whilst suffering\nmany painful things. For consider: he was exiled from his country, he\nwent through long and grievous journeys, and coming to a foreign land,\nhe had not a place for the sole of his foot. After that he was a prey to\nhunger, and it made him a wanderer, and his hunger was followed by the\ntaking of his wife, by the fear of death, by childlessness, and war, and\ndangers, and plottings, and at last by the crowning and most bitter\ngrief of all, the slaughtering of his only son, the heir.\n\nDo not think that, because he had so much endurance, he went through\nthese things without suffering. For if he was just a thousand times\nover, as indeed he was, he was still a man, and he had the feelings of a\nman. Yet no one of these things overthrew him, but he stood like a\nvaliant combatant with the laurel wreath, acclaimed with applause in\neach race. Thus, too, blessed Paul, exposed day by day to the snowstorms\nof temptation, as if feasting in the midst of paradise, rejoiced and\nexulted. Now, just as a man who is glad with this gladness does not fall\na prey to despondency, so one who is not glad in this way is easily\novercome by everything, and he suffers as a man would, who having\ninsufficient armour should be wounded by a chance shot. Not so the man\nwho is safely armed from head to foot: he wards off every assailing\ndart. For, indeed, joy, according to God, is stronger than any armour,\nand nothing can make such a man downcast or sad, but he bears all things\nwith fortitude. What is more destructive than fire, or more painful than\nconstant tortures? Even if a man lose a hundred possessions and\nchildren, and anything else, this is the sharpest suffering: _Skin for\nskin, and all that a man hath he will give for his life_. Nothing could\nbe harder to bear than pain. Still, that which men deem unbearable\nbecomes tolerable and desirable through the gladness coming from God. If\nyou lead the martyr whilst still alive away from the cross or the\ncauldron you will find this same joy within his breast, which is not\neven to be described.\n\n\u2018And why should I suffer,\u2019 you ask, \u2018since this is no age for\nmartyrdom?\u2019 What are you saying, \u2018This is no age for martyrdom\u2019? It has\nnever ceased, but is always before our eyes if we will be on the\nlook-out. It is not only hanging on the wood which makes a martyr, for\nif this were the case, Job would be deprived of this particular crown.\nHe neither appeared at a judgment-seat, nor heard the voice of a judge,\nnor saw an executioner, nor raised in the air and disjointed on the\ncross, were his ribs worn away. Yet he bore stripes harder than many\nmartyrs did, and the voices of ceaseless messengers urged and tormented\nhim more sharply than any stripes, and those worms devoured his flesh\nmore rapidly than countless executioners. Was he then not fully equal to\na martyr? He _was_ a thousand times a martyr. He wrestled in every\nsingle way, and was crowned; he was tried by money losses, and by\nchildren, and bodily sickness, and wife, and friends, and enemies, and\nservants, for they also insulted him to his face; by hunger, and curses,\nand pains, and stench. On this account I should say that he would equal\nnot one, or two, or three, but many martyrs. Besides all this, the time\nadded greatly to his crowns: for instance, it was before the law and the\ndispensation of grace, and he suffered during many months and with\nintensity, and all his misfortunes were laid upon him at once, although\neach was in itself overwhelming, and that which seemed the most grievous\nof all, the loss of his wealth. Many at least have borne stripes but\nhave not borne the loss of property, and have chosen to be scourged for\nit, and would rather have endured a thousand other evils than any\ndiminution of it, as the loss of money appeared to them the greater\nstripe. So this constitutes another kind of martyrdom for the man who\nbears its loss with endurance. And how shall we be sure of the\nendurance, you ask? By understanding that you gain more than you have\nlost by a single word, that of thanksgiving. If, when we hear of our\nloss, we are not agitated, but say, \u2018Praised be God,\u2019 we have found\nsomething of much greater worth. Indeed, you could not gain rewards so\nhigh by distributing your riches to the poor, nor by going about to seek\nout the needy, and by lavishing your good things upon them, as you gain\nby this one word. Hence, I admire Job not so much when he opens his\nhouse to the poor, as I proclaim and wonder at him for bearing the loss\nof his wealth with thanksgiving. The same is evident in the case of his\nchildren\u2019s death. You will receive a reward not less than his was who\nled out his son to sacrifice him, if seeing _yours_ dead, you give\nthanks to the God of mercy. How is such a man less than Abraham? He did\nnot see _his_ son lying dead, but only expected it; so that if he\ncarries off the palm for his readiness to sacrifice, and for putting out\nhis hand to seize the knife, he is surpassed by the fact of _your_ son\nbeing actually a corpse before your eyes. And, besides, the inward\nconsciousness of his good deed bore him up with consolation, that heroic\naction being produced by his own fortitude, and the listening to the\nvoice from above increased his readiness; in this case there is nothing\nof this kind. Thus it requires a most steadfast soul in the man who\nlooks upon his only son, brought up in wealth and giving much promise,\nlying stretched across the threshold, in order to bear it meekly. He who\ncan do this has overcome the tempest of natural emotion, and is able to\nspeak tearlessly those words of Job: _The Lord has given, the Lord has\ntaken away_; he will take his place even with Abraham, and be proclaimed\nwith Job for this one word alone. And if you put a stop to the wailing\nof women and break up the bands of weepers, and lead them to the voice\nof praise, numberless rewards will follow both from above and below; men\nwill be in admiration, angels will applaud, God will be your crown.\n\n \u00b7 \u00b7 \u00b7 \u00b7 \u00b7 \u00b7 \u00b7\n\n\n Sufferings of the Just.\n (_Homilies de Statuis_, xxi., _preached at Antioch_, t. ii., p. 13,\n _Benedictine Edition_.)\n\n \u00b7 \u00b7 \u00b7 \u00b7 \u00b7 \u00b7 \u00b7\n\n_Blessed are ye when men reproach you, and pursue you, and say every\nevil thing against you, lying. Rejoice and be glad, because your reward\nis very great in heaven; for this is what their fathers did to the\nprophets._ And again, Paul, wishing to encourage the Macedonians, said:\n_You, brethren, are become the imitators of the churches of God in\nJudea, because you have suffered from your own countrymen the same\nthings as they suffered from the Jews._ And again, exhorting the Hebrews\nin the same way, he enumerates all the just; those who were in furnaces,\nin water, in deserts, in mountains, in caves, in hunger, those living in\nanguish; as a community of suffering is in itself some consolation to\nits victims. And listen again to Paul urging the same thing when\nspeaking of the resurrection: _If as a man I fought with the wild beasts\nat Ephesus, what do I gain by it if the dead are not to rise again?_ And\nagain: If we hope in Christ in this life only, we are more miserable\nthan all men. We suffer a thousand evils according to this world, he\nsays; if then we may hope for no other life, what can be more wretched\nthan we? Whence it is clear that our lives do not end here, and this is\nevident from temptations, for God would never allow those who have\nsuffered so much and so greatly, and have passed their whole lives in\ntemptations and numberless dangers, not to be rewarded with gifts much\ngreater. And if this be the case, it is evident that He has prepared\nanother life which is happier and more glorious, in which He means to\ncrown and to proclaim the champions of piety in the face of the whole\nworld. Therefore, when you see a just man spending this present life in\ngreat trouble, when you see him ill-treated, in sickness, poverty, and\nenduring all sorts of misfortunes, say to yourself, that if there were\nno resurrection and no judgment, God would not allow him to leave this\nworld after suffering so many evils and enjoying no good. Hence it is\nevident that He holds in reserve for them another life far pleasanter\nand higher than this. If this were not the case He would not allow so\nmany sinners to feast in this life, nor so many just to be in a sea of\ntroubles. But since there _is_ another life, in which He designs to give\nto every man according to his deserts, whether they be those of\nwickedness or those of goodness, He suffers the one to be persecuted and\nthe other to enjoy himself. I will endeavour to prove another reason\n(why suffering is tolerated) from the Scriptures. And what is it? That\nwe who are called to the same virtue may not say that _they_ had a\ndifferent nature to ours and were not men. So in speaking of the great\nElias it is said that Elias was a man of like feelings to ourselves. Do\nyou see that he is shown to be a man like to us from similarity of\nfeelings? And again: _For I am a man of like nature to yourselves_. This\nis a pledge of similarity. Clearly He is teaching you here the lesson\nthat He makes us happy in the right way. When you hear Paul saying, _Up\nto the present time we are in hunger, and thirst, and nakedness, and we\nare chastised, and homeless, and weary_; and again: _that the Lord\nchastises the one He loves, and scourges every son He receives_, it is\nevident that we should exalt not those who are enjoying rest, but those\nwho are tried and afflicted for God, and that we should emulate those\nwho live holily, and care for piety. So spoke the prophet: _Their right\nhand is the right hand of iniquity. Their daughters decked out, adorned\nround about after the similitude of a temple. Their store-houses full,\nflowing out of this into that. Their sheep fruitful in young, abounding\nin their goings forth; their oxen fat. There is no breach of wall, nor\npassage, nor crying out in their streets. They have called the people\nhappy that hath these things._ What do you say, O prophet? _Happy_, he\nsays, _is that people whose God is the Lord_. I call blessed, not the\nman who abounds in money, but him who lives for piety, even if he suffer\na thousand evils. And if we ought to speak of another[9] reason, I\nshould say that tribulation increases the worth of the tried.\n_Tribulation worketh patience, and patience probation, probation hope,\nand hope is not shamed_: see you how the probation produced by\ntribulation makes us hopeful concerning the future, and how remaining in\ntemptations puts us in good hope of what is to come? Therefore, I said,\nnot unadvisedly, that tribulations themselves strengthen the\nresurrection in our hearts, and make those who are tried better. For as,\nhe says, gold is tried in the fire, so is an acceptable man in the fire\nof humiliation. There is yet another[10] reason. What is this? One which\nI have often spoken of already: that, if we have any stains, we may put\nthem off in this world. The Patriarch clearly said to the rich man that\nLazarus had received his bad things, and was therefore consoled. And,\nadded to this, we may find another reason. What is it? The strengthening\nof our crowns and rewards, for the more searching the tribulation, the\ngreater will be the rewards, or, rather, they will far surpass the\ncomparison. _The sufferings of this time are not worthy to be compared\nto the glory to come, which shall be revealed in us._ Having, then, all\nthese reasons to give for the affliction of the saints, let us not be\ncast down in temptations, nor distressed, nor harassed, but let us\ninstruct our own souls, and teach these things to others. Even if you\nsee a man leading a good life, practising asceticism, pleasing God, and\nhe be suffering a thousand evils, be not scandalised, O beloved. Again,\nif you see some one overthrown who is engaged in spiritual works and\nabout to complete something useful, be not troubled. For I have often\nheard many men remark upon it in this way: \u2018So and so,\u2019 they say, \u2018went\nto a shrine, taking all his money to the poor, and he was shipwrecked,\nand lost everything; another, again, did the same and fell among\nthieves, and barely escaping with his life, he got away in nakedness\u2019.\nWhat should we say? That none of these things need trouble us. For if he\n_did_ perish by shipwreck, the fruit of justice is perfect above: he had\ndone his part, he had put together his possessions, given them up, and\ntaking them, had set out. He had begun his journey, but the shipwreck\nwas not of his own making. Why, then, did God allow it? That it might\nprove him. Still the poor were deprived of their money, you say: you do\nnot care for the poor as God their maker does. If they were indeed\ndeprived of this money, He is able to offer them an opportunity of a\nmuch greater treasure.\n\nTherefore, do not let us call Him to account for what has happened, but\nglorify Him in all things. For not by chance, or in vain, does He allow\nsuch things often to come about, nor does He despise those who are to\nenjoy solace from money, but instead of this He puts another means of\nsupport in their way, and, besides the trial, gives the shipwrecked man\na greater reward. Indeed, giving thanks to God in trials of this kind is\nmuch higher than alms, for we do not give by alms alone, but if we bear\nbravely the losses inflicted by others, we shall gain immense fruit from\nit. In order to prove this to you I will make it clear to you from what\nhappened to Job that patience is better than alms-giving. When Job was\nrich, he opened his house to the poor and gave away all that he\npossessed, but he was not so magnificent at the time he was opening his\nhouse to the needy, as when he heard unmoved that it had fallen to the\nground: he was not so renowned when he covered the naked with the fleece\nof his sheep as when, hearing that fire had broken out and consumed all\nhis cattle, he gave thanks. _Then_ he was kind, now he became mortified:\n_then_ he had compassion on the poor, now he gave thanks to his Lord.\nNor did he say to himself: \u2018What is the meaning of this? The sheep, from\nwhich thousands of poor were fed, are destroyed: for if _I_ was unworthy\nto enjoy this abundance, I should have been spared, at least, for the\nsake of those who shared it.\u2019 He neither said nor thought anything of\nthe sort, but he knew that God was ordering it all for the best. And to\nshow you that he beat the devil more effectually by giving thanks when\ndespoiled than by showing mercy when rich, consider that, at the time of\nhis wealth, the devil had some reason, even if falsely, for saying,\n_Does Job worship Thee for nothing?_ Now when God took away everything,\nand stripped him completely, and Job kept his good-will towards God,\nthen was that shameless mouth stopped, and he had nothing more to say:\nthat just man was more glorious than before. To bear with fortitude and\nthanksgiving the being despoiled is a much greater thing than for a rich\nman to give alms, as has been shown in the case of this just man. Then\nhis kindness to his fellow-man was overflowing, now he proved his\nexceeding love for God. I insist on this, not without reason, but\nbecause many men by frequent alms have supported widows, and then been\ndeprived of their substance. Others have lost everything through a fire\nbreaking out; others have encountered shipwreck; others through\nslanderings and abuse have, after generous alms-giving, fallen into the\nextreme of poverty, and into weakness and disease, and have been helped\nby no one in any way. In order, therefore, that we should not say, as\nmany often do, \u2018No man knows anything,\u2019 what I have said will suffice to\nput an end to this difficulty. \u2018So and so, who gave so much in alms,\u2019\nyou say, \u2018lost everything.\u2019 And what if he did? For, if he give thanks\nfor this great loss of his, he will propitiate God\u2019s good-will the more,\nand reap not double riches, as Job did, but the hundred-fold in eternal\nlife. If he _does_ suffer here, the very fact of his bearing it all\nbravely will increase his reward. God, in calling him to greater trials\nand struggles, allowed him to fall from abundance into poverty. Has fire\nperchance often broken out in your house and destroyed your substance?\nRemember what happened to Job, give thanks to the Lord, Who was able to\nstop it and did not stop it, and you will receive a reward as great as\nif you had poured forth all those things into the hands of the poor. Or,\nare you living in poverty and hunger, and a thousand dangers? Call to\nmind Lazarus, who was hard pressed by sickness, and poverty, and\nsolitude, and numberless things of the kind, and all this after so much\ngoodness; call to mind the Apostles, who passed their lives in hunger\nand thirst and nakedness; and the prophets, and patriarchs, and just,\nand you will find them one and all, not amongst the rich, not amongst\nthose who feast, but amongst those suffering hunger and affliction and\nanguish.\n\nPondering on these things, give thanks to God for the share He has\nallotted to you, not in hatred, but in tender love, since He would not\nhave allowed those men to suffer evils so great, if He had not loved\nthem dearly, because He made them more illustrious through these evils.\nNo good is so great as thanksgiving, as nothing is worse than blasphemy.\nLet us not be astonished that, when we are paying much attention to\nspiritual things, we suffer a great deal. It is as with thieves, who do\nnot break into places where mud and chaff and reeds are, but where gold\nand silver are, and are ever on the watch. Thus the devil gives his\nspecial attention to those who are taken up with spiritual things.\nSnares are numerous where goodness exists, and envy is to be found where\nthere is alms-giving. But we have one great weapon by which we may\nresist all these machinations, the giving thanks to God in all things.\nTell me, did not Abel, who reserved the first-fruits for God, fall by\nhis brother\u2019s hand? Yet God allowed it, not hating the man who had\nhonoured him, but loving him much, and adding to the crown of Abel\u2019s\nbeautiful sacrifice the further crown of martyrdom. Moses wished to\nsuccour some one who had been wronged, and he confronted the greatest\ndangers on this account, and fled from his country, and God allowed it,\nto teach you what the patience of the saints is. If, knowing beforehand\nthat we should suffer no evil, we were thus to give ourselves up to\nspiritual things, we should not appear to be doing a great thing,\npossessing this pledge of security. Now, it so happens that those who do\nthis are chiefly admirable because, foreseeing dangers, and penalties,\nand deaths, and a thousand evils, they have still neither desisted from\ntheir good deeds nor grown faint-hearted through fear of the terrors to\ncome. As the three children said, _There is a God in heaven Who can\ndeliver us, and even if He do not, know, O king, that we do not worship\nthy gods, and do not adore the golden statue which thou hast set up_, so\nwhen you are about to do something for God, expect many dangers, many\npenalties, many deaths, and wonder not nor fear at them. _Son_, he says,\n_when thou comest to serve_ _God, prepare thy soul for temptation_. For\nno one who has chosen a hand-to-hand fight may expect to bear off the\ncrown without wounds. And you who are to wrestle with the devil in every\npossible way, live not a life of ease and luxury. Your rewards and\npromises are not here, but God promises you all glory in the world to\ncome. When, therefore, either you yourself do a good action and reap\ncontrary effects, or you see another enduring them, rejoice and be glad,\nfor the deed becomes a source of greater reward to you; only be not cast\ndown, do not lose your fervour, grow not faint-hearted, but rather go on\nyour way with greater readiness. Since the Apostles, also, were scourged\nand stoned and perpetually in prison for what they preached, not only\nafter their liberation from dangers, but in the very midst of them, they\nannounced the tidings with all the more willingness. We may see Paul\ncatechising and instructing even in prison, even in his chains, and\nagain before the tribunal, and in the shipwreck, and the storm, and in a\nthousand dangers. Do you also emulate these saints, and, as long as you\ncan, hold to good works. Even if you see the devil assailing you on a\nthousand sides, never turn away. In distributing your money, you may\nperhaps have suffered shipwreck, yet Paul, who was more precious than\nany money, in preaching the word, went to Rome, suffered shipwreck, and\nendured numberless evils. And this he clearly says in the words: _We\nhave often wished to come to you, but Satan has prevented us_. And God\nallowed it by an abundant manifestation of His power, showing that, in\nspite of the devil\u2019s making and unmaking in a thousand ways, the Gospel\nwas by no means lessened or impeded thereby. So Paul gave thanks to God\nin everything, knowing that God was proving him by these things; and he\nshowed his burning zeal everywhere by allowing no obstacle to stand in\nhis way. Now, the more we meet with failure, the greater will be our\nhold of spiritual works; and do not let us say, \u2018Why did God allow there\nto be impediments?\u2019 He allowed them that He may prove your zeal the more\nto the multitude, and your true love. For lovers are remarkable for\nnever departing from the good pleasure of the beloved one. He who is\nremiss and luxurious is prostrated by the first touch of tribulation;\nbut the fervent and watchful man, even if he be impeded in a thousand\nways, sets himself the more to work at God\u2019s business, doing his part\nperfectly, and giving thanks in every thing. This let us also do.\nThanksgiving is an immense treasure, great riches, an inexhaustible\ngood, a strong weapon. Blasphemy has a present penalty, and causes our\ndestruction over and above what we have suffered. Have you lost money?\nIf you have given thanks, you have gained your soul and won greater\nriches for yourself, and propitiated God the more; but, if you have\nblasphemed, you have destroyed your own salvation without gaining any of\nthose things, and have slain your own soul.\n\n\n The Folly of the Cross.\n (_Homilies on First Epistle to Corinthians_, xiv., vol. ii., p. 36.)\n\n \u00b7 \u00b7 \u00b7 \u00b7 \u00b7 \u00b7 \u00b7\n\nShowing the power of the Cross, St. Paul says: _The Jews too ask for\nsigns, and the Greeks seek after wisdom: but we preach Christ crucified,\na scandal to the Jews, a folly to the Gentiles, but to those who are\ncalled, both Jews and Gentiles, Christ the power of God and the wisdom\nof God_. There is a deep meaning in these words. For he wishes to say\nhow God conquered by contraries, and that the promulgation of the Gospel\ndoes not come from man. What he says amounts to this. When we say to the\nJews, \u2018Believe,\u2019 they reply, \u2018Raise up the dead, cure those who are\npossessed, show us signs\u2019. How do we answer these things? By saying,\nthat He Whom we preach was crucified and died. This was sufficient not\nonly not to move those who did not wish to be moved, but also to repulse\nthose who had the will; yet still He is not repulsed, but draws men\nafter Him, and conquers and gets the better of them. Again, the Gentiles\ndemand of us eloquent discourses and elaborate reasonings, and we reply\nto them also by preaching the Cross, and that which seems to be weakness\nto the Jews, the Gentiles consider folly. Now, when we not only do not\noffer them what they ask for, but the very contrary, for the Cross not\nonly does not seem to be a sign tested, according to human reason, but\nthe destruction of signs: not only not a manifestation of power, but a\nproof of weakness: not only not an embodiment of wisdom, but a\npersonification of folly; when, then, those who look for signs and\nwisdom not only do not receive what they seek, but listen to things\nwhich are the exact contrary of their desires, and, furthermore, are\npersuaded by them, is not the power of Him Who is preached beyond words?\nIt is as if some one were to show those who are tossed on the waves and\nlonging for harbour, not the land, but a more angry sea, would he induce\nthem to follow him? Or if a physician were to tell a man broken by pain\nand desiring remedies that he will restore health, not by medicine but\nby again using the knife, would his patient yield himself to his\nguidance? This implies very great power. So the Apostles made their way\nnot only by signs, but by a line of action seemingly in opposition with\nsigns, as Christ had done in the case of the blind man. For wishing to\ncure him, He used a course which increased the affliction, as He put\nclay upon his eyes. Just, then, as He cured the blind man by putting\nclay upon him, so he drew the world to Himself through the Cross, which\nindeed was an increase, not a removal of scandal. So He acted in the\nCreation, preparing contraries by contraries. He built up with sand the\nlimits of the sea, curbing the strong with the weak; He placed the earth\nupon the water, causing that which was hard and firm to be upborne by\nflowing and liquid matter. Again, through the prophets He made iron\nfloat with a little wood. Thus He drew the world after Himself through\nHis Cross. For as water supports the earth, so the Cross supports the\nworld. Therefore it is a great proof of power and wisdom to persuade by\ncontraries. And if the Cross seems to be a subject of scandal, still not\nonly it does _not_ scandalise, but it draws to itself. St. Paul had all\nthese things in his mind and was struck with astonishment when he said\nthat _the folly of God is wiser than man, and the weakness of God is\nstronger than man_, applying this folly and this weakness to the Cross,\nnot that it was really foolish and weak but that it seemed so: for he\nanswers them according to _their_ estimate. That, in fact, which\nphilosophers had been unable to do by their reasonings was effected by\nthis apparent folly. Now who was the wiser? He Who persuaded many, or he\nwho persuaded a few\u2014or rather no one? He Who convinced man of the\ngreatest things, or he who used his powers of persuasion about things\nwhich do not exist at all? How Plato and his school laboured about the\nline, the angle, and the point, and about even numbers and odd numbers,\nand about their being equal and unequal, discoursing to us about such\nlike cobwebs, for such things are less profitable to our life than even\ncobwebs, and so helping us neither much nor little, he came to the end\nof his life.\n\nHow he wearied himself to show that the spirit is immortal, and did he\nnot die without making any clear statement or convincing a single man\namongst his disciples? But it was through unlearned men that the Cross\nbrought conviction, and drew the world to itself. It spoke to men, not\nof chance things, but of God, and of piety in the truth, of the Gospel\npolity, of future judgment, and it made uncouth men and unlearned men\nphilosophers.\n\nThis is how the folly of God is wiser than man, and His weakness\nstronger. How is it stronger? It is stronger in that it spread over the\nwhole earth and seized all men by force, and whereas thousands and\nthousands did their utmost to stamp out the name of the Crucified One,\njust the contrary came to pass. For this name took root and was\npropagated all the more, whereas _they_ were destroyed and consumed, and\nliving men fighting a dead One, gained not a stroke. Consequently when a\nheathen tells me that I am a fool, he proves that he himself is doubly\none; inasmuch as considered by him to be a fool, I appear wiser than the\nwise; and when he calls me weak, he shows himself to be weaker. For\npublicans and fishermen set up those very things by the goodness of God\nwhich philosophers, and orators, and despots, and the whole world vainly\nstriving with all its might could not even devise.\n\nWhat, indeed, has the Cross not introduced? The belief concerning the\nimmortality of the soul, and the resurrection of the body, the despising\nof present things, the desire of eternal. And it made angels out of men,\nwho practise everywhere the philosophy of all endurance. But amongst\nheathens, too, you say, \u2018There have been many who have despised death\u2019.\nTell me who they are. Do you allude perchance to the drinker of hemlock?\nBut, if you like, I will show you thousands of such men in the Church.\nFor if, when a persecution came, all men could get off by taking\nhemlock, they would all have been more illustrious than he was. Besides,\nhe drained the cup, not being free to drink or not to drink: willing or\nunwilling, he had to suffer, which was not courage, but necessity.\nThieves and murderers under sentence of their judges have suffered\nharder things. It is just the very contrary amongst us; for the martyrs\nendured, not in spite of themselves, but willingly, and having it in\ntheir power not to suffer, showed forth a fortitude beyond all proof.\nTherefore it is not surprising if Socrates drank hemlock, both because\nhe could not do otherwise, and because he had reached extreme old age,\nfor he said that he was seventy years old when he despised life, if this\nbe indeed despising it; _I_ should not say so, nor would anyone else.\nBut show me a man rejoicing in torments for his belief, as I can show\n_you_ thousands all over the world. Who bore bravely the tearing out of\nhis nails, the racking of his joints, the hacking asunder of his\nmembers, one after the other, the stretching upon a gridiron, or\nplunging into a caldron? Show me this. For death by hemlock is\nequivalent to slumbering quietly away, as it is said to be an end which\nis sweeter than sleep. And if certain men have even endured torments,\nthey have forfeited the praise due to them by dying for criminal causes:\nsome for betraying secret things, others for aiming at domination,\nothers for being taken in the most shameful deeds; others, again, either\nvainly or foolishly, without any cause, have destroyed themselves. But\nit is not so with us. And this is why their deeds have been hushed in\nsilence, whilst ours are flowering and increasing day by day. This was\nin Paul\u2019s mind when he said: \u2018The weakness of God is stronger than all\nmen put together\u2019. For the divinity that was in the tidings is clear\nfrom this. How, indeed, was it that twelve unlettered men attempted\nthings of this importance, twelve men, whose life was spent on seas and\nrivers and in deserts, who scarcely entered city or marketplace? How did\nthey manage to set themselves in battle array over the whole world? The\nrecorder of their deeds shows them to have been faint-hearted and\nunmanly, and himself to have no desire to conceal their shortcomings,\nwhich were themselves the greatest proof of the truth. Now, what does he\nsay about them? That when Christ was taken, after seeing Him work\ncountless wonders, some fled, and the one who remained, the chief of\nall, denied Him. How was it, then, that those who, whilst Christ lived,\ncould not endure Jewish anger, should have been able to range themselves\nagainst the whole earth after He was dead and buried, if, as heathens\nsay, He did not rise from the dead, nor have any communication with\nthem, nor infuse courage into them? Would they not have said to\nthemselves, \u2018How is this? He was not powerful enough to save Himself,\nand will He help us? He did not help Himself whilst alive, and will He,\nnow that He is dead, put out His hand to us? In life He did not gain\nover even one people, and shall we persuade the whole world by speaking\nHis name?\u2019 And, indeed, how would it be reasonable not only to do these\nthings, but even to conceive the doing? Whence it is evident that if\nthey had not seen His resurrection, and had not witnessed a very great\nproof of His power, they would not have made such a venture. For if they\nhad, indeed, numberless friends, would they not have made enemies of\nthem all by disturbing ancient customs and removing ancestral landmarks?\nNow, they had all for enemies both at home and abroad. But if they had\nbeen in universal veneration on account of outward gifts, would not all\nmen have detested them for introducing a new manner of life? Seeing,\nhowever, that they were without all these things, this in itself would\nhave been enough to make them hated and despised by all.\n\n \u00b7 \u00b7 \u00b7 \u00b7 \u00b7 \u00b7 \u00b7\n\n\n The Abode of the Humble.\n (_Homilies on St. Matthew_, lxxii., vol. ii., p. 344.)\n\n \u00b7 \u00b7 \u00b7 \u00b7 \u00b7 \u00b7 \u00b7\n\n_He who humbleth himself shall be exalted._ Where shall we find this\nhumility? Would you like to go once more to the abode of goodness, to\nthe tents of the blessed, I mean, to the mountains and forests? For it\nis there that we shall see this perfection of humility. They are men,\nsome famous for outward position, some for wealth, who humble themselves\nin every particular, in their food, in their dwelling, in their\nservants, and so in all their life they are writing the word _humility_\nas if with pen and ink. Just as smart dressing and a fine house and a\nlarge establishment are incentives to vainglory, which thrust men into\nit, often in spite of themselves, all these things are cut off in the\ndesert. Those men light their own fire, hew their wood, do their own\ncooking, and themselves wait upon guests. Insult is neither given nor\ntaken, no man is ruled, no man rules, but all are ministering. Each man\nwashes the stranger\u2019s feet, and there is much contention as to who shall\ndo it. This he does, not seeking to find out who the stranger is,\nwhether a slave or a free man; in each case he carries out this service.\nNo man is either great or small. Is there confusion then? God forbid, it\nis rather the perfection of harmony. If, indeed, a man there be of small\naccount, he who is great does not regard it, but deems himself inferior,\nand so becomes greater.\n\nBoth servers and served eat at one and the same table, have the same\nfood, the same clothes, the same lodging, the same rule of life. He is\ngreat there who is eager over a lowly task. Mine and thine do not exist,\nand the thing itself, the cause of endless strife, has been banished.\nAnd why do you wonder that there is one rule, one table, and one dress\nfor all, where there is one spirit in all, not according to the body\nonly (for this is the case with all men), but according to charity? For\nhow could charity ever be set against itself? Neither poverty nor riches\nare to be found there, neither fame nor disgrace. How, then, could folly\nor vainglory creep in? Some are great, some are little amongst the\nnumber according to a moral reckoning, but as I was saying, no one takes\nnote of it. The weak man does not grieve as being despised, for there is\nno one to despise him. Even should anyone insult another, this is their\nprincipal training, bearing contempt and contumely and shabby treatment\nboth in word and act; they live with the lowly and the maimed, for these\nare the guests of their repasts, and thus they are worthy of heaven. One\ndresses sores, another leads the blind, another supports the lame. There\nare neither flatterers nor parasites, or rather they do not even\napprehend what flattery is. How, then, could they ever be puffed up? For\na great equality reigns among them, consequently the contentedness\nproduced by goodness. In this way the most wretched are better taught\nthan by being obliged to give them the first places. Just as a meek man\nschools an impetuous man to lowliness, so does a man who makes no\naccount of reputation, but despises it, teach the ambitious. This they\ndo lavishly, for, in proportion as we fight over the first places, do\nthey wrestle not to have them, but to be hindered; and their burning\nzeal is, not who shall be honoured, but who shall not be honoured.\nMoreover, their very works incline them to moderation, and do not\ntolerate vanity. For, tell me, how can a man who is tilling and watering\nand planting the earth, or plaiting baskets, or weaving a sack, or doing\nany other manual labour, ever think great things of himself? Who, that\nis living in poverty, and struggling with hunger, will be sick with this\ncomplaint? No man. Therefore their lowliness is well contented. And just\nas moderation is difficult here, through the crowd of flatterers and\nadmirers, so is it perfectly easy _there_. They have only the desert\nbefore them: they see birds flying, and the breeze through the trees,\nand the soft wind blowing, and streams flowing through ravines. How,\nthen, could a man living in so great a solitude be puffed up? Neither\ncan _we_ find any excuse, that, being in the thick of the fight, we\nthink great things of ourselves. For Abraham, when in company of the\nChanan\u00e6ns, said, _I am dust and ashes_, and David, in the din of arms,\n_I am a worm and no man_, and the Apostle in the midst of the world, _I\nam not_ _worthy to be called an apostle_. Therefore, what shall we have\nto say for ourselves, if, even with these great examples before us, we\nare not sober? As _they_ are worthy of a thousand crowns for being the\nfirst to walk upon the path of goodness, so do we deserve as many\nchastisements for not arriving at a like zeal, neither for the example\nof those who have departed hence and lie in their sepulchres, nor for\nthe living who are wonderful through their deeds. What could you allege\nfor not being converted? Are you unlettered, and have you not read the\nepitaphs so as to know the goodness of those men of old? This is indeed\nthe chief point of accusation, the church being ever open, not to go in\nand partake of those pure waters. Besides, if you did not know the dead\nthrough their epitaphs, you should have had these living men before your\neyes. \u2018But if there was no one to point them out to us?\u2019 Come with me\nand I will show you the dwelling-places of these holy ones: come and\nlearn a useful lesson from them. They are shining lights throughout the\nworld, they surround cities like strong walls. They have taken\npossession of deserts in order to teach you to look down upon worldly\nagitations. They, then, in this strength of theirs, are able to enjoy\npeace in the midst of the tempest: you, who are tossed about on all\nsides, should be at rest, and have a short breathing time from the ever\nrolling waves.\n\n \u00b7 \u00b7 \u00b7 \u00b7 \u00b7 \u00b7 \u00b7\n\n\n The Prisoner of Jesus Christ.\n (_Homilies on Epistle to the Ephesians_, viii., vol. iv., p. 175.)\n\nIt is the virtue of teachers to seek not honour nor glory from their\ndisciples, but their salvation, and to do all things unto that end; for\nhe who seeks the former would be a tyrant, not a teacher. It was not for\nyour greater personal glorification that God set you over them, but that\nyour business should be forgotten whilst theirs is strengthened. This is\na teacher\u2019s part; this was what blessed Paul did, who was removed from\nvanity and considered himself as one of the multitude, or rather as the\nleast of all. Thus he calls himself their slave, and generally speaks in\nthe attitude of a suppliant. Look at him, at least in this instance,\nwriting nothing imperiously, nothing authoritatively, but mild,\nconciliating words. _I, a prisoner in the Lord, beseech you that you\nwalk worthy of the vocation in which you are called_, he says. Tell me,\nwhat do you beseech, O Paul? That you may get something for yourself?\n\u2018Certainly not,\u2019 he answers, \u2018but that I may save others.\u2019 Yet they who\nbeseech do it for what concerns themselves. \u2018And this does concern me,\u2019\nhe says, \u2018as I have written distinctly in another place: _Now we live,\nif you stand in the Lord_.\u2019 He was always most eager for the salvation\nof his disciples. _I, the prisoner in the Lord._ Great and wonderful\ndignity, surpassing consulships, and kingdoms, and all things else. This\nhe wrote also to Philemon, saying: _As Paul, an old man, and_ _now a\nprisoner also of Jesus Christ_. Nothing is so glorious as a chain for\nChrist\u2019s sake, as the fetters which hang round those hallowed hands.\nBetter than being an apostle, or a teacher, or an evangelist, is it to\nbe a prisoner for Christ\u2019s sake. If there be a lover of Christ, he will\nknow what I say;[11] if any man be foolish and on fire for his Lord, he\nunderstands the power of chains, he would choose to be a prisoner for\nChrist rather than to dwell in paradise. Paul has shown us those hands\nof his more glittering than gold or than any royal crown. A band of\nprecious stones does not ennoble a head as iron chains for Christ\u2019s\nsake. _His_ prison was more glorious than kingly palaces, or than heaven\nitself. Why do I say \u2018than palaces\u2019? That place contained Christ\u2019s\nprisoner. A lover of Christ knows what this privilege is, he is\nacquainted with this virtue, he knows what a gain the being in chains\nfor His sake has been to the human race. More glorious far than sitting\non His right hand, more solemn than sitting on one of the twelve\nthrones, is the being imprisoned for His sake. And why do I speak of\nhuman things? I shame to put riches and golden ornament in comparison\nwith those chains, but with regard to those great ones, if their deed\nhad no reward, this alone is a great reward and a powerful antidote, the\nsuffering these evils on account of the Beloved. Lovers, I say not of\nGod but of man, know the proverb which speaks of those who take pleasure\nrather in suffering evils from the loved ones than in being honoured by\nthem. This is seen only in the case of the holy band: I mean the\nApostles. Listen to what blessed Luke says: _They went from the council\nrejoicing that they were accounted worthy to suffer reproach for His\nName_. Now to others it seems ridiculous that dishonour should be\naccounted honour and a joy, but to those who follow Christ this desire\nis held to be most blessed of all. If anyone would give me all heaven or\nthose chains, I would choose the chains. If anyone were to place me with\nthe angels above or with Paul in chains, I would choose his prison. If\nanyone were to make me one of those heavenly Powers or Thrones, or a\nprisoner as Paul was, I would choose to be a prisoner. Nothing is more\nblessed than those chains. Would that I could now be in those regions;\nfor it is said that the chains are preserved, as well they may be, and I\nam in admiration of those men full of desire for Christ; would that I\ncould see those chains, which devils have feared and trembled at, which\nangels reverence. Nothing is better than suffering some adversity for\nthe sake of Christ. I deem Paul blessed not so much because he was\nravished into paradise as for being thrown into prison. I call him\nblessed not so much because he heard ineffable words as for enduring\nchains. I hold him blessed not so much for being carried into the third\nheaven as for his chains. That these were greater than those things,\nunderstand what he himself thought of them. He did not say, \u2018I, who have\nheard mysterious words, beseech you,\u2019 but what? _I, the prisoner in the\nLord, beseech you._ And if he did not use the expression in all his\nepistles, it is not astonishing, for he was not always in chains, only\nat certain times. I would choose rather to suffer adversity for Christ\nthan to be honoured by Christ. This is true honour and glory, higher\nthan any other. If he became a servant for my sake and divested Himself\nof His praise, nor deemed that He was glorified except in being\ncrucified for me, what ought I not to suffer? Listen to Him as He says,\n_Glorify Me, O Father_. What sayest Thou, Lord? Thou art led to the\ncross between thieves and malefactors, to suffer the most shameful\ndeath; Thou art to be spit upon and struck, and this Thou callest glory?\n\u2018Yea,\u2019 He answers, \u2018I suffer these things for those whom I love, and\naccount them a glory indeed.\u2019 If He Who loves the wretched and miserable\ncalls this glory, if He finds His glory, not in being on His Father\u2019s\nthrone, nor in honour, but in being dishonoured, and prefers it, how\nmuch more am _I_ bound to hold these things a glory! O happy chains, O\nblessed hands which those chains adorned! Those hands of Paul\u2019s which\nraised up the lame man in Lystra and made him walk were less honourable\nthan when covered with chains. If I had been living in those days, it is\nthen that I would have embraced them and placed them on my eyes; I would\nnot have ceased caressing the hands which had been found worthy to wear\nchains for my Lord\u2019s sake. Do you wonder at Paul because the serpent\nfastened upon his hand and did no harm? Wonder not: the serpent\nreverenced the chains, and so did the ocean, for then he was in fetters.\nIf anyone were to give me now the power of raising the dead I would not\nhave it, but I would have those chains. If I were free from the cares of\nthe Church, and were sound in body, I would go that long journey only to\nlook at those chains, to see the prison in which he was bound. Although\namongst his wonderful deeds there are many signs everywhere, they are\nnot so enviable as the marks of Christ. And in the Scripture he does not\nencourage me so much by wonder-working as he does when he is suffering\npersecution, being scourged, and dragged away. _So that_, he says, _they\nbrought handkerchiefs and aprons from his body to the sick_. These were\ntruly wonders, but not so great as those others: _They scourged him and\nlaid many stripes upon him, they cast them into prison_; and again:\n_They gave praise to God in their chains_; and again: _They stoned him\nand drew him out of the city, thinking him to be dead_. Would you know\nwhat a privilege it is for the body of a servant to wear an iron chain\nfor Christ\u2019s sake? Then listen to Christ\u2019s words: _Blessed are ye_. Why\nblessed, O Lord? When you raise the dead? No, not for this. When you\ncure the blind? Not at all. Then why? _When they shall reproach you, and\npursue you, and say every evil against you, lying, for My sake._ And if\nevil report makes men so blessed, what will suffering evil not do for\nthem? Listen to that holy one who says this in another place: _For the\nrest a crown of justice awaits me_. Yet the chains are brighter than\nthis crown; they will make me worthy of it, he says, and I value nothing\nso much. Suffering for Christ\u2019s sake is a perpetual remedy to me. May it\nbe given to me to utter those words, _I make up in my flesh what is\nwanting to the sufferings of Christ_: and I shall want nothing more.\n\n \u00b7 \u00b7 \u00b7 \u00b7 \u00b7 \u00b7 \u00b7\n\n\n The Seed not vivified unless it dies.\n (_Homilies on First Epistle to Corinthians_, xli., vol. ii., p. 517.)\n\n \u00b7 \u00b7 \u00b7 \u00b7 \u00b7 \u00b7 \u00b7\n\n_But some one asks, how are the dead to be raised to life? With what\nsort of body will they come? Senseless man, that which thou sowest is\nnot quickened, except it die first._ Whereas the Apostle is everywhere\nso gentle and humble, he makes use of stronger language in this place on\naccount of the adversaries\u2019 unreasonableness. Nor is this enough but he\nadds arguments and examples, and in this way gets the better even of the\nmost contentious. He had already said: _Whereas by man came death, by\nman came also the resurrection from the dead_; and now he dissipates an\nopinion prevalent amongst heathens. And consider again how he cuts away\nthat which is most plausible about it. He did not say, \u2018_you_ ask,\u2019 but\nmade the adversary indefinite, that, using strong language with effect,\nhe might not unduly crush his hearers. He stated two difficulties: the\nmanner of the resurrection and the quality of bodies. And indeed they\nwere in doubt concerning both points by their words: \u2018How can that which\nis dissolved rise again?\u2019 and, \u2018With what sort of body will they come?\u2019\nHow, _with what sort of body_? Will it be like this corruptible mortal\nbody, or like some other? Then, to show that they are not seeking to\nclear up doubtful points but to dispute what is indisputable, he uses\nstill stronger language, saying, _Foolish man, that which thou sowest is\nnot vivified unless it dieth_.\n\nThis is also our way of answering those who call in question what is\nindisputable. Why, for instance, does he not at once take refuge in the\npower of God? Because he is talking to unbelievers. Whenever he has to\ndeal with believers he is in no great need of arguments. For instance,\nsaying in another place that _He shall transform the body of your\nhumility into becoming conformed to the body of His glory_, and showing\nforth something further than the resurrection, he made use of no\nexamples, but, instead of any proof, brought forward the power of God,\nadding, _according to the efficacy of His power and to bring all things\ninto subjection to Him_. Here, however, he sets arguments in motion. For\nsince he provided this one from Scripture, he used the same with\nauthority against those who did not believe in the Scriptures, and said:\n_Foolish man, that which thou sowest_; that is, you see from what you\nyourself do day after day the proof of these things, and do you still\ndoubt? This is why I call you foolish, that you ignore what happens\nevery day to yourself, and that whereas _you_ can work a resurrection,\nyou doubt concerning God; therefore he said most emphatically: _That\nwhich thou sowest_; you, that is, who are a mortal and corruptible man.\n\nAnd see how the words he uses bring home the point in question. _It is\nnot vivified_, he says, _unless it dieth_. Passing over the terms which\nare proper to seeds, such as the sprouting and growth and rotting and\nwithering, he takes those points which correspond to our flesh, the\n\u2018vivifying\u2019 and \u2018death,\u2019 which belong properly not to seeds but to\nbodies. And he does not say that it is vivified after dying, but what is\nmore, that it is quickened _because_ it has died. You see how, as I am\nalways saying, he brings his argument as a proof against itself. That\nwhich they made out as conclusive against the resurrection _he_ makes an\nearnest of it, for they said, \u2018He will not rise because he is dead\u2019.\nNow, how can you meet this? If, indeed, he had not died, neither would\nhe rise again, and _because_ he has died, therefore he rises again. In\nthe same way Christ points this out still more clearly, saying: _If the\ngrain of wheat, falling into the earth, doth not die, it remaineth\nalone, but if it dieth, it beareth much fruit_; so here, in illustrating\nthis example, Paul does not say that it does not live, but that it is\nnot \u2018quickened,\u2019 making again the power of God his theme, and showing\nthat it is He Who does all, not the properties of the soil. And why did\nhe not at once speak of something more personal\u2014I mean of human seed?\nFor our coming into the world also begins in corruption just as that of\nthe corn does. It was because it was still stronger in our case than in\nthe latter. What he wants is something quite perishable: the corn was\npartially so, and that is why he introduced it. Besides, the human seed\nproceeds from a living person, and falls into a living womb, but here\nthe seed is cast into the earth, not into a living body, and becomes\ndissolved in it, just as in the case of the mortal body. Thus the\nexample was the more pertinent.\n\n_And the sower does not sow the body which shall be._ That which has\nbeen said so far is to answer the objection, \u2018How shall they rise\nagain?\u2019 this is directed to the question, \u2018What sort of body will they\nhave?\u2019 Now what is, _Thou sowest not the body which shall be_?\u2014not a\nfull ear of corn, nor new grain. For here they were not disputing the\nresurrection, but the manner of the resurrection, what sort of body the\nrisen one should be, whether like our present one, or more perfect and\nsplendid, and he embraces both points in the same example, and shows\nthat it is a much more perfect one. But heretics, admitting none of\nthese things, retort by saying that it is one body which is sown and\nanother which is risen. How, then, could it be a resurrection since a\nresurrection refers to something sown? What is there wonderful or awful\nabout the victory over death, if one thing is sown and another thing\nrises again? Death would not seem to be giving back the trophy which he\ntook. How would the illustration be carried out in what they say? Not\none substance is sown and another raised up, but the same substance in\nan improved condition. Supposing that Christ did not resume the same\nbody when He became the first fruits of the risen; but according to you\nHe cast off His former body although it was without sin, and took\nanother. Whence, then, did this other come from? The first was from the\nVirgin. Whence the second? Do you see what an unnatural argument it is?\nWhy did He show the marks of the nails? Was it not because He wished to\nprove that the same body which was crucified had also risen again? How\ndoes the sign of Jonas affect him? I presume that it was not one Jonas\nwho was swallowed up, and another who was washed to land again? And what\nwere His words? _Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it\nup again._ It is plain that He _did_ raise up this temple when\ndestroyed. Therefore, the Evangelist went on to say that _He was\nspeaking of the temple of His body_. Now, what does St. Paul say? _Thou\nsowest not the body which shall be_; that is, not the ear of corn, which\nis the same and not the same: the same as being the same substance, and\nnot the same inasmuch as it is perfected, and whereas the same substance\nremains, it rises in renewed vigour. If this were not the case, He would\nnot have required a resurrection at all, unless He had meant to raise up\nsomething better. Why, indeed, should He dissolve the house if He did\nnot intend to make it a more striking dwelling-place? This, therefore,\nSt. Paul said in answer to those who look upon it as corruptible.\nMoreover, lest any man should imagine that he means another body, he\nsoftens the difficulty, and himself interprets it so that his hearer\nshould not in any way bring the wisdom of the world to bear upon the\npoint. What need is there, then, of our arguments? Listen to his\ninterpretation of the words, _Thou sowest not the body which shall be_,\nto which he added pertinently, _but bare grain, as of wheat, or of some\nof the rest_. That is to say, _thou sowest not the body which shall be_:\nthe corn, for instance, as we look upon it, with stalk and ear, _but\nbare grain, as of wheat, or of some of the rest. And God giveth it a\nbody as He wills._ \u2018Granted,\u2019 you say, \u2018but in that case the work of\nnature comes in.\u2019 Tell me, what sort of nature? Here it is God Who works\neverything, not nature, nor soil, nor rain. Hence He makes this clear,\nand leaving earth, rain, air, sun, and the labour of the agriculturist\nout of the question, adds: _God giveth it a body as He willeth_. Seek\nnot, therefore, to understand or to scrutinise the why and the how, when\nyou hear that God\u2019s power and good pleasure come into play. _And to each\nof the seeds its own body._ Why then another? He gives each his own. So\nthat when St. Paul says, _Thou sowest not the body which shall be_, he\ndoes not mean that He raises up something else of a different substance,\nbut something better and more splendid: _To each one of the seeds its\nown substance_.\n\n \u00b7 \u00b7 \u00b7 \u00b7 \u00b7 \u00b7 \u00b7\n\n\n The Resurrection in Creation.\n (_Homilies on First Epistle to Corinthians_, xvii., vol. ii., p. 199.)\n\n \u00b7 \u00b7 \u00b7 \u00b7 \u00b7 \u00b7 \u00b7\n\nLet no man disbelieve in the Resurrection, but if any man be in doubt,\nlet him consider what great and wondrous things God made out of nothing,\nand receive _them_ as a pledge of _it_. That, indeed, which has already\ntaken place is much more marvellous and awe-inspiring. For, consider, He\ntook the earth and moulded it, and made man and earth which was not\nbefore. How, then, did earth become man? How did the earth come out of\nnothing? How all those things proceeding from the earth, the endless\nfamilies of unreasoning animals, of seeds and plants, which came forth\nwithout travail, without rains falling upon them, with no apparent\ncultivation, neither oxen nor plough nor anything else contributing\ntowards their production. On this account He brought forth in the\nbeginning, from that which was without life and without substance, such\ngreat things, both of the physical and animal creation, in order that He\nmight teach you from the first the doctrine of the Resurrection. For\nthis is far more difficult than the Resurrection. It is not indeed an\nequivalent proof of power to rekindle a smouldering flame and to light a\nfire by invisible means; it is not the same thing to restore a\ndilapidated house and to build one from the foundations. In the one\ncase, if there was nothing else, there was material to work from; but in\nthe other not even that. Consequently, He began by the more difficult\nthing, in order that you might receive that which was easier. I say\n_more difficult_, not that it was so to God, but according to our manner\nof reasoning. For nothing is hard to God; and just as the sculptor who\nmakes one statue can as easily produce a thousand, so it is as easy to\nGod to create a thousand endless worlds, or, rather, as easy as it is to\nyou to _think_ of a city or countless worlds, and indeed much more so.\n_You_ spend a little time upon the thought, but it is not so with God.\nIn the same proportion as stones are heavier than the swiftest birds, or\nrather than this mind of ours, so much is our mind removed from God\u2019s\nswiftness of action. Have you wondered at His power with regard to the\nearth? Consider again how the heavens were made from nothing, the\ncountless stars, the sun and moon: none of these things were previously\nin being. Again, tell me how, after they were made, they remained in\nplace, and on what they rested? What was their basis, and what is the\nearth\u2019s basis? And what comes after the earth? What is that something?\nDo you see to what a giddy height the light of your reason leads you if\nyou do not hold eagerly to the faith and to the inscrutable power of the\nCreator? If you will make a guess from human things, you will shortly be\nable to give wings to your reason. \u2018What human things?\u2019 you ask. See you\nnot what potters do? How they remould a broken and shapeless thing into\na vessel; how melters make gold and iron and brass out of earth? Again,\nhow others who manipulate glass transform sand into one compact and\ntransparent body? Let me mention dyers of leather, who dress garments:\nthey produce one piece after the other, which they have received, with\nthe dye. Again, as to our own generation: is not the seed, formless and\nshapeless at first, implanted in the mother\u2019s womb? Whence, then, comes\nso wonderful a formation of the living man? And what about wheat? Is not\na mere seed put into the ground? And does it not rot after it has been\nput there? Whence come the ear of corn and the stalk and all the rest?\nDoes not a small grain of fig, which is often scattered into the earth,\ntake root and put forth branches and fruit? You receive each one of\nthese things, and do not trouble yourself about them, but would subject\nGod alone, Who disposes of our bodies, to scrutiny! What can justify\nsuch a demand?\n\nThese and such like things are what we say to heathens, for I need no\nargument with those who are convinced of the Scriptures. For if you were\nable to understand all that He does, how would God be more than a man?\nIndeed there are many men whom we fail to understand. But if this\nhappens to us in the case of men, and we do not grasp them, how much\nmore are we to abstain from scrutinising the wisdom of God and from\nfathoming His reasons\u2014the former, because He Who acts is worthy of\nconfidence; the latter, because the acts themselves are above\nreasonings. God is not so abject as to do only those things which _you_,\nin the weakness of your reasonings, are able to encompass. For, if you\ncannot grasp a mechanic\u2019s work, how much less that of God the Sovereign\nArchitect! Therefore, do not disbelieve the Resurrection, for you will\nbe so much the further away from the future hope. But what clever thing\ndo opponents say, or rather what exceedingly foolish thing? \u2018How,\u2019 they\nask, \u2018when the body has been mixed with earth, and become earth, and it\nagain has been changed into something else, can it rise again?\u2019 This\nseems to _you_ to be impracticable, but not so to the Eye which never\nsleeps, for to It all things are laid bare. In that corruption _you_ see\nno distinction, but He knows everything; you, again, are ignorant\nconcerning your neighbour\u2019s heart: He is familiar with all. Since, then,\nyou do not know how God raises from the dead, you doubt that He _does_\nraise, and will doubt that He knows what is in the human mind; for\nneither are these things apparent to our bodily eyes. If, indeed, in the\ncase of the body, matter is visible even if it be dissolved\u2014but those\nconceptions are invisible\u2014therefore, shall He Who is perfectly cognisant\nof invisible things not see the visible ones and not easily raise up the\nbody? No one will say so! Do not disbelieve in the Resurrection, for\nthis disbelief is in truth a diabolical temptation, and the devil urges\nit, not only that the Resurrection may be doubted, but also that he may\ndissolve and destroy virtuous actions. For if a man imagines that he is\nnot to rise again, and not to give an account of his works, he will not\neasily be righteous, and not being righteous, he will thoroughly\nmistrust the Resurrection. Each paves the way for the other: wickedness\ncomes from want of faith, and want of faith from wickedness. For when a\nconscience has burdened itself with much wickedness, and since it is not\nwilling to provide itself with consolation by change to a better course,\nin fear and anguish at the future punishment, it seeks to ease itself in\nunbelief. If you say there is neither Resurrection nor Judgment, another\nman\u2019s comment is: \u2018Then I shall give no account of my actions\u2019. But what\nare Christ\u2019s words? _You err, not knowing the Scriptures nor the power\nof God._ In truth, God would not have worked things so great if He had\nintended not to raise us up again, but to dissolve and annihilate us: He\nwould not have stretched the heavens above our heads, nor the earth\nunder our feet, nor have made all other things for this brief period of\nlife only. But if He has done this for the life which now is, what will\nHe not do for the life to come? If there is to be no future life, then\nare we far less considered, according to our present condition, than\nthose things which were called into existence for our sakes. For\nheavens, and earth, and ocean, and rivers are more abiding than we, as\nalso some unreasoning animals: the crow, the elephant, and many others\nare much longer lived than we. _Our_ life is short and full of labour:\nit is not so with them, but they have a long life free from despondency\nand care. Tell me, how is this?\u2014has He made the servants happier than\ntheir masters? I repeat it, do not reason in this way, nor humble your\nintellect, nor disregard the riches of God, having so great a Master. It\nwas God\u2019s design from the beginning to make you immortal, but you were\nnot willing. The being with God, the living a life without suffering, or\ngrief, or care, or labour, or any other anxiety,\u2014all this pointed to\nimmortality. Adam had no need of clothes, nor of shelter, nor of any\nother protection, but he was more like an angel, and he had a\nfore-knowledge of many things to come, and was endued with much wisdom.\nHe knew what God had done in secret, as to the creation of woman, and so\nhe said, _This is bone of my bone, and flesh of my flesh_. Afterwards\ncame labour, and sweat, and shame, and cowardice, and bondage: _then_\nthere was neither grief nor pain, nor effort. But he did not remain in\nthis high state.\n\n \u00b7 \u00b7 \u00b7 \u00b7 \u00b7 \u00b7 \u00b7\n\n\n Resurrection confirmed by Signs which followed.\n (_Homilies on the New Testament_,[12] viii., t. iii., p. 89.)\n\n \u00b7 \u00b7 \u00b7 \u00b7 \u00b7 \u00b7 \u00b7\n\nThe reason, beloved brethren, why we read immediately after the\nCrucifixion and the Resurrection of the wonders worked by the Apostles\nis that we may have a clear and unambiguous proof of the Resurrection.\nYou did not look upon Him rising from the dead with your bodily eyes,\nbut you see Him rising with the eyes of faith. You did not look upon Him\nrising with this physical eyesight of yours, but you will see Him rising\nthrough those signs. For their manifestation will lead you to faith\u2019s\ncontemplation. Hence the working of signs in His name was a much greater\nand stronger testimony than seeing Him as He rose from the dead. Would\nyou know how this establishes the Resurrection more firmly than if it\nhad been seen by all men with their bodily eyes? Listen with attention,\nfor many men make this objection and say, \u2018Why, when rising from the\ndead, did He not show Himself immediately to the Jews?\u2019 But this\nargument is trifling and vain. If He had meant to enforce faith upon\nthem, He would not have omitted to appear to all men after the\nResurrection. Now He showed that He did _not_ mean to put force upon\nthem by appearing after the Resurrection: in the case of Lazarus, He\nraised up this man, who had been four days dead, and was corrupt and\nstinking, and He made him, who was bound, come forth before all; and not\nonly He did not induce them to believe, but He provoked them to anger.\nWhen they came they wished to put Him to death on this account. Now, if\nthey were faithless when He raised up another, would they not also have\nbeen mad with Him if He had shown them Himself risen from the dead? If\nthey had not been able to accomplish anything, they would still have\nbeen guilty of impiety. Thus, wishing to save them from a useless\nmadness, He concealed Himself. For He would have made them deserving of\nchastisement if He had appeared to them after the Cross. Consequently,\nto spare them, He hid Himself from their eyes, but manifested Himself\nthrough signs. Hearing Peter say, _In the Name of Jesus Christ arise and\nwalk_, was not a less thing than seeing Him rise again. And that this\n_was_ a great proof of the Resurrection, and more conducive to faith\nthan the first, that seeing signs taking place in His Name was better\nable to persuade the minds of men than the sight of Him risen is evident\nfrom what I am going to say. Christ rose and showed Himself to the\ndisciples. Yet one of their number, Thomas, who was called Didymus, was\nunbelieving, and he demanded to put his hands into the marks of the\nnails. Now, if that disciple, who had spent three years with Him, who\nhad partaken of his Lord\u2019s table, witnessed great signs and wonders, and\nheard his Lord\u2019s words, did not at first believe when he even beheld Him\nrisen, until he felt the marks of the nails and of the wounds, tell me\nhow would the whole world have believed it if it had seen Him risen? Who\nwould say as much? But I will give you further proof than this that\nsigns were more persuasive than the physical sight of the risen Lord.\nThe crowd hearing Peter\u2019s words to the lame man, _In the Name of Jesus\nChrist arise and walk_, three thousand, and five thousand believed in\nChrist; on the other hand, the single disciple seeing Christ risen was\nunbelieving. Do you see that the signs much more furthered faith in the\nResurrection? In presence of the one His own disciple doubted, whereas\nin contemplating the signs even enemies were persuaded. Hence they were\nmore powerful and clearer; they attracted men and won them over to the\nResurrection. And why do I speak of Thomas? For understand fully that\nneither were the other disciples persuaded by their first sight of Jesus\nrisen; but condemn them not, dear brethren. If Christ did not reproach\nthem, neither should you, for the disciples saw a strange and wonderful\nthing; they saw Him rising the First-Born from the dead. Signs so great\nas this are wont at first to stupify, until in process of time they take\nroot in the souls of the faithful. Now, this is what happened to the\ndisciples. Whilst Christ risen from the dead spoke to them the words,\n_Peace be to you_, the Evangelist says they were troubled and\nfrightened, imagining they saw a spirit, and Jesus said to them, _Why\nare ye fearful?_ And after that He showed them His Hands and Feet, and\nHe said to them, whom joy and wonder made unbelieving, _Have you\nanything to eat?_ wishing to convince them through these material things\nof the Resurrection. \u2018Do neither My Side nor My Wounds persuade you,\nthen let even food persuade you.\u2019 That you may clearly understand that\nHe said, _Have you anything to eat here?_ in order to show them they\nbeheld not a vision, nor a spirit, nor a phantom, but a true and\nsubstantial resurrection, consider how Peter is convinced of it in this\nvery way. For in saying that _God had raised Him from the dead and had\ngiven Him to appear in a glorious form to us His preordained witnesses_,\nhe added, as a proof of the Resurrection: _we who ate and drank with\nHim_. This was why whenever Christ raised anyone from the dead, in order\nto prove the Resurrection, He said: _Give him to eat_. When, therefore,\nyou hear that He offered Himself to them in the body during forty days,\nappearing to them and living with them, understand His reason for eating\nwith them. It was not that He required food, but He wished to strengthen\nthe weakness of the disciples; whence it is plain that the signs and\nwonders of the Apostles were the greatest proof of the Resurrection.\nTherefore, His own words were: _Amen, Amen, I say to you, he who\nbelieveth in Me shall do the works which I do, and greater works than I\ndo_. For since the Cross coming between had scandalised many, He\nrequired even greater signs after it. If, indeed, Christ in ending His\nlife had remained in death and the tomb, and had not risen, as the Jews\npretend, nor ascended into heaven, not only were greater signs not\nrequired to come after the cross, but even the former ones should have\nbeen blotted out. Follow my argument attentively, as what I have said is\nan irrefutable proof of the Resurrection, and therefore I repeat it.\nFirst, Christ did wonders, He raised the dead and cleansed lepers, and\ncast out devils: after this He was crucified, and, as the lawless Jews\nassert, He did not rise from the dead. Now, how are we to answer them?\nThat if He did _not_ rise, how after this did greater signs take place\nin His Name? No living man at his death ever worked greater wonders\nafter it, but in this case they _were_ greater after it, both in manner\nand in matter. They were greater in matter, for never had the shadow of\nChrist raised from the dead, yet the shadows of the Apostles did many\nthings of this kind. And they were greater in manner when at His command\nsigns took place; but after the crucifixion His servants, using His\nawful and all-holy Name, did greater and more wonderful things, so that\ntheir power shone forth more conspicuously than His. For it was much\nmore striking that another should do these things by invoking His Name\nthan that He should command them to be done. See you, dear brethren, how\nthe signs of the Apostles after Christ\u2019s Resurrection were greater both\nin manner and in matter? Therefore, the proof of the Resurrection is\nirrefutable. As I was saying, and now repeat, if Christ had died and not\nrisen again, wonders also should have ceased and been extinguished: now,\nnot only were they not quenched, but they became more evident and more\nglorious after these things. And if Christ had not risen, others would\nnot have worked signs so great in His Name. One and the same power did\nwonders both before and after the Cross, first through Himself and\nafterwards through His disciples; but the greater and more wonderful\nsigns took place after the Cross in order that the proof of the\nResurrection might be the clearer and more renowned. \u2018And how,\u2019 the\nunbeliever asks, \u2018is it certain that signs _did_ take place?\u2019 \u2018How is it\ncertain that Christ was crucified?\u2019 \u2018From Holy Scripture,\u2019 you answer.\nAnd it is also evident from Holy Scripture both that signs took place\nthen and that Christ was crucified, for they say one and the other. And\nif the adversary assert that the Apostles did no signs, he shows their\npower and divine grace to have been the greater, inasmuch as without\nwonders they were able to win such a world to the service of God.[13]\nFor this is the greatest sign and the crowning wonder of all, that the\nlowly, and poor, and despised, and ignorant, and unlearned, and needy,\ntwelve men in number, seem without signs to drag in their train cities\nso great, and races and peoples, kings, tyrants, philosophers, and\norators, and, so to speak, the whole world. Would you like to see signs\ntaking place now? Then I will show you signs more striking than the\nformer ones\u2014not one dead man raised to life, not one blind man restored\nto sight, but the whole world freed from the darkness of error; not one\nleper cleansed, but entire nations washed from the leprosy of sin and\npurified through baptism to regeneration. What greater signs than these\nwould you have, O man, contemplating so radical a change over the face\nof the earth?\n\nWould you know how Christ restored sight to the world? Men began by\nlooking at wood and stone, not as wood and stone, but were so blinded as\nto invoke material things as gods: now, however, that they have seen\nwhat wood is and what stone is, they believe what God is, for that high\nand blessed nature is contemplated by faith alone. Would you have\nanother sign of the Resurrection? You will find it in the knowledge of\nthe disciples, which was increased after the Resurrection. For it is\nadmitted by all that one who is well-disposed towards a living man\nthinks no more of him when he is dead, but if he dislikes the living\nman, and if he deserts him whilst present, much more will he forget him\nwhen dead. Hence, no one who neglected a friend and counsellor when\nliving will make much of him when dead, especially when he finds a\nthousand dangers threatening himself if he should be so minded. Yet,\nwhat took place in the case of no other man _did_ take place with Christ\nand His Apostles and those who had denied and forsaken Him during His\nlife, who had left Him when apprehended, and turned their backs upon Him\nafter numberless reproaches, made so much of the Cross, as to give up\ntheir own lives for their testimony and for their faith in Him. If\nChrist did not die and did not rise again, what reason was there that\nthose who had fled from Him when living, on account of impending danger,\nshould have encountered a thousand dangers for Him when dead? Now they\nall fled from Him, and Peter, besides, denied Him thrice with an oath,\nand he who denied Him thrice with an oath, and was frightened at a poor\nmaid-servant, after His death, wishing to persuade us through their acts\nthat he had seen Him risen, became so thoroughly changed that he defied\nall the people, and went out into the midst of the Jews and proclaimed\nthat He Who was crucified and buried had risen from the dead on the\nthird day, and had ascended into heaven, and that he himself feared no\nevil. Whence came this courage of his? Whence, if not from his\nconviction of the Resurrection? For since he had seen Christ, and spoken\nwith Him, and had heard future things foretold, risking the rest of his\nlife as if for a living man, he so confronted all adverse things that he\ntook fresh strength and courage, so as to die for Him, and to be\ncrucified with his head downwards. Therefore when you see greater signs\ntaking place, and the disciples showing more feeling for Him Whom they\nat first deserted, and a bolder fearlessness, and the change in morals\nbecoming everywhere more marked, and bringing everything into a secure\nand happy state, learn through practical experience that the personal\nhistory of Christ did not stop at the death of Christ, but a\nResurrection received Him, and He lives and remains immutably the\ncrucified God for ever. If He had not risen and were not living, the\ndisciples would not have worked greater wonders than had taken place\nbefore the Cross. _Then_ the disciples even had left Him: _now_ the\nwhole world seeks Him out, and not Peter alone, but thousands of others;\nand after Peter many more, who never saw Him, have given up their lives\nfor Him. They have lost their heads and suffered numberless evils in\norder to maintain a pure and entire belief in Him until their death. How\nthen could a dead man lying in his tomb, as you say, O Jew, have shown\nforth so great a strength and power even in those coming after Him,\npersuading them to adore Him alone, and to be willing to endure and\nsuffer anything rather than to give up their faith in Him? Do you not\nsee this clear proof of the Resurrection in every particular? Through\nthe signs then and now, through the affection of the disciples then and\nnow, through the perils in which believers passed their lives? Would you\nsee His enemies too fearing His strength and His power, and in much\ngreater straits after His crucifixion? Give your minds, then, to this\nalso. The Jews seeing the courage of Peter and John, the Scripture says,\nand considering that they were ignorant and untaught men, wondered and\nwere dismayed, not that they were illiterate, but that, being\nilliterate, they got the better of all the wise, and seeing the man who\nhad been healed standing with them, they could say nothing against it,\nalthough before this they _had_ had something to say against it when\nthey saw signs taking place. Now, why had they nothing to say then? The\ninvisible power of the Crucified had sealed their tongues. He it was Who\nhad silenced their mouths and put down their boldness, so that they\nstood there, and could not gainsay them. And when they _did_ speak, see\nhow they admit their own cowardice. _Would you draw down upon us the\nblood of this man?_ For if He be a mere man, why fear His blood? How\nmany prophets have you removed, O Jew, how many just have you slain, and\nhave you feared the blood of any one of them? Why, then, did you fear in\nthis case? The Crucified awed their conscience; and not being able to\nconceal their struggle, they reveal their own weakness towards their\nenemies in spite of themselves. And when they crucified Him, they cried\nout, saying, _His blood be upon us and upon our children_. Thus did they\ndespise His blood. But after the Cross, seeing His power shine forth,\nthey are afraid and distressed, and say, _Would you draw down_ _the\nblood of this man upon us?_ If indeed he was a deceiver, and impious, as\nyou false Jews say, why did you fear His blood? If He were this you\nshould have prided yourselves on putting Him to death, but because He\nwas not this, therefore, are you in fear.\n\nDo you see how everywhere His enemies are distressed and afraid? Do you\nsee their anguish? Learn, too, the kindness of the Crucified. They said,\n_His blood be upon us and upon our children_. Not so Christ, but,\nsupplicating the Father, He said, _Father, forgive them, for they know\nnot what they do_. For, if His blood had indeed fallen upon them and\nupon their children, the Apostles would not have been made out of their\nchildren; neither three thousand nor five thousand would have believed\non the spot. See you how barbarous and cruel as they were towards their\ndescendants, they ignored even nature itself, whilst God was more loving\nthan all fathers put together and tenderer than any mother? Still His\nblood _was_ upon them and upon their children, though not upon all their\nchildren, but on those alone who emulated the impiety and\nunrighteousness of their fathers. Those alone were liable to the evils\nwho were sons, not according to nature, but through their own foolish\nchoice. Look with me at another side of the goodness and lovingness of\nGod. He did not at once let the chastisement and penalty fall upon them,\nbut He allowed forty years and more to pass after the Cross. Our Lord\nHimself was crucified under Tiberius, and their city was destroyed under\nVespasian and Titus. Now, why did He allow so long a time to elapse\nafter these things? Because He wished to give them time for repentance,\nso that they might put off their iniquities and be quit of their crimes.\nAs, having a respite for conversion, they remained in their impenitence,\nHe at last inflicted punishment upon them, and, destroying their city,\nsent them out wanderers over the face of the earth. And this He did\nthrough love. He dispersed them that they might everywhere see that\nChrist Whom they had crucified adored, and that, seeing Him adored by\nall, they might learn His power and acknowledge their own exceeding\nwickedness, and in acknowledging it might come to the truth. And indeed\ntheir humiliation became a teaching to them and their chastisement a\nremedy, for, if they had remained in the country of the Jews, they would\nnot have recognised the truth of the prophets. What had the prophets\nsaid? _Ask of me and I will give you the gentiles for your inheritance\nand the ends of the earth as your possession._ Thus it behoved them to\ngo out to the ends of the earth that they might see with their own eyes\nthat Christ reigns even there. Again, another prophet says, _Each one\nshall adore Him from his own place_. Therefore it was necessary that\nthey should be dispersed into every corner of the earth, that with their\nvery eyes they might see every man adoring Him from his own place.\nAgain, another says, _The earth shall be filled with the knowledge of\nthe Lord as the waters cover the sea_. Therefore, it was fitting that\nthey should go forth unto all the earth, that they might see it all\nfilled with the knowledge of God, and _seas_, that is, these spiritual\nchurches, with His fear. On this account God dispersed them throughout\nthe earth. If they had established themselves in Jud\u00e6a, they would not\nhave known these things. He wishes too that they should experience with\ntheir eyes both the truth of the prophets and His own power, so that, if\nthey be right-minded, they may be thus led to the truth, whilst, if they\nfollow impiety, they may have no excuse in the terrible day of judgment.\nTherefore, God dispersed them over the earth that we too may draw profit\nhence, that, seeing the prophecies concerning their dispersion and the\ndestruction of Jerusalem, which Daniel, in recalling the abomination of\ndesolation, and Malachias, in saying, _The gates shall be shut in you_,\nand David and Isaias and many other prophets have foretold, and how\nthose are chastised who did not receive their Lord, cut off from their\nnational liberty, from all their domestic ties and hereditary customs,\nmay understand the power which accomplishes and works these things, and\nthat enemies may see His strength through our gain. May we indeed learn\nthrough their chastisement His infinite kindness and power, and may we\nbe constant in giving Him praise, so that we may arrive at eternal and\nunspeakable goods by the grace and goodness of Our Lord Jesus Christ, to\nWhom, with the Father and the Son, be honour and power, now and for\never. Amen.\n\n\n\n\n PART II.\n THE KING\u2019S HOUSE.\n\n\n \u201cThou art Peter.\u201d\n (_Homilies on St. Matthew_, liv., vol. ii., p. 108.)\n\n \u00b7 \u00b7 \u00b7 \u00b7 \u00b7 \u00b7 \u00b7\n\n... _Thou art Simon the son of Jona: thou shalt be called Cephas._ Since\nthou hast proclaimed _My_ Father, He says, so will I name _thy_ father\nto thee: which was almost saying, \u2018As thou art the son of Jona, so am I\nthe Son of My Father\u2019. For it was superfluous to say, \u2018Thou art the son\nof Jona\u2019; but as He had spoken of the Son of God, in order to show that\nas Peter is the son of Jona so He is the Son of God, of the same\nsubstance as the Begetter, He added further: _And I say to thee thou art\nPeter, and upon this rock I will build My Church_\u2014that is, on the faith\nof this confession. Then He shows him many men who are ready to believe,\nand He strengthens Peter\u2019s will and makes him pastor. _And the gates of\nhell shall not prevail against it._ \u2018If they shall not prevail against\n_it_, how much less against Me. So be not troubled, for thou art soon to\nhear that I am to be betrayed and crucified.\u2019 He goes on to speak of\nanother honour: _And I will give thee the keys of the kingdom of\nheaven_. What does _And I will give thee_ signify? As the Father gave\nthee to know Me, so do _I_ also give it to thee. He did not say: \u2018I will\ninvoke the Father,\u2019 although the power shown forth was so great and the\ngift was so unutterably magnificent, but _I will give thee_. Tell me\nwhat hast Thou given? The keys of the kingdom of heaven, that whatsoever\nthou dost bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatsoever thou\ndost loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven. How, then, was it not His\nto give to sit on His right and on His left Who said, _I will give_? Do\nyou see how He leads Peter up to the most ineffable knowledge, how He\nreveals Himself, and shows Himself to be the Son of God, through that\ndouble promise? For that which belongs only to God, namely, the\nremission of sins, the setting up of an immutable Church in the midst of\nwaves, and making a fisherman more enduring than the hardest rock, with\nthe whole world against him, these are the things which He promises to\ngive, as the Father said to Jeremias: _I have made thee a pillar of iron\nand a wall of brass_; but Jeremias was commissioned for one people,\nwhilst Peter is charged with the whole universe. I would ask those who\nwish to depreciate the dignity of the Son, which were the greater gifts\nto Peter, those of the Father or those of the Son? The Father vouchsafed\nto Peter the manifestation of the Son, but the Son\u2019s gift it was to make\nknown that manifestation of the Father and of Himself throughout all the\nworld, and He entrusted to a mortal man authority over the whole kingdom\nof heaven, giving those keys to him who propagated the Church in all\nparts of the earth and showed it forth more powerful than heaven. _For\nheaven and earth shall pass away, but My words shall not pass away._\nHow, then, was the Giver of such gifts, the Worker of such triumphs, in\nany way less than the Father? I speak of them, not separating the works\nof the Father from the Son, _for all things were made through Him, and\nwithout Him nothing was made_, but in order to silence the shameless\ntongue of those who would so venture. Consider the authority which He\nmanifests here throughout all He says. _I say to thee, thou art Peter: I\nwill build My Church: I will give thee the keys of the kingdom of\nheaven._ And at the time when He said these things, He charged them to\ntell no man that He was the Christ. Why did He thus charge them? That\nwhen those who took scandal were removed, the work of the Cross over,\nand all His other sufferings completed, when there was no man left to\ndisturb or trouble the faith of the multitude in Him, His worship,\nundefiled and immutable, might be grafted on the minds of those who\nlistened. For it was clear that His power had not yet shone forth. On\nthis account He willed to be preached by them at a time when the\nunerring truth of deeds and the strength of things accomplished should\nsupport the testimony of the Apostles. For there was a difference\nbetween seeing Him, now working wonders in Palestine, now despised, now\ndriven about (more especially at the time when the Cross was about to\nfollow the wonders accomplished), and seeing Him adored and trusted by\nthe whole world, His former suffering no more. This is why He enjoined\nthem to tell no man. For that which has once been rooted and is then\ntorn up, would with difficulty, if planted again, be received by the\nmany, but that which has once been secured, and which remains immutable,\nand is not threatened from any quarter, is in easy progress and gives\ngood promise of growth. If, indeed, those who enjoyed many signs, and\nwho took part in these ineffable mysteries, were scandalised by merely\nbeing told of the Cross, and not those only, but Peter too, the head of\nall,[14] consider what the multitude were likely to suffer when they\nlearnt that He was the Son of God, and saw Him spit upon and crucified,\nand yet did not know the sacred nature of these high mysteries, and had\nnot received the Holy Ghost. If He said even to the disciples, _I have\nmany things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now_, how much more\nwould the rest of the people have fallen if He had revealed to them the\nsecret of these hidden things before the due time. On this account,\nthen, He orders them to be silent. And that you may see how much there\nwas to be learnt after these things to complete the teaching, when those\nwho offered scandal were removed, consider the behaviour of Peter, the\nchief of all. For this very Peter, after wonders so great, showed\nhimself weak enough to deny Our Lord and to fear a poor maid-servant.\nThen, when the crucifixion was accomplished, and he had received clear\nproof of the resurrection, and there remained nothing to scandalise or\nterrify him, he embraced the unspeakable teaching of the Spirit in order\nto leap with greater eagerness than a lion upon the Jewish people,\nalthough he was threatened by a thousand dangers and deaths. It was\nreasonable, therefore, that He bade them not to tell the multitude\nbefore the Cross, since He did not venture to impart everything before\nthe Cross even to those who were to teach. _I have many things to say,\nbut you cannot bear them now._ And they were ignorant concerning many\nthings spoken by Him which He did not clearly explain before the Cross.\nBut when He rose from the dead, then they came to a knowledge of some of\nthe things which He had said.\n\n \u00b7 \u00b7 \u00b7 \u00b7 \u00b7 \u00b7 \u00b7\n\n\n \u201cPeter Rose Up.\u201d\n(_Homilies on Acts of Apostles_, _Benedictine Edition_, iii., tom. ix.,\n p. 23.)\n\n \u00b7 \u00b7 \u00b7 \u00b7 \u00b7 \u00b7 \u00b7\n\n_And in those days Peter rose up in the midst of the disciples and\nsaid._ As one eager and as entrusted by Christ with the flock, and as\nthe first of the choir, he ever first begins to speak. _And the number\nof names together was_, he says, _about a hundred and twenty_. _Men and\nbrethren, this Scripture must needs have been fulfilled, which the Holy\nGhost spake before._ Why then did he not singly ask of Christ to give\nhim some one in the place of Judas? And why do they not make the\nelection of themselves? Peter had now become better than his old self.\nThis is what we may say on the subject. We will give two reasons why\ntheir asking for one to fill up their band was no chance but a matter of\nrevelation: the first, that they were engaged about other things; the\nsecond, that this was the greatest proof of Christ\u2019s presence with them.\nFor being absent He made the election as He would have done if present.\nAnd this was no small matter of consolation. But observe Peter doing\nthis with common consent; nothing authoritatively, nothing arbitrarily.\nAnd he did not say simply thus: \u2018Instead of Judas we elect this man,\u2019\nbut consoling them about what had passed, see how he manages his\ndiscourse. For what had happened had caused no small distress. And do\nnot wonder at this. For if many at present twist about this fact, what\nmay we expect that they said? _Men and brethren_, he says: if the Lord\ncalled them brethren, how much more he?... This is why he began by\nsaying, _Men and brethren, we must choose one of us_. He commits the\njudgment to the multitude, both to invest with respect those who were\nchosen, and to escape himself odium from the rest.... What, then, might\nnot Peter himself have elected? Certainly. But he does not do so, that\nhe might not seem partial. Moreover, he had not as yet received the\nSpirit. _And they appointed two, Joseph that is called Barsabas and\nMatthias._ He did not appoint them, but all. He introduced the matter,\nshowing that it was not even his own, but from above, according to\nprophecy. So that he was an interpreter, not a master.\n\n \u00b7 \u00b7 \u00b7 \u00b7 \u00b7 \u00b7 \u00b7\n\n\n Built upon the Rock.\n (_Homily before he went into exile_,[15] tom. iii., p. 415.)\n\nNumerous are the waves, and great the tossing of the sea, but we have no\nfear of going down, for we stand upon the rock. Let the ocean rage as it\nwill, it is powerless to break the rock. Let the waves roll, they cannot\nsink the bark of Jesus. Tell me, what should we fear? Death? _To me to\nlive is Christ and to die gain._ Is it exile perchance? _The earth is\nthe Lord\u2019s, and the fulness of it._ Is it confiscation of property? We\nbrought nothing with us into the world, and it is clear that we can take\nnothing away with us. I despise what the world fears, and hold its good\nthings in derision. I do not fear poverty, nor do I desire riches. I am\nnot afraid of death; I do not pray to live, if it be not for your good.\nThis is why I speak of what is now taking place, and exhort your charity\nto be of good cheer. For no man shall be able to separate us. No man can\npart that which God has joined together. If, speaking of man and wife,\nHe says: _On this account a man shall leave his father and his mother\nand shall cleave to his wife, and the two shall be one flesh; for that\nwhich God has joined together man shall not separate_; if you cannot\ndissolve marriage, how much less shall you be able to break up the\nChurch of God. You may fight her, you will not be able to harm the\nobject of your attack. \u2018But whilst you make me more illustrious, you are\nundermining your own strength by fighting against me.\u2019 It is hard for\nyou to kick against a sharp goad. You do not take the edge off it, but\nyou make your own feet bloody; and the waves do not break through the\nrock, but are dissolved in foam. There is nothing more powerful than the\nChurch, O man; give up fighting her, lest she overpower your strength.\nWage not war against heaven. If you fight a man, you conquer or are\nconquered. But if you fight the Church, you cannot conquer. For God is\nstronger than all. _Do we provoke the Lord to jealousy?_ Are we stronger\nthan He? Who will venture to subvert the order which God has\nestablished? You know not His power. He looks down upon the earth and\ncauses it to tremble. He commands, and that which was shaken becomes\nfirm. If He can establish in peace a city torn by factions, how much\nmore is He able to establish the Church! The Church is stronger than\nheaven. _Heaven and earth shall pass away, but My words shall not pass\naway._ What words? _Thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build My\nChurch, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it._\n\nIf you distrust words, believe in facts. How many tyrants have wished to\nget the better of the Church! How many frying-pans, and furnaces, and\nfangs of wild animals, and sharp swords have there not been! Yet they\nhave not succeeded. Where are the oppressors? Silence and oblivion have\npassed over them. But where is the Church? It is more dazzling than the\nsun. _Their_ deeds are no more, hers are immortal. Now, if being few\nthey were not conquered, how will you get the better of them, now that\nthe world is filled with the service of God? _Heaven and earth shall\npass away, but My word shall not pass_; and with good reason. The Church\nis more pleasing to God than heaven; He did not take a body from heaven,\nbut He _did_ take flesh of the Church.[16] Heaven is made for the\nChurch, not the Church for heaven. Be not disturbed by anything which\nhas taken place. Gain me the grace of an immutable faith. See you not\nPeter walking upon the waters, beginning to doubt and being on the point\nof drowning, not through the surging waves, but through the weakness of\nhis faith? Did we come here by vote of man? Did a man bring us in, that\na man might displace us? I say this, not out of pride, nor to boast\u2014God\nforbid!\u2014but wishing to give courage to what is faint in you. Since the\ncity has become quiet, the devil aimed at disturbing the Church.\nWretched and most wicked demon, you could not master walls, and do you\nthink to shake the Church? Is the Church made up of walls? The Church is\nin the multitude of the faithful. What an array of immutable pillars,\nnot clasped by iron, but bound by faith! I say not that so vast a\nmultitude is more ardent than fire, but if it consisted of one, you\nwould not overcome that one. You know what wounds the martyrs inflicted\non you. Many a time a tender maiden has been brought into court; she was\nsofter than wax, and she became harder than a rock. You tore her sides,\nyet you took not her faith. The flesh languished whilst the strength of\nfaith was not weakened: the body was being spent, the spirit was\nrenewed: the physical frame was perishing, yet piety endured. You have\nnot conquered a single woman, and do you hope to conquer so numerous a\npeople? _Do you not hear the Lord saying, Wherever two or three are\ngathered together in My name, there I am in the midst of them_. Where is\n_not_ this people whom charity binds? I have a proof of it. Am I in good\nheart by my own strength? I hold His written word. This is my staff,\nthis is my courage, this is to me a calm harbour. Even if the world be\ntroubled, I hold that written word; I look up to those words, they are a\nwall of strength to me. What are they? _I am with you always until the\nconsummation of the world._ Christ is with me, what shall I fear? If\nwaves are raging against me, and the fountains of the deep and the\npassions of princes, all these things are more insignificant than a\ncobweb. And if it were not for your charity, I would not refuse to\ndepart to-morrow, for I always say, \u2018Lord, may Thy will be done\u2019; not\nwhat this man or that man wishes, but as Thou wilt. This is my tower of\ndefence, this is my immutable rock, this is my sure staff. If this be\nGod\u2019s will, so be it. If He wish me to remain here, I am grateful to\nHim. Wherever it may be, I give Him thanks.\n\n \u00b7 \u00b7 \u00b7 \u00b7 \u00b7 \u00b7 \u00b7\n\n\n The Priest a Man, not an Angel.\n(_Homily on Peter and Elias_, _Benedictine Edition_, tom. ii., p. 730.)\n\nWhy is it that so few are here to day? We commemorate the martyrs, and\nno one comes; the distance has made man soft, or rather not the\ndistance, but their softness has been the impediment. Just as nothing\ncan hinder readiness and alertness of will, so everything serves as a\nhindrance to an irresolute and desponding man. The martyrs shed their\nblood for the truth: can _you_ not make light even of a long way? They\nlaid down their head for Christ: will _you_ not even come out of the\ncity for your Lord? He died for you, and are you lukewarm in His\nservice? You are commemorating the martyrs, and are you discouraged and\nremiss? You should come and see the devil humbled, and the martyr\ntriumphing, God glorified, and the Church crowned. What is your excuse?\n\u2018I am a sinner and I cannot come.\u2019 That is the very reason why you\nshould come so that you may not be quite lost. Tell me what man is\nwithout sin? This is why there is a sacrifice, and a Church, and prayer,\nand fasting. Because the soul has many wounds, therefore remedies have\nbeen devised for them, and for every single wound of the soul a\ncorresponding medicine has been prepared. You have the Church offering\nsacrifices, the prayers of the fathers, the administration of the Holy\nSpirit, the memory of the martyrs, the assembly of the faithful, and\nmany things of the kind which have power to recall you from iniquity\nunto justice. If you do not come to invoke the martyrs, what excuse have\nyou got?... You say, \u2018I am a sinner and cannot come\u2019. _Because_ you are\na sinner, come. Or do you not know that those very men who stand before\nthe altar have contracted sins? They are clothed in flesh and blood, yet\nwe do not refuse to teach when we cast our eyes on the ocean of God\u2019s\ngoodness. If you enter in, you have not this against you, for you are\nsubject to teaching. As for us, the higher our dignity, the greater is\nour guilt. It is one thing for the man, who is subject to teaching, to\nsin, and another for the teacher. Nevertheless, we do not refuse to\nimpart discipline, or fall into negligence under pretext of humility. It\nwas a divine ordering that priests themselves should fall into sin. Now\nlisten to what I mean. If the teachers themselves, if priests had not\nsinned and been subjected to the ordinary passions of life, they would\nhave become inhuman and relentless towards others. Therefore, He\ndesigned that priests, too, and rulers should be under the dominion of\ntheir feelings, so that from what they themselves experience they should\nextend pardon to others. God has always pursued this course, not only\nnow but of old: He allowed those to whom He was going to entrust His\nChurch and His people to fall into sin, so that on account of their own\nshortcomings they might become merciful to others. If they had _not_\nsinned, they would not have made a single excuse for sinners, but,\nwholly merciless, would have excluded all from the Church. Let me show\nyou by an example that it _is_ so, and that I do not speak from\nconjecture. Peter was to be entrusted with the keys of heaven and with\nthe multitude of the people. For what were the Lord\u2019s words to him?\n_Whatsoever thou shalt bind on earth shall_ _be bound in heaven, and\nwhatsoever thou shalt loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven._ For\nPeter was somewhat severe, and if he had been faultless how would he\nhave excused his disciples? This was why the Divine Goodness brought\nabout a certain fall on his part, that from what he himself experienced,\nhe might become kind to others. And consider the man who is allowed to\nfall into sin,\u2014Peter, the chief of the Apostles, the irremovable\nfoundation, the immutable rock, the leader of the Church, the sure\nharbour, the invincible pillar. Peter it was who had said to Christ,\n_Even if I should die with Thee I will not desert Thee_; Peter who had\nconfessed the truth by divine revelation: _Thou art Christ the Son of\nthe living God_: this Peter going in on the night of Christ\u2019s betrayal\nand standing by the fire to warm himself, a certain maid-servant went up\nto him and said, _Yesterday thou wert with this man_, and Peter\nanswered, _I know not the man_. Just before he had said, _Even if I\nshould die with Thee_; now he denies Him and says, _I know not the man_.\nO Peter! is this thy promise? Thou hast not endured torments nor\nstripes, but at a single word from a maid-servant\u2014thou hast denied. Wilt\nthou deny, Peter? As yet there are neither torments, nor stripes, nor\nblows, nor angry passions, nor princes, nor outstretched swords, neither\nedicts, nor threatening emperors, nor sentence to death, neither\nprisons, nor precipices, nor seas. There are none of these things, yet\nthou hast already denied Him: _I know not the man_. Again the maid said\nto him, _Yesterday thou wert with this man._ And he answered her: _I\nknow not the man_. Who is making thee deny? No one in authority, but a\nwoman, and she a poor doorkeeper, a captive unworthy of an answer: at\n_her_ word thou deniest! This is wonderful indeed! A maid-servant, a\nharlot going up to Peter disturbed his faith. Peter, the pillar,\nsuffered no temptation: she only opened her mouth and that pillar was\nshaken, that bulwark was moved. What seest thou before thee, Peter,\nwhilst thou deniest? A miserable maid-servant, a wretched doorkeeper.\nThis is what thou seest, and dost thou deny? Now for the third time she\nsays: _Yesterday thou too wert with this man_, and he denied for the\nthird time. And Jesus looking at him, recalled his own words to his\nmind, and he began to weep tears of contrition for his sin. Still Jesus\npardoned him, knowing that as a man he had had a human weakness. But as\nI have said, on this account He was about to entrust him with a whole\npeople, so that, not being hard or without sin, he might not be without\nmercy for his own brethren. He fell into sin, that, considering his own\nfault and his Lord\u2019s pardon, he also might extend a merciful forgiveness\nto others, which, according to divine dispensation should reconcile them\nto God. He who was to be entrusted with the Church was allowed to sin;\nthe pillar of the churches, the harbour of faith, Peter the teacher of\nthe world, was allowed to sin in order that his forgiveness might become\nthe basis of mercy for others. Why do I say these things? Because we\npriests who sit upon a throne and teach are fettered by sins. This is\nwhy neither angel nor archangel has been entrusted with the priesthood,\nfor _they_ are without sin, in order that they should not through\nseverity at once strike down sinners amongst the people. A man born of\nman was entrusted with this throne, a man held subject himself to\npleasure and to sin, so that in receiving a sinner, mindful of his own\nfailings, he might be gentler to that sinner. For if the priest were an\nangel and were to receive a dissolute man, he would kill him on the\nspot, not being acquainted with this passion. On this account if an\nangel had the sacerdotal authority, he would not teach, but he would\nkill the man in anger through his not being an angel: for this reason it\nwas a man with the knowledge and experience of his own faults, that he\nmight pardon sinners, and not be moved by anger, that the Church might\nnot be vacant through the Synagogue.\n\n \u00b7 \u00b7 \u00b7 \u00b7 \u00b7 \u00b7 \u00b7\n\n\n The Authority of the Priest.\n (_On the Priesthood_,[17] b. iii., c. iv., p. 24.)\n\nThe priesthood performs its functions on earth but ranks with heavenly\nthings. And indeed most rightly, for neither man, nor angel, nor\narchangel, nor any other created power has ordained this series of\nactions, but the Paraclete Himself, and He it is Who has inspired those\nstill in the flesh to represent visibly the ministry of angels.\nTherefore, since the priest stands in the very heavens in the midst of\nthose powers, he should be as pure as they. The ordinances before the\nlaw of grace, such as bells and fringes, and precious stones on the\nbreast, those on the shoulders, the mitre, the girdle, the long garment,\nthe gold plate, the holy of holies, the intense quiet of the holy place,\nwere awful and sacred, but if anyone would examine those of the law of\ngrace, he would find the former terrible ordinances were as nothing, and\nthat what was then said concerning the law was in this also true, that\n_even that which was glorious in this part was not glorified by reason\nof the glory that excelleth_. For when you see the Lord sacrificed and\nlying before you, and the priest standing over the sacrifice making\nsupplication, and all present dyed in the precious Blood, do you feel as\nif you were still amongst men and on earth, and not rather transported\nstraight into heaven? Casting aside from your mind every carnal thought,\ndo you not consider the things of heaven with a naked soul and a pure\nheart? Oh, what a wonder this is! What man-loving kindness of God! He\nWho is sitting with the Father above is received in that hour into the\nhands of all men. And He gives Himself to those who wish to hold Him to\ntheir hearts in close embrace, and all do this through their eyes. Now\nwould these things appear to you worthy of contempt, as if a man could\npossibly feel anger against them? Would you like to realise the\nsurpassing sacredness of this holy place through another wonder? Picture\nElias to yourselves, an immense crowd surrounding him, the sacrifice\nlying upon stones, all men holding their breath, and the prophet alone\nin prayer, then fire coming swiftly from heaven upon the offering. This\nis a marvel which is most awe-inspiring. Pass on from this to the rites\nwhich are now being carried out, and you will see not marvels alone but\nthings beyond awe itself. For the priest is standing there, not bringing\ndown fire but the Holy Spirit: and he makes a long prayer of\nsupplication, not that fire from above may consume the offering, but in\norder that grace, coming down upon the sacrifice, may through it\nenkindle all souls, and make them purer than silver purified in the\nfire. Now, such being this most tremendous rite, who that is not utterly\nmad and out of his mind will be able to show contempt for it? Do you not\nknow that never could soul of man have borne that fire of the sacrifice,\nbut all would have been consumed if it had not been for an abundant\nassistance of God\u2019s grace? If, indeed, anyone would consider what a\ngreat thing it is for a man still clothed in flesh and blood to be able\nto approach nearer to that high and perfect nature, he would then\nclearly see what honour the grace of the Spirit has vouchsafed to confer\nupon the priest. For through his ministry both these things are\naccomplished and other things which, in regard to our dignity and\nsalvation, are in no way inferior. Dwellers on the earth, sojourners\nhere, are entrusted with the things of heaven, and have received an\nauthority which God has given neither to angels nor to archangels. Not\nto them are those words said: _Whatsoever you shall bind on earth shall\nbe bound in heaven, and whatsoever you shall loose shall be loosed_. It\nis true that those in power on earth have authority to bind, but in the\ncase of bodies only: now _that_ chain affects the soul, and penetrates\ninto heaven, so that whatsoever the priest does here below, God ratifies\nit above; the Lord of all sanctions the action of His servants. What\nindeed did He give to them if not all authority in heaven? _Whose sins_,\nHe says, _you shall forgive they are forgiven, and whose sins you shall\nretain they are retained_. What could be greater than this authority?\nThe Father has given all judgment to the Son: now I see them set over\nall judgment by the Son as if they were already in heaven, and had\npassed beyond nature, and had thrown off our passions also, to so great\nan authority have they been raised. Thus, if a king entrusts to one of\nhis subjects power to throw into prison those whom he chooses, and to\nrelease them, that man will be an object of singular distinction to all.\nHe who receives from God an authority greater in proportion as heaven\nsurpasses earth and souls bodies, has seemed to some to be favoured with\nan honour so small as to make it credible that some one might look down\nupon the gift of men so trusted. God forbid such unreason, for it _is_ a\nconsummate unreason to despise so exalted an authority, without which we\ncan arrive neither at salvation nor at the promised goods. If a man\ncannot enter into the kingdom of heaven unless he be born again of water\nand the Spirit, and if he who does not eat the Flesh of Christ and does\nnot drink His Blood shall have no part in eternal life, and all these\nthings are brought about by no one else, but only by those sacred hands,\nthose of the priest, I mean, how without them will it be possible for a\nman either to escape hell-fire or to reach the crowns which are laid up\nfor us? For priests are those who have been trusted with throes of the\nSpirit, and they generate through baptism: through them we put on Christ\nand unite ourselves to the Son of God, and become members of that august\nHead. Hence they might justly be held by us in greater veneration than\nnot rulers and kings only, but than our own fathers. These have\ngenerated us by ties of the flesh and of inclination: priests are the\nauthors of our birth from God, of that blessed regeneration of our true\nliberty, and of our adoption according to grace. Priests amongst the\nJews had power to cleanse the leprosy of the body, or rather not at all\nto cleanse it, but only to proclaim who _were_ cleansed, and you know\nhow sought after the priestly office then was. Now these have received\npower with regard to, not the leprosy of the body, but impurity of the\nsoul, not to examine it when cleansed but to entirely effect the\ncleansing. Hence, those who hold them in contempt would be under a worse\ncurse and would deserve a greater chastisement than Dathan and his\ncompanions. The latter, indeed, even if they claimed an authority which\ndid not belong to them, were still impressed with its being something\nextraordinary, and showed this by desiring it with great warmth; but the\nformer, since a better order has been brought about and divine worship\nhas received so wonderful an increase, have ventured on a deed the\nopposite to that of the others, of much greater audacity. To desire\nundue honour and to disregard it are not forms of showing contempt; but\nthe one is as far removed from the other as is the measure of contempt\nfrom admiration. What soul so unhappy as to disregard goods so great? I\ncannot say, unless anyone should be goaded on to it by a demon. Now I\nwill go back to my starting-point. God has given greater power to\npriests than to parents, according to nature, not only for chastising\nbut also for conferring benefits, and there is as great a difference\nbetween the two as between this present life and the life to come.\nEarthly parents generate for this present life, priests for the life to\ncome: the former are unable to preserve their children from death even\nof the body or to ward off illness from them; but the latter have often\nsaved a soul which was sick and about to be lost, procuring for some a\nmilder chastisement, and keeping others out of trouble from the first,\nnot only by teaching and advising, but also by helping them with prayer.\nNot only do they generate us anew, but after this they have authority to\nremit sins. _Is any man sick among you_, the Apostle says, _let him call\nin the elders of the Church, and let them pray over him, anointing him\nwith oil in the Name of the Lord: and the prayer of faith shall save the\nsick man, and the Lord shall raise him up, and whatever sins he may have\ncommitted shall be forgiven him_. So parents in the order of nature can\ndo nothing to help their children if these should chance to offend\npeople in high places; but priests have reconciled them not to rulers or\nkings only, but to God Himself, Who was angered against them. After this\nwill anyone venture to accuse us of folly? For my part I conceive that\nwhat has been said will inspire the souls of hearers with such respect\nthat they will no longer charge with folly and audacity those who shrink\nfrom acquiring this honour for themselves, but those who seek and pursue\nit.\n\n \u00b7 \u00b7 \u00b7 \u00b7 \u00b7 \u00b7 \u00b7\n\n\n The Priest a Shepherd of Souls.\n (_On the Priesthood_, b. vi., c. i.)\n\nYou have heard what is to be expected here on earth, but how shall we\nbear what is to come hereafter, when we shall be compelled to answer for\neveryone who has been entrusted to us? The punishment there does not\nstop with shame, but is a chastisement which never ends. If I began by\nquoting the words, _Render obedience and submission to those who are\nover you, and who are responsible for your souls, as giving an account\nfor them_, I will not now withhold them. Fear of this judgment keeps me\nin a state of perpetual trembling. If, indeed, for scandalising one, and\nthat one the least of all, it is better for a man to have a millstone\nabout his neck and to be cast into the sea; and if all who inflict a\nblow upon the conscience of their brethren sin against Christ Himself,\nwhat will be the suffering on their account of those who destroy not\none, or two, or three, but so great a multitude? It will not do to throw\nthe blame on want of practice or to take refuge in ignorance, or to\nallege necessity or main force: it would be easier for a subject, if he\nrequired it, to make use of this excuse for his own sins than for rulers\nin those of others. What is meant by this? That he whose part it is to\ncorrect the ignorance of others, and to guard against the devil\u2019s coming\nattack, may not allege his own ignorance, or say, \u2018I did not hear the\ntrumpet,\u2019 or \u2018I did not foresee war\u2019. As Ezechiel said, this is the very\nreason why he is seated in his place, that he may sound the trumpet to\nothers and warn them of coming troubles. On this account the\nchastisement is inexorable, even if only one be lost. For if, when the\nsword is brandished, the watchman does not sound the trumpet to the\npeople, nor signal to them (he says), and the sword appearing destroys a\nlife, that life has been lost through the man\u2019s own lawlessness, but I\nwill require his blood at the watchman\u2019s hand.[18] Cease, then, to push\nus into that inevitable judgment. _We_ have to do, not with armies and\nkingdoms, but with an action which requires angelical goodness. The soul\nof a priest should be purer than the very rays of the sun, so that the\nHoly Spirit may never leave him to himself, that he may be able to say:\n_I live, not I, but Christ liveth in me_. If dwellers in the desert, who\nare removed from the cares of city, market-place, and all that these\nentail, and are ever in rest and peace, are unwilling to presume of\ntheir security in such a life, but add numberless cautions, fortifying\nthemselves on all sides, ardent to do and to speak with much care, so\nthat they may approach God as fearlessly and purely as it lies in human\ncapacity to do, what think you the power and strength of the priest\nshould be, to enable him to put off all defilement from his soul and to\npreserve spiritual beauty undamaged? For he ought to be much purer than\nthey, and the more so as he incurs greater necessities than they, which\nmay sully his purity, unless by constant watchfulness and strenuous\neffort he makes his soul inaccessible to their influence. Thus, there\nare fair faces, and luxurious movements, and a studied walk, and a\nmincing tone of voice, and painted eyes, and rouged cheeks, beautiful\nplaits, dyed hair, rich clothes, variegated golden ornaments, fine\nprecious stones, the perfume of scents, and all other things of the\nkind, dear to the female sex, which are calculated to upset a soul that\nis not armed in the austerity of wisdom. It is no wonder if a man be\ntroubled by _these_ things; but that the devil should be able by the\ncontrary things to wage war against the souls of men and to wound\nthem,\u2014_this_ is most surprising and embarrassing. Already some who have\nescaped the former snares have allowed themselves to be taken by that\nwhich was so different. For an unstudied address, neglected hair, a\ndirty garment, a disordered appearance, a careless demeanour, a natural\nmanner, frank language, an unartificial gait, an artless voice, a life\nof poverty, the being despised, and unprotected, and in solitude, have\ninspired a man at first with pity, and from that have led him to utter\ndestruction. And many who have escaped the former snares, the snares of\ngold, and perfume, and clothes, and the rest which go with them, as I\nsaid, have fallen into these so far removed from those, and have been\nlost. Now, when the battle strikes on the spectator\u2019s soul, and weapons\nof war surround him on all sides, whether by poverty or by riches, by\nadornment or by simplicity, by a studied manner or by unaffectedness, or\nin any other of the ways which I have enumerated, whence is refreshment\nto come to him who is thus hemmed in? How are we to meet the case, not\nof being taken by force, for this is not so very difficult, but of\nkeeping our mind in tranquillity from impure thoughts? I pass over\nhonours, which are the causes of a thousand evils. Those which come from\nwomen lower the tone of the tempered mind, and often work ruin whenever\na man is not wholly on his guard against such plottings. And as to\nhonours coming from men; if they be not received with much\nhigh-mindedness, they involve a man in two opposite sufferings\u2014the\nslavishness of flattery and the foolishness of boasting. On the one\nhand, he is forced to stoop to those who serve him; on the other, he is\npuffed up against his inferiors through these honours of theirs, and\nthrust into an abyss of folly. _We_ say this, but the harm of it can\nonly be properly ascertained by experience. And, necessarily, things\nmuch worse and more dangerous than these would happen to those who are\nin the midst of the fight. The lover of the desert is exempted from all\nthis, for if a foolish thought _did_ suggest something of the kind to\nhim, this imagination is weak and easily overcome, because the flame of\nthe eyes is not fed by outward things. Now the monk fears for himself\nalone: even if he were obliged to think of others, these would be very\nfew. Or if they were many, they would be fewer than those in churches,\nand give their superior little anxiety, not through their small numbers\nalone, but because they are removed from worldly business, and have\nneither children, nor wife, nor anything else of the kind to trouble\nabout. It is this and the common life which have made them disposed to\nobey their rulers. Thus they are able to see and to correct their\nfaults, for the constant watchfulness of the teacher is no slight thing\ntowards increase of virtue. Now, the majority of men under the priest\u2019s\ncharge are taken up with worldly cares, and this makes them slack in the\nfulfilment of their spiritual duties. Hence the teacher should scatter\nthe seed, so to speak, day by day, in order that the teaching by\nconstantly falling should take root in the listener\u2019s mind. For\nsuperfluous wealth, and great power, and the softness arising from\nluxury, and many other things joined to these, suffocate the seeds, and\noften the density of thorns does not allow the seed to shoot forth so as\nto be seen. Moreover, excessive tribulation, the necessities of poverty,\nconstant reproaches, and everything else of the kind which is opposed to\nthe former things, lead a man away from a holy zeal. Not even the\nsmallest part of sins incurred can become manifest to them. How should\nit not be so when they know not the greater number even by sight? Thus\nonerous are a priest\u2019s duties towards the people. But if anyone would\nconsider duties towards God, he will find the others nothing at all, so\nmuch more careful and diligent a zeal do these require. For what sort of\nman should he be who rules an entire city\u2014and why do I say a city?\u2014the\nwhole world rather\u2014and has to propitiate God for the sins of all\u2014not the\nsins of the living only, but those of the dead also. I hold that the\ncourage of Moses and Elias is all insufficient for this ministry.\nEntrusted as if with the world itself, and the father of all, the priest\nthus approaches God in order to extinguish wars in every place and to\nappease strife, to bring about peace and plenty, and to ask both\nprivately and publicly a speedy deliverance from the evils which are\npressing upon every man. He himself ought to be as much above what he\nasks for as the ruler should be in everything above the ruled. Now, what\nplace are we to assign to him when he calls down the Holy Spirit, and\noffers up the most tremendous Sacrifice, and continually holds in his\ngrasp the common Lord of all? What purity shall we not expect him to\nhave, what piety? Think what the hands should be which thus minister!\nWhat the tongue which utters those words! What should be purer or holier\nthan the soul which receives so great a Spirit? Then angels surround the\npriest, and the sanctuary and all the place about the Sacrifice are\nfilled with heavenly powers in honour of Him Who is lying there. And\nthis can be sufficiently believed from the rites. But I once heard some\none say that an old man, who was held in veneration and accustomed to\nrevelations, told him he himself had been made worthy of this vision. At\nthe time of the sacrifice he had suddenly seen a multitude of angels, as\nmany as his eye could grasp, in shining garments surrounding the altar,\nbending low, as a man might see soldiers in the presence of the king,\nand this I believe. And another man told me, not what he had learnt from\na third person, but what he himself had been allowed to see and to hear.\nThis was it. When the departing, who have chanced to partake of the\nmysteries with a pure conscience, draw their last breath, angels,\nserving them as a body-guard for the sake of what they have received,\nlead them out of this world. Do you not tremble to come with this soul\nto this holy sacrifice, and to be at these solemn rites the man in\nsoiled garments whom Christ cast out from the rest of the guests? The\nsoul of the priest should be a light of justice to the world, but ours\nis so surrounded with the darkness of an evil conscience as to be always\noverclouded and unable to look fearlessly at its Lord. Priests are the\nsalt of the earth; who could bear easily with our folly and our\nignorance in everything if you were not accustomed to give us an\nexaggerated love? And it is not enough that he who has been entrusted\nwith so wonderful a ministry should be pure; he should also be wise and\nexperienced in many things; he should know worldly business not less\nthan those engaged in the midst of it, and still be further removed from\nall things than monks in their desert. As he must come into contact with\nmen who are married and have children to bring up, and keep servants and\nhave much wealth, who are engaged in public business, who are in power,\nhe should be many-sided. I say many-sided, not a schemer, neither a\nflatterer nor a hypocrite, but made up of much liberality and fortitude,\nknowing how to lend a useful hand whenever circumstances demand it, at\nonce kind and austere. All subjects are not to be used in the same way,\nsince the children of physicians deem it not good to apply one treatment\nto all the sick, nor has the pilot only one course at his command\nagainst the wind. Storms are ever hanging over _this_ bark, and these\nstorms assail not only from without, but arise also within, and we need\nto have much condescension and much care. All these things which are\ndifferent in themselves have one end in view\u2014the glory of God and the\nstrengthening of the Church.\n\n \u00b7 \u00b7 \u00b7 \u00b7 \u00b7 \u00b7 \u00b7\n\n\n One Sacrifice.\n (_Homilies on Epistle to the Hebrews_,[19] xvii.)\n\n \u00b7 \u00b7 \u00b7 \u00b7 \u00b7 \u00b7 \u00b7\n\nTell me what need was there of having many sacrifices when one is\nsufficient? That there being many which were constantly offered might\nshow their inefficacy for purification. Just as a powerful remedy, which\nis productive of health and able to remove all the malady, does\neverything by one application, and when this one application does\neverything, it shows its strength in not being applied again; and this\nis also its work, for if it be always used it is a sign that it has no\nefficacy. The merit of a remedy consists in being applied once and not\noften. And so it is here. Why, then, are they always cured by the same\nsacrifices? If they had been free from all sin, sacrifices would not\nhave been offered up every day. Therefore, they were fixed things, so as\nto be invariably offered up for all the people both in the evening and\nin the morning. Thus, it was a confession of sins, not a remission of\nsins; a confession of weakness, not a manifestation of strength. Since\nthe first sacrifice availed nothing the second was offered up, and that\nalso proving ineffectual another followed, so that it was an\nacknowledgment of guilt. On the one hand, the act of offering was a\nconfession of sin, and the ever-recurring offering was a confession of\nweakness. Now, with Christ it was the contrary. He was once offered up,\nand His one oblation sufficed for all time. He expressed it well by\ncalling them images, for they present the figure only and not the\nstrength of the reality. Just as an image represents the likeness of a\nman but not his power, so the truth and the figure have something in\ncommon with each other. The likeness is the same but not the living\npower. So it was in the matter of heaven and the tabernacle. The figure\nwas equal, for it was holy; but the power and the other qualities were\nnot the same. What is the meaning of _He hath appeared for the putting\naway of sin by the sacrifice of Himself_? What is the _putting away_?\nContempt; for sin has no longer any assurance. It has been put away.\nHow? Whereas it should have paid a penalty it did not, that is, force\nwas put upon it; for just when it was likely to destroy all men it was\nitself taken away. _He hath been made manifest_, he says, _by the\nsacrifice of Himself_; that is, He was manifested to God and went to\nGod. Now, because the priest did this many times in the year, do not\nthink that this has taken place by chance and not through weakness. If\nnot through weakness, why then did it take place? If there are no\nwounds, then neither are remedies necessary. Therefore, He enjoined that\nthe sacrifice should be always offered up on account of weakness, and\nthat it should take place as a commemoration of sins. What then? Do we\nnot offer up sacrifice day by day? We do indeed, but we commemorate His\ndeath. This sacrifice is one, not many. How one and not many? Because it\nwas once offered up, just as that one sacrifice in the holy of holies.\nThis is a type of that, and that of the other. We are ever offering up\nthe same Person. Not one sheep to-day and another to-morrow, but ever\nthe same sheep, so that the sacrifice is one. Now, in virtue of this\nargument, since the sacrifice is offered up in many places, are there\nmany Christs? By no means, but there is everywhere one Christ, as\nperfect in one place as in another, one body. Therefore, as He Who is\noffered up in many places is one Body and not many bodies, so is it one\nSacrifice. He is our High Priest Who offered up the sacrifice which\npurifies us. This is that which now also we offer up; the One then\noffered up, the Inconsumable. This is done in commemoration of what was\nthen done, for He says, _This do in commemoration of Me_. We are ever\noffering not another sacrifice, as the high priest then did, but always\nthe same; or rather we make a commemoration of a sacrifice. And since I\nhave spoken of this sacrifice, I would say a few things to you who are\ninitiated, a few things in volume though possessing great power and\nhelp. What we speak is not ours but the Divine Spirit\u2019s. What, then, is\nit? Many partake of this sacrifice once in the whole year, some twice,\nsome often. Now, we speak to all, not only to those who are here, but to\nthose who dwell in the desert. For they receive once a year, often,\nindeed, once in two years. Well, then, whom shall we prefer? Those who\nreceive once, or those who receive twice, or those who receive often?\nNeither those who receive once, nor those who receive often, nor those\nwho receive seldom, but those who receive with a pure conscience, and an\nundefiled heart, and an irreproachable life. Let such as these ever\napproach, and those who are not so not even once. Why? Because they take\njudgment to themselves, and condemnation, and chastisement, and penalty.\nWonder not at this. For just as food, which by its nature is nourishing,\nif taken by a diseased stomach, destroys and withers up everything and\nprepares disease, so is it with this case of the tremendous mysteries.\nYou are partaking of a spiritual table, of a royal table, and do you\nagain fill your mouth with mud? You use perfumes, and do you again fill\nyourself with ill odours? Tell me, I beseech you, if you receive\ncommunion once a year, will forty days suffice you for the atonement of\nyour sins during all that time? Again, at the end of a week perhaps, you\nreturn to your former ways. Now, tell me, if you were to enjoy good\nhealth for forty days after a long illness, and then were to go back to\nunwholesome food productive of disease, would you not waste your\ntrouble? Evidently you would. If physical things are so changed, how\nmuch more those which belong to the will. Thus for instance, we see by\nnature, and we have naturally a healthy sight. But often our eyes fail\nfrom disease. If, therefore, natural things are so mutable, how much\nmore that which is a matter of free-will! You give up forty days to the\ncare of your soul\u2019s health, often not even that, and you think to have\nappeased God? You are trifling, man! I say this, not forbidding you the\none communion in the year, but wishing rather that you should always\napproach the holy things. So it is that the deacon raises his voice to\ncall the holy, and, in doing this, scrutinises all, so that no one\nshould approach unprepared. As with a flock of sheep, where many of them\nare sound and many are diseased, these latter have to be separated from\nthe sound ones, so is it in the Church. Since here, too, some sheep are\nsound and some diseased, through this cry which is everywhere heard,\nthis most awful voice, the priest separates the one from the other,\ninvites and urges the holy to approach. As, however, man cannot know his\nfellow-man\u2014for _what man has known that which is in man, if not the\nspirit of man that is in him_?\u2014this cry he raises after the sacrifice is\ncompleted, so that no one should approach the spiritual fountain\nnegligently or as if by chance. In the case of the flock\u2014for there is no\nreason why we should not again make use of the same illustration\u2014we shut\nup the sick ones within the fold, and keep them in a dark place, and\ngive them different food. We allow them neither fresh air, nor pure\ngrass, nor water in the open. Hence that voice is instead of a chain.\nYou will not be able to say, \u2018I was in ignorance of any danger following\nupon this act\u2019. We have, too, the special witness of Paul in the matter.\nBut you say, perhaps, \u2018I have not read about it\u2019. This is an accusation\nrather than an excuse. You are coming into the church every day and\nstill do not know these things.\n\n \u00b7 \u00b7 \u00b7 \u00b7 \u00b7 \u00b7 \u00b7\n\n\n The new Pasch.\n (_31st Homily on St. Matthew_, lxxxi., vol. ii., p. 459.)\n\n \u00b7 \u00b7 \u00b7 \u00b7 \u00b7 \u00b7 \u00b7\n\n_And whilst they were at supper, Jesus took bread, and blessed, and\nbroke, and gave to His disciples, and said: Take ye and eat: this is My\nBody. And taking the chalice, He gave thanks, and gave to them, saying:\nDrink_ _ye all of this; for this is my Blood of the new testament, which\nshall be shed for many unto remission of sins._ Consider what great\nhardness of heart the traitor showed. Partaking of the mysteries, he\nremained the same, and enjoying that most tremendous Banquet, he was not\nconverted. This Luke plainly intimates when he says that after these\nthings the devil entered into him, not despising the Lord\u2019s Body, but\nscorning the traitor\u2019s shamelessness. For his sin was the greater for\ntwo reasons: that he approached the mysteries with such a mind, and\nthat, approaching them, he grew no better. Neither fear, nor gratitude,\nnor the honour received, had any influence over him. And although Christ\nknew all things, He did not forbid his approach in order to show you\nthat He leaves no means of conversion untried. Therefore, both before\nthis and after this, He continued to exhort and to check Judas both by\nactions and words, by fear and by kindness, by threat and by benefit.\nBut nothing availed against that grievous sickness of his. Hence,\nleaving Judas to himself, He again reminds the disciples through the\nmysteries of His death as victim, and during the progress of the table\ndiscourses about the Cross, seeking, by His insistence in foretelling\nHis passion, to find an entrance for it in their minds. If, with all\nthat was done and foretold, they were troubled, what would they have\nsuffered if they had heard none of these things? _Whilst they were\neating, He took bread and broke it._ Why did he carry out this mystery\nat the time of the Pasch? In order to teach you everywhere that He is\nHimself the Lawgiver of the old dispensation, also, and that its\nordinances were made to foreshadow these things. On this account He adds\nthe reality to the type. The evening signified the fulness of time, and\nthe end itself to which things were coming. He gives thanks, teaching us\nhow we are to carry out this mystery, and showing us that He goes not\nunwillingly to the Cross. And He instructs us that, whatever we may\nsuffer, we should bear it with thanksgiving, and opens out from this\ngood hopes for us. For if the type released men from so grievous a\nslavery, how much more will the reality set the world free, and be\nbestowed for the blessing of our nature. For this reason He did not\ninstitute this mystery until the enactments of the Law were to cease,\nand He brings to a conclusion the chief of their feasts by translating\nthem to another and a most awful Table, and says: _Take and eat, this is\nMy Body which is broken for many_. How should they not have feared when\nthey heard this? He had spoken to them often and much before on the same\nsubject. Therefore, He no longer prepares them for it, for they had\nheard of it sufficiently; but He tells them the reason why He\nsuffers\u2014the remission of sins. He calls His Blood the Blood of the new\nTestament, that is, of the promise, of the gospel, and of the new law.\nFor this both had been promised of old, and is the bond of the new\nCovenant. And as the old Covenant had sheep and heifers, so the new\nCovenant had the Lord\u2019s Blood. Then He goes on to show them that He is\nabout to die, and therefore He commemorates the Covenant, and recalls\nthe old Covenant to their minds, for that too was consecrated through\nblood! And again He tells them why He is to die, _which is shed for many\nunto the remission of sins_, and He says: _Do this for a commemoration\nof Me_. Do you see how He leads them away and withdraws them from Jewish\ncustoms. \u2018As you did that,\u2019 He says, \u2018for a commemoration of the wonders\nin Egypt, so do this for a commemoration of Me.\u2019 That blood was shed to\nsave the first-born sons: _this_ Blood for the remission of the sins of\nthe whole world. _This is My Blood_, He says, _which is shed for the\nremission of sins_. He said this to show by this also that His\nsufferings and His cross are a mystery, and again, to comfort His\ndisciples through it. And as Moses had said: _Let this be to you a\nperpetual memorial_, so _He_ said, _For a commemoration of Me_, until I\ncome. And again, _With desire I have desired to eat this Pasch_, that\nis, \u2018to give you the new gifts, that Pasch by which I intend to make you\nspiritual\u2019. And He Himself drank of it. In order that men, hearing this,\nmight not say: \u2018How is this? Are we drinking blood and eating flesh?\u2019\nand then be troubled (for words of His on this subject had already\ndisturbed them, and many had been scandalised by them); to remove, I\nsay, their trouble, then also He did it first Himself, and led them\ngently to a participation of the mysteries. Therefore, He drank His own\nBlood. \u2018How is this?\u2019 you ask. \u2018Did men of old do it?\u2019 Certainly not.\nTherefore, He says: _Do this_, that He may draw them away from the\nother. For if this work the remission of sins, as indeed it does, the\nother is superfluous for the future. Now, as in the case of the Jews, so\nwas it here. He bound up the commemoration of the benefit with the\nmystery, thereby stopping the mouths of heretics. For when they say,\n\u2018How do we know that Christ suffered?\u2019 amongst other arguments, we\nsilence them also with the mysteries. If, indeed, Jesus did not die,\nwhat do the things involved in the rites symbolise?\n\n \u00b7 \u00b7 \u00b7 \u00b7 \u00b7 \u00b7 \u00b7\n\n\n The \u2018Eyes of Rome\u2019.\n (_Homilies on Epistle to the Romans_,[20] xxxiii., vol. i., p. 489.)\n\n \u00b7 \u00b7 \u00b7 \u00b7 \u00b7 \u00b7 \u00b7\n\nA good teacher makes it his special duty to help those he is teaching,\nnot by word only, but by prayer also. Hence Paul\u2019s words: _Let us give\nourselves continually to prayer and to the ministry of the word_. Who\nwill pray for us now that Paul has departed? Those who emulate Paul: let\nus only show ourselves worthy of so great an advocacy, that we may not\nalone hear Paul\u2019s voice in this world, but when we depart hence may\ndeserve to look upon that soldier of Christ. Or rather, if we listen to\nhim here we are sure to see him there, and if we are not near to him we\nshall undoubtedly see him resplendent in glory close to the King\u2019s\nthrone, where the cherubim give praise, where the seraphim unfold their\nwings. There with Peter we shall see Paul, the head and leader of the\nchoir of the saints, and we shall be in possession of true charity. For\nif in this world he so loved men as when he might have been dissolved\nand with Christ he chose to be here, how much more potently will he show\nforth the love-charm in that place. This is why I cherish Rome, although\nI have other grounds for my admiration in its size, and age, and beauty,\nand population, and power, and wealth, and its successes in wars; apart\nfrom all these things, I hold it blessed because Paul wrote to the\nRomans in his lifetime and loved them so much, because he spoke to them\nin person, and there finished his life. This is why that city is famous\nrather than for all other reasons put together: it is like a strong and\nbeautiful human body with two shining eyes, which are the bodies of\nthese two saints. The heavens are not so splendid when the sun is\nsending forth its rays as the city of Rome transmitting these two lights\nof hers to the whole world. Rome will yield up Paul; Rome will yield up\nPeter. Consider in awe what a sight Rome will witness when Paul rises in\na moment from that tomb, together with Peter, and is borne away to meet\nChrist. Think what roses Rome presents to Christ, what a double crown\nsurrounds the city, how it is girt with golden chains, and what the\nfountains of its being are. This is why I am in admiration at that city,\nnot for its abundance of gold, not for its columns, nor for any other\nbeauty it has, but for these pillars of the Church.\n\nWho could now give me to embrace Paul\u2019s body, to be nailed to his tomb,\nand to see the dust of him who completed what was wanting to the\nsufferings of Christ, who bore His marks, and sowed the earth with the\nGospel? Who could give me to see the dust of that body in which he went\nover the world, through which Christ spoke, through which a light shone\nforth brighter than any lightning, and a voice arose more terrible to\nthe devils than loudest thunder, through which he gave utterance to\nthose blessed words: _Would that I could be anathema for my brethren_,\nwhich he used before kings and was not ashamed, through which we have\nknown Paul and Paul\u2019s Lord? We do not dread the thunderbolt as devils\ndread that voice. For if they trembled at his garments, how much more at\nhis voice. This voice led them in chains, purified the world, cured\ndiseases, put forth evil, set up truth, had the indwelling Christ, and\nwith Him made itself everywhere heard. That voice of Paul\u2019s was like the\ncherubim. As God took up His seat on those powers, so did He on the\ntongue of Paul. It became worthy to receive Christ, speaking those\nthings which were dear to Christ, and soaring to an unspeakable height\nlike the seraphim. For what is beyond those words of his: _I am sure\nthat neither angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor present, nor\nfuture, nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature shall be able to\nseparate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus_? How many wings does\nthat voice seem to you to have? How many eyes? Therefore he said: _We\nare not ignorant of his devices_; and so the devils fled, not merely\nwhen they heard his voice, but when they saw his cloak from a distance.\nWould that I could see the dust of this mouth in which Christ did great\nand unspeakable things, and even greater things than by Himself\u2014for that\nHe _did_ work greater things by His disciples was what He said\u2014through\nwhich the Spirit gave those wonderful oracles to the world. For what\ngood thing did that mouth not accomplish? It put forth demons, remitted\nsins, curbed tyrants, silenced the tongues of philosophers, led the\nworld to God, induced barbarians to be ascetic, and changed all things\non earth; nay, in heaven too he did his will, binding and loosing those\nwhom he chose to bind and to loose there, according to the power which\nwas given to him. Would that I could look upon not only the dust of his\nmouth, but of that heart, which we might not wrongly call the heart of\nthe world, the source of endless good, the beginning, fountainhead of\nour own life. From thence the spirit of life was poured out upon all,\nand was diffused amongst the members of Christ. It was sent forth, not\nthrough arteries, but through the free choice of good. That heart was so\nbroad that it could embrace whole cities, and peoples, and nations. _My\nheart is enlarged_, he says. Yet, large as it was, his all-embracing\nlove often urged and troubled it. _For out of much affliction and\nanguish of heart I wrote to you_, he says. This heart, even dissolved in\ndust, is what I long to see\u2014the heart which was consumed for each\nindividual sinner, suffering afresh the agony of child-birth over every\nabortive child, the heart which sees God: _For the clean of heart shall\nsee God_: the heart which has become a sacrifice: _An afflicted spirit\nis a sacrifice to God_: that heart higher than the firmament, wider than\nthe universe, brighter than sunshine, hotter than fire, stronger than\nadamant, giving forth fruitful streams: _For_, he says, _out of his\nbelly shall flow rivers of living water_: hence arose the fresh spring\nwhich watered not the face of the earth, but the souls of men; hence\nsprung forth not rivers alone, but fountains of tears by day and by\nnight: that heart which lived a new life, not this physical life of\nours: _I live_, he says, _not I, but Christ liveth in me_. So that\nPaul\u2019s heart was His heart\u2014a tablet of the Holy Spirit, a book of\ncharity, a heart in anguish over the sins of men: _I am afraid of you_,\nhe says, _lest perhaps I have laboured in vain among you, and as the\nserpent seduced Eve, lest coming I should not find you as I wish_: a\nheart fearful about itself whilst full of courage: _I am afraid_, he\nsays, _that after preaching to others I myself shall be cast out_; and,\nagain: _I am sure that neither angels nor archangels shall_ _be able to\nseparate us_: the heart which was made worthy to love Christ as no one\nelse has loved Him, despising death and hell, and torn by the tears of\nhis brethren. _What are you doing_, he says, _weeping and filling my\nheart with anguish_?\u2014that strongest of hearts, which could not endure\nfor a moment to be away from the Thessalonians. Would that I could see\nthe dust of those fettered hands through which the imposition of the\nSpirit was given and the divine words were written: _See what a letter I\nhave written to you with my own hand_; and, again: _A greeting from the\nhand of Paul_, of those hands at sight of which the viper fell into the\nfire. Would that I could look upon the dust of those gloriously-blinded\neyes which saw the light again for the world\u2019s salvation and were made\nworthy in the body to behold Christ, and saw earthly things without\nseeing them, those eyes which looked upon unseen things, which knew not\nsleep, which were watching in the midst of night, and which did not\nsuffer what other eyes suffer. Would that I could see the dust of those\nfeet which toiled over the world and wearied not, which were chained to\na pillory when he was imprisoned, of those feet which traversed known\nand unknown regions and were often on the way. And why should I speak of\neach member separately? Would that I could see that tomb in which the\narmour of justice is stored up, the armour of light, those members which\nare now in life, which were dead whilst living, in all of which Christ\nlived, which were crucified to the world, those members of Christ which\nhad put on Christ, the temple of the Spirit, the dwelling-place of\nholiness, which were chained to the Spirit and nailed to the fear of\nGod, bearing the marks of Christ. This is the body which protects that\ncity and is stronger than any tower of defence or any number of\nfortifications, and with it is that of Peter, whom he honoured in life,\n_for he went up to consult Peter_. In death, therefore, charity made him\nworthy to be Peter\u2019s companion. Would that I could see this lion\naccording to the Spirit. For like a lion breathing fire on troops of\nfoxes so did he spring upon the tribe of devils and philosophers and\nfall like a heavy thunderbolt upon the devil\u2019s ranks. Nor did the devil\nstand against Paul in battle, but so great was his fear and trembling\nthat he retreated from his shadow or his voice. So it was that, being\nfar off, Paul gave the fornicator up to him and again snatched him from\nhis hands, and so he did others too, that they might be taught not to\nblaspheme. Consider how he ranges against the foe those who are under\nhis own command, rousing and spurring them on. Thus, when he said to the\nEphesians, _Our warfare is not against flesh and blood, but against\nprincipalities and powers_, he added the reward also, by the words _in\nheavenly things_. _For_, he said, _our warfare is not for earthly\nthings, but for heaven and heavenly things_. And to others his words\nwere: _Know you not that we shall judge angels, how much more things of\nthis world?_ Taking all this to heart, let us stand bravely. For Paul\nwas also a man and of the same nature as we are, having everything else\nin common with us; but because he showed a great love for Christ he\nscaled the heavens and found his place with the angels. If, then, we\nwish to rouse ourselves a little and to kindle that fire within us, we\nshould emulate that holy one. He tells us himself that this is not\nimpossible: _Be imitators of me as I am of Christ_. Therefore let us not\nonly admire him and wonder at him, let us also imitate him, that at our\ndeparture hence we may be made worthy to see him and to share that\nunspeakable glory. May this be granted to all of us through the grace\nand love of Our Lord Jesus Christ, to Whom, with the Father and the Holy\nGhost, be praise for ever and ever. Amen.\n\n \u00b7 \u00b7 \u00b7 \u00b7 \u00b7 \u00b7 \u00b7\n\n\n \u2018This is My Body.\u2019\n (_1st Homily on the Betrayal of Judas_, _Benedictine Edition_, t. ii.,\n p. 381.)\n\n \u00b7 \u00b7 \u00b7 \u00b7 \u00b7 \u00b7 \u00b7\n\nThen the disciples came to Him. _Then._ When? When these things were\ntaking place, and the betrayal was effected, and Judas destroyed\nhimself, the disciples came to Him, saying, _Where wilt Thou that we\nprepare to eat the Pasch_? Mark you the difference between disciple and\ndisciples? The one betrays his Lord, the others busy themselves with\npreparing the Pasch; the one makes a bargain, the others minister for\nHis table: both the one and the others had enjoyed the same miracles,\nthe same teaching, the same authority. Now, how do they differ? In the\nwill: this is everywhere the cause, both of all good and all evil.\n_Where wilt Thou that we prepare to eat the Pasch?_ _Then_ was that same\nevening. As Our Lord had no house of His own, they said to Him, _Where\nwilt Thou that we prepare to eat the Pasch?_ We have no settled\ndwelling-place, neither tent nor house. Let those who dwell in splendid\nhouses, and spacious courts, and large precincts be taught that Christ\nhad not where to lay His head. Therefore they asked, _Where wilt Thou\nthat we prepare to eat the Pasch?_ What Pasch? This was not our Pasch,\nbut still the Jews\u2019 Pasch; it was this Jewish Pasch which _they_\nprepared; Our Lord Himself prepared ours. Not only did He prepare it\nHimself, but He became our Pasch. _Where wilt Thou that we prepare for\nThee to eat the Pasch?_ This was the Jewish Pasch which had begun in\nEgypt. Now, why did Christ partake of it? Because He accomplished all\nthe observances of the law. At His baptism He said: _Thus it becomes us\nto fulfil all justice_. I came to redeem man from the malediction of the\nlaw. For God sent His own Son, made of woman, made under the law, that\nHe might redeem those who were bound by it, and might put an end to the\nlaw. Now, to prevent anyone from saying that He abolished the law\nbecause He was unable to fulfil it, as being burdensome, and hard, and\noppressive, having first Himself carried it out, He then dissolved it.\nOn this account He held the Pasch also, for the Pasch was an ordinance\nof the law. And why did the law order the eating of the Pasch? The Jews\nwere ungrateful towards their benefactor, and so immediately after the\nbenefits they forgot God\u2019s precepts. When they came out of Egypt, and\nsaw the waters parted, and again closed, and a thousand other wonders,\nthey said, _Let us make to ourselves gods who may go before us_. What\nsay you? You still touch the wonders with your hands, and have you\nforgotten the benefactor? Since, therefore, they were thus without\nfeeling or understanding, God kept alive the memory of His gifts by the\nordinance of feasts, and He commanded the Pasch to be sacrificed, so\nthat if your son ask you, \u2018What is this Pasch?\u2019 you may answer, \u2018Our\nforefathers in Egypt sprinkled their doors with the blood of the lamb,\nlest the angel of destruction, when he came, should enter in and smite\nwith the plague\u2019. Thus the feast was a perpetual memorial of salvation.\nMoreover, not only did these feasts benefit them by keeping fresh the\nmemory of graces in the past, but something much more, for they\nforeshadowed what was to come. That lamb, indeed, was the figure of\nanother Lamb, a spiritual Lamb, and that sheep of another Sheep. The one\nwas a shadow, the other the reality. When the Sun of Justice appeared,\nthe shadow forthwith ceased, for at sunrise the shadows depart.\nConsequently, at that table itself, each Pasch takes place\u2014the Pasch of\nthe figure and the Pasch of the reality. Just as painters use one and\nthe same canvas for outlining their subject and depicting shadow, and\nthen add colouring to make it life-like, so did Christ act. At one and\nthe same table He showed forth the typical Pasch, and set up the true\nPasch. _Where wilt Thou that we prepare for Thee to eat the Pasch?_ It\nwas then the Jewish Pasch, but when the sun appears let the lamp be\nextinguished; with the advent of truth let the shadow languish.\n\nI say these things to the Jews since they seem to celebrate a Pasch,\nsince the uncircumcised in heart put forward their unleavened bread with\na gross mind. Tell me, O Jew, how do you sacrifice the Pasch? The temple\nis destroyed, the altar has been taken away, the holy of holies has been\ntrampled under foot, all show of sacrifice has ceased. Wherefore, then,\ndo you venture to carry out practices so illegal? You went out once into\nBabylon, and there those who had taken you captive said, _Sing us a song\nof Sion_, and you would not. And David spoke with the same intent: _We\nsat beside the waters of Babylon and wept; we hung up our organs on the\nwillows in the midst of it_, that is, our instruments, harps, lyres, and\nthe rest. Men of old used these things, and thus sung hymns, and when\nthey went into captivity took them so as to have a reminder of their\nlife in their own country, not to use them. _For there_, he says, _they\nwho held us captive asked us for words of songs, and we said, How shall\nwe sing the song of the Lord in a strange land?_ What! you will not sing\nthe song of the Lord in a strange land, and yet will you celebrate the\nPasch of the Lord in a strange land! What ingratitude and iniquity!\nBecause those who constrained them were enemies, they dared not even\nsing a psalm in a strange land. And now of themselves, whereas no man\nputs force upon them, they wage war against God. Do you see how their\nunleavened bread is unclean and their feast illegal? Now there is no\nJewish Pasch. There was one then, but it is dissolved now, and the\nspiritual Pasch came, which was given then by Christ. For as they were\neating and drinking, the Evangelist says, taking bread, He broke and\nsaid: _This is My body, which is broken for you unto the remission of\nsins_. The initiated understand these words. Then, taking the chalice,\nHe said: _This is My Blood, which is shed for many unto the remission of\nsins_. And Judas was present as Christ spoke thus. This is the very Body\nwhich you have sold for thirty pieces of silver, O Judas; this is the\nvery Blood which you have just shamefully bartered to the unfeeling\nPharisees. O loving kindness of Christ! O foolish madness of Judas! On\nthe one hand Judas sold Him for thirty pieces of silver, whilst Christ\neven after this did not refuse to give that Blood, which had been\nbetrayed, to the traitor for the remission of his sins, if he had so\nwilled. And Judas was there, and he partook of the sacred table. For, as\nOur Lord had washed his feet, together with the other disciples\u2019, so did\nhe eat with them of the sacred table, in order that he might have no\nexcuse for remaining obdurate. Our Lord did everything in His power, yet\nJudas persisted in his wickedness.\n\nBut it is now time for us to approach that tremendous table. Let us,\ntherefore, all go to it with becoming sobriety and watchfulness. Let\nthere be no Judas here, no guilty man, no one infected with poison, no\nman with one thing in his mouth and another in his mind. The same Christ\nis now here Who prepared that table. And He it is Who is now preparing\nit. For it is not a man who makes the offerings become the Body and\nBlood of Christ, but the very Christ for us crucified.[21] Fulfilling\nwhat he represents, the priest stands there, speaking those words; the\npower and grace of them are God\u2019s. _This is My Body_, he says, and this\nword transforms what lies before him;[22] and just as the words,\n_Increase and multiply and fill the earth_, were once spoken and endue\nour nature through all time with fruitfulness, so those other words once\nspoken from that time till to-day and until His coming, make the\nsacrifice over each table in the churches complete. Therefore, let no\nhypocrite approach, no one filled with sin, no one with poison in his\nmind, that he may not receive judgment to himself, for then, too, Judas\nhad partaken of the oblation when the devil leapt into him; not that the\ndevil despised the Lord\u2019s Body, but Judas for his shameful conduct. This\nwas to teach you that the devil continually attacks and assails those\nwho unworthily partake of the divine mysteries, as he did Judas. For\nhonourable things profit the good, but inflict a greater punishment on\nthose who abuse the use of them. I say this not to terrify but to\nfortify you. Let there be no Judas, then; let no one enter in poisoned\nwith evil. For the sacrifice is spiritual food; and just as bodily food,\nwhen received by a stomach which has bad humours, strengthens disease,\nnot from its own nature but because of that stomach\u2019s weakness, so does\nit usually happen with the spiritual mysteries. They, too, when received\nby a soul full of wickedness, wither it up and corrupt it the more, not\nby their own nature, but through the weakness of the participating soul.\nLet no one, therefore, indulge in bad thoughts; let us rather cleanse\nour mind, for we are approaching an immaculate sacrifice; let us make\nour souls holy. This may be done even in one day. How? If you have\nanything against an enemy cast out your anger, cure your wound, give up\nyour enmity, in order that you may receive a healing from that table,\nfor you are approaching a tremendous and all-holy sacrifice. Reverence\nthe reason which prompts this offering. Christ lies slain before you.\nWhy was He slain, and on what account? That He might bring about peace\nbetween the things of heaven and the things of earth; that He might make\nyou the friend of angels, and reconcile you to the God of all; and that,\nwhereas you were a foe and an enemy, He might transform you into His\nfriend. _He_ gave up His own life for those who hated Him. _You_\ncontinue in enmity with your fellow-servant, and how will you be able to\napproach the table of peace? He did not refuse even to die for you. Will\nyou not put away for your own sake your anger against your\nfellow-servant? What excuse has this conduct? \u2018He has treated me badly,\u2019\nyou say, \u2018and has been most grasping.\u2019 What is this? It was a sheer\nmoney loss, but he was far from wounding you as Judas did Our Lord. Yet\n_He_ gave that very blood which poured from Him for the salvation of\nthose who shed it. What have you to put against this? If you do not\nforgive your enemy you have wounded not him but yourself. You have often\ndone him some harm in this life, but you have prepared for yourself a\nrelentless sentence in the enduring day of eternity. For nothing is so\nhateful to God as a revengeful man, an unforgiving heart, and an angered\nmind. Listen to what He says: _When thou offerest thy gift at the altar,\nand as thou standest there, rememberest that thy brother hath anything\nagainst thee, take thy gift from the altar, and going away, be\nreconciled to thy brother, and then offer thy gift_. What? Do you tell\nme that I must forgive? \u2018I do, indeed,\u2019 He says; \u2018this sacrifice was\ninstituted in order that you and your brother should be at peace.\u2019 If,\ntherefore, it was instituted that you might be at peace with your\nbrother, and you do not enjoy peace, it is idle for you to take part in\nthe sacrifice, and it has been instituted in vain as far as you are\nconcerned. Do, then, in the first place, that for which the sacrifice is\noffered, and then you will enjoy its full benefit. The Son of God came\ndown from heaven that He might reconcile our nature to its Lord, and on\nthis account not only did He come, but wished also to make us who should\ndo the same things participators of His Name. _Blessed are the\npeacemakers_, He says, _for they shall be called the sons of God_. That\nwhich the only begotten Son of God did, do you also according to your\nhuman power, by becoming a bond of peace to yourself and to others. This\nis why He calls you who are a peacemaker a son of God; this is why, in\nthe time of sacrifice, He is mindful of no other commandment than that\nof reconciliation with a brother, showing that it is the greatest of\nall. Would that I could go on with the argument, but what I have said is\nsufficient for those who are here present, if they will lay it to heart.\nLet us always be mindful of these words, beloved brethren, and of the\nholy kiss of peace, and of the most sacred embrace which we give to each\nother. For this it is which holds our minds together, and makes us all\none body, since we all partake of one Body. Let us then blend ourselves\ninto one body, not mixing our bodies, but uniting our souls in the bond\nof charity; thus we shall be able to enjoy the table set before us with\nconfidence. For even if we should be righteous a thousand times over,\nand yet have revengeful spirits, all is vanity and deception, and we\nshall be powerless to gain fruits of salvation here. Recognising this,\nlet us put off all anger, and, purifying our conscience, let us with all\nmeekness and humility approach the table of Christ, to Whom, with the\nFather and the Holy Ghost, be all glory, honour, and power, now and for\never! Amen.\n\n\n The Union of the Holy Eucharist.\n (_Homilies on St. Matthew_, lxxxii., vol. ii., p. 468.)\n\n \u00b7 \u00b7 \u00b7 \u00b7 \u00b7 \u00b7 \u00b7\n\nLet us then trust in God under all circumstances, and never gainsay Him,\neven when what He says seems contrary to our reasonings and to our\nsight; but let His word be more powerful than our reasoning and our\nsight. So let us act in regard to the mysteries, not seeing only that\nwhich is before us, but also embracing His words. _His_ word is not to\nbe set aside, whereas our senses are easily deceived. _It_ has never\nfailed, but our senses have erred over and over again. Since, then, the\nword is, _This is My Body_, let us trust and believe in it, and gaze at\nit with our mind\u2019s eyes. For Christ delivered to us nothing that is the\nobject of sense, but objects all of the mind, yet dealing with sensible\nthings. Thus, too, in baptism, the gift is made through an object of\nsense\u2014the water, and that which is accomplished, is an object of mind,\nviz., birth and renewal. For, if you were bodiless, He would have given\nyou bodiless gifts in their nakedness; but, since the soul is\nencompassed by the body, He gives you objects of mind, under the\nappearance of sensible things. How many men say, \u2018I should like to see\nHis form and features, His garments and His shoes? Well, you see Him,\nand touch Him, and eat Him. You desire to see what He wore, and He gives\nyou Himself, not to see only, but to touch, and to eat, and to receive\nwithin you. Therefore, let no man approach with disgust or carelessness,\nbut all with fire, and zeal, and watchfulness. For, if the Jews ate\ntheir Pasch in haste, standing, and holding their sandals and staffs in\ntheir hands, how much more should you be wary. _They_ were about to go\nout to Palestine, and so they had the outward signs of travellers, and\n_you_ are going forth to heaven. Hence we must be ever on the watch, for\nnot a small punishment is reserved to those who eat unworthily. Think\nwhat your anger is against the traitor, and those who crucified Him, and\nsee if you are not yourself guilty of the Body and Blood of Christ. They\nslaughtered the all-holy Body, and you receive it with a foul soul after\nso many loving benefits. He deemed it not sufficient to become man, to\nbe scourged, and put to death, He also blends Himself with us, not by\nfaith only, but in very deed makes us His Body. What, then, should be\nthe purity of him who partakes of this sacrifice? How spotlessly white\nshould not the hand be which divides this Flesh, or the mouth which is\nfilled with spiritual fire, or the tongue which is purpled with that\ntremendous Blood? Consider what honour has been shown to you, and what\nthat feast is which you enjoy. The angels gaze and tremble, and dare not\nlook back again, because of the lightning which flashes from it; and\nthis is what we feed upon, this is blended with us, and we ourselves\nbecome one body and one flesh with Christ. _Who shall declare the powers\nof the Lord? Who shall set forth all His praises?_ Where is the shepherd\nwho feeds his sheep with his own members? And why do I talk of a\nshepherd? There are many mothers who, after the pains of childbirth,\ngive up their children to be nursed by others. This He would not suffer,\nbut He Himself feeds us with His own Blood, and in everything unites us\nto Himself. For consider: He was born of our substance. \u2018Not for all\nmen,\u2019 you say. Yes, for all. For, if He came to our nature, it is\nevident that He came to all, and if He came to all, then He came to each\none of us. And why is it, you ask, that all men have not profited by\nthis gift? This was not the fault of Him Who took that nature for all,\nbut of those who had not the will. He unites Himself to each one of the\nfaithful, through the mysteries, and those whom He brought forth He\nrears through Himself, and gives Himself to no other, persuading you\nagain thereby that it was that very flesh of yours which He took.\nTherefore, let us not grow negligent who have been made worthy of so\ngreat charity and honour. Do you not see how eagerly babies grasp their\nmother\u2019s breast, and how they press their lips upon it. Just so let _us_\napproach this table and the breast of spiritual drink; or rather, with\nmuch more impatience, let us draw near to the kindness of the Spirit, as\nchildren to their mother\u2019s breast, and let us know one only pain, that\nof not participating in this food. That which lies before us is no work\nof human power. He Who did these things at that supper is He Who is now\ndoing them. Our part is to furnish the ranks of servers. He Who\nsanctifies and prepares these gifts is Himself. Therefore let there be\nno Judas, no money-lover. If a man be not a disciple, let him withdraw:\nthis table is not prepared for such as he. _I will eat the Pasch_, He\nsays, _with My disciples_. This is that same table, and it offers no\nless. It was not that Christ instituted the one and a man the other, but\nHe instituted both one and the other. This is that upper chamber in\nwhich they were assembled; thence they went forth into the Garden of\nOlives. Let us also go forth to minister to the poor, for this is our\nmountain of olives. The multitude of the poor, who are planted in God\u2019s\nhouse, are olives, dropping upon us the oil that is to be useful to us,\nwhich the five virgins had, and the five who did not take it perished\nfor want of it. Possessing it, let us go in, that we may all meet the\nBridegroom, with bright lamps: with it, let us go forth from this world.\n\n\n Bone of our Bone, Flesh of our Flesh.\n (_Homilies on First Epistle to Corinthians_, xxiv., vol. ii., pp. 287,\n 295.)\n\n \u00b7 \u00b7 \u00b7 \u00b7 \u00b7 \u00b7 \u00b7\n\n_The chalice of benediction which we bless, is it not the communion of\nthe Blood of Christ?_ What do you say, blessed Paul? Wishing to engage\nyour hearers\u2019 attention and commemorating the tremendous mysteries, do\nyou call that awful and most tremendous chalice a chalice of\nbenediction? \u2018Yes,\u2019 he says, \u2018since what I have said is no slight thing.\nFor when I speak of benediction I speak of the Eucharist, and when I\nspeak of the Eucharist I unfold all the treasure of God\u2019s munificence\nand commemorate His greatest gifts.\u2019 And we, recounting over the chalice\nthe unspeakable benefits of God and what mercies we have enjoyed, thus\nworship Him and hold communion with Him, giving thanks that He has freed\nthe human race from error, that whereas we were far off from Him He drew\nus near, that when we were without hope and without God in the world He\nmade us His brethren and co-heirs. Thus, in thanking Him for these and\nall His gifts, we approach Him. How, then, O Corinthians, are you not\ndoing the opposite to this when praising God for turning you away from\nidols you hasten back to their tables? _Is not the chalice of\nbenediction which we bless the communion of the Blood of Christ?_ He\nspoke these words with an awful assurance. For this is what he says:\nthat which is in the chalice is what flowed from His side, and of that\nwe partake. But He called it a chalice of thanksgiving, since we,\nholding it in our hands, thus praise Him, wondering and being\noverwhelmed with this ineffable gift, magnifying Him for pouring out\nthis very Blood of His that we might not remain in error, and not only\nthat He poured it out, but that He has given to each one of us to\npartake of it. So, He says, if you desire blood, do not dye the altar of\nidols with the slaughter of unreasoning animals, but dye My altar with\n_My_ Blood.[23] Tell me what is more tremendous, what is tenderer than\nthis? For this is what lovers do: when they see the loved ones longing\nfor what others have and despising what they themselves have, they give\ntheir own gifts, and so induce the beloved to turn away from the things\nof others. But lovers show this affection of theirs by money, and\nclothes, and chattels, no one of them ever by his blood; yet Christ gave\nus even this proof of His solicitude and His burning love for us. Thus,\nin the old Law, as men were in an imperfect state and offered blood to\nidols, it remained for Him to receive this (the chalice of the Pasch)\nthat He might turn them away from idols, which, again, was an ineffable\ntenderness. But here He led them up to a far more awful and magnificent\nworship of God, and changed the sacrifice itself, and instead of the\nslaughtering of unreasoning animals, He commanded them to offer up\nHimself. _Is not the bread which we break the communion of the Body of\nChrist?_ Why did he not say a participation? Because he wished to set\nforth something more and to show the closeness of that union. For we\ncommunicate not only by receiving and participating, but by being made\none with Him. For just as that body is united to Christ, so are we made\none with Him through this bread. Why did he add, _which we break_? This\nis seen to take place in the case of the Eucharist, though not at the\nCross, but the contrary. _Not a bone of Him shall be broken_, the\nScripture says. That which He did not suffer on the cross He suffers in\nthe Eucharist for your sake, and He endures being broken that He may\nfill all.\n\nThen after saying _the communion of the body_\u2014for that which\ncommunicates is something distinct from the thing communicated\u2014he\nremoved even this seemingly slight difference. For in the words\n_communion of the body_ he sought to say something closer, and therefore\nadded, _That we, being many, are one bread and one body_. \u2018Why do I\nspeak of communion?\u2019 he says; \u2018we are that very Body itself. For what is\nthe bread? The Body of Christ. What do partakers of it become? The Body\nof Christ: not many bodies, but one body.\u2019 Just as bread is composed of\nmany grains of wheat which are nowhere apparent in it, but still there,\npresenting no difference by reason of the kneading, so are we joined\ntogether with each other and with Christ. You are not nourished by one\nbody and another man by another, but all by the same; therefore he\nadded, \u2018We are all participators of the same bread\u2019. But if we _are_ of\nthe same, and become the same, why do we not all show forth the same\ncharity and become one in this respect also? For this was so formerly in\nour progenitors. _There was one heart and one mind in the gathering of\nthe faithful._ This is not the case now, but very much the reverse.\nDissensions are many and various and well-nigh everywhere, and we show\nourselves fiercer than wild beasts towards our members. Christ united\nyou to Himself when you were so distant, and you will not deign to be\nunited with your brother as you ought to be, but thrust yourself away\nfrom him, whilst enjoying so great a love and life from your Master. It\nwas not for no purpose that He gave His Body, but as the first human\nnature, which was made from the earth, became by sin subject to death\nand to be deprived of life, He introduced, as we might say, another\nbread and leaven\u2014His own Flesh\u2014in nature, indeed the same, but free from\nsin and full of life; and He gave to all men to eat of it, that,\nnourished by it and putting off the old dead nature, we may at this\ntable be blended with the living and immortal nature.\n\n \u00b7 \u00b7 \u00b7 \u00b7 \u00b7 \u00b7 \u00b7\n\nThis Body He gave to us to take and eat, which was an act of exceeding\nlove.[24] For it often happens that we bite those whom we love. Thus,\nwhen Job pointed out the affection of his household for himself, he\nquoted those who loved him specially as often saying, _Who will give us\nto be filled with his flesh?_ So it is that Christ has given us to be\nfilled with His Flesh, drawing us to greater love. Let us, therefore,\napproach Him with fervour and burning love, that we may not encounter\nthe harder chastisement. For the more we are benefitted, the greater\nwill be our punishment whenever we show ourselves unworthy of His\ngenerosity. This Body, even lying in the manger, the Magi reverenced:\nuntutored and uncivilised men, leaving their country and their home,\nundertook a long journey, they came and adored, full of awe and fear.\nLet us, citizens of heaven, emulate even uncivilised men, if necessary.\n_They_, seeing Him in a manger, and in a hut, and not seeing Him as you\nsee Him, approached Him with deep reverence: you see Him not in the\ncrib, but on the altar: you see Him not held by a woman, but the priest\nstanding there, and the Spirit hovering with abundant blessings over\nwhat is lying there. Nor do you merely see this Body as they did: _you_\nknow His power and all the economy of His providence, nor are you\nignorant of anything accomplished through Him, initiated as you are into\nall His mysteries. Let us therefore rouse ourselves, and tremble, and\nshow forth so much the greater reverence than those men from afar, in\norder that we may not approach Him heedlessly or casually, and so heap\ncoals of fire upon our heads. This I say, not that we may not approach\nHim, but that we may not approach Him carelessly. For just as going to\nHim in a chance way is a danger, so the non-participation in that\nmystical Banquet is hunger and death. This Feast is the sinew of our\nsoul, the bond of intellect, the basis of fortitude; it is hope,\nsalvation, light, life. With this sacrifice, at our departure from this\nworld to the next, we shall pass through those sacred portals in great\nfearlessness, as if encompassed with an armour of gold. And why do I\nspeak of the future? Even here this mystery makes the earth a heaven for\nyou. At least unfold the gates of heaven and look through them, or\nrather not only the gates of heaven, but of the heaven of heavens, and\nthen you will see what I say. For that which is the most precious of all\nthings there, is what I will show you lying on earth. Just as in royal\npalaces it is not the walls which strike men with the most awe, nor the\ngolden ceilings, but the person of the king sitting on his throne, so in\nheaven is it the King\u2019s Body. Yet this is what you may now see on earth.\nI am showing you not angels, nor archangels, nor the heavens, nor the\nheaven of heavens, but the Lord of all these Himself. Do you understand\nhow it is that you see the most precious thing of all upon earth? And\nnot only do you see it, but you also touch it? And not only touch it,\nbut you eat it, and, receiving it, you take it away with you? Cleanse,\ntherefore, your soul; prepare your mind for the reception of these\nmysteries. If, now, you were judged worthy to carry a royal child in\nstate, with his kingly robes and his diadem, you would give up\neverything on earth for it. And, here, receiving not a royal child of\nman, but the very only begotten Son of God, tell me, do you not tremble,\nand renounce the love of all earthly things, and adorn yourself only for\nthat world to come, or have you still your eyes fixed on the earth, do\nyou still love money, and anxiously crave for gold? What pardon could\nyou look for, or what excuse would you have? Know you not how Our Lord\nturns His back upon all worldly luxury? Was not this His reason for\nbeing born and laid in a manger, and for choosing a mother who was poor?\nWas it not for this that He said to the man who looked to worldly\ntraffic: _The Son of man has not whereon to lay His head_? And what of\nHis disciples? Did not they carry out the same law, lodging at the\nhouses of the poor, one going to a tanner\u2019s, another to a tent-maker\u2019s,\nanother to the woman selling purple? They did not seek for illustrious\nhouses, but for upright minds. Let us then emulate their example;\nlooking beyond the beauty of pillars and marbles, seeking only for the\nmansions above, let us trample under foot all vanities here below,\ntogether with the lust for money, and take up a lofty mind. For if we be\nsober and watchful, the world itself will not be worthy of us, much less\nthe Stoic portico or the Peripatetic walk. Therefore, I repeat, let us\nadorn our souls, let us prepare this dwelling-place, which we shall take\nwith us when we depart, so that we may possess the eternal tents through\nthe grace and love of Our Lord Jesus Christ, to Whom be glory for ever\nand ever. Amen.\n\n\n Remembrance of the Dead.\n (_Homilies on Epistle to the Philippians_, iv., vol. v., p. 36.)\n\n \u00b7 \u00b7 \u00b7 \u00b7 \u00b7 \u00b7 \u00b7\n\nLet us, then, not simply grieve for the dead, nor simply rejoice in the\nliving. Then what shall we do? Let us grieve for sinners not when dead\nalone, but when living also; and let us be glad over the just not in\ntheir lifetime only, but when they have departed hence. Sinners even\nliving are dead, whilst the just, who are dead, live: sinners are an\nobject of pity to all men even here because they have quarrelled with\nGod, so are the just blessed in that place, since they have gone to\nChrist. Sinners, wherever they are, are far from the King, and therefore\ndeserve tears, but the just, whether here or there, are with the King;\n_there_ they are more with Him and nearer to Him, not by their going in,\nnor by faith, but face to face. Let us, then, not weep simply for the\ndead but for those in sin: these call for tears, for lamentation and\nweeping. For, tell me, what hope is there of those who depart in sins to\nthat place where sins are not put off? As long as they were here, the\nprobability was great that they might be converted and become better.\nBut if they go to the other world, there is nothing to be gained from\ncontrition. _In hell_, he says, _who shall give praise to Thee_? Let us\nweep for those who thus depart. I do not forbid it, only not in an\nunseemly fashion, not plucking out our hair, nor baring our arms, nor\ntearing our face, nor wearing black, but only in shedding a bitter tear\naccording to the spirit in secret. Without these accompaniments we may\nweep bitterly, and not be contented with a show, for what some people\nhave done differs in nothing from a show. For instance, those who beat\nthemselves at the market-place do it not from sympathy, but for display\nand for self-seeking and vainglory, and many women so treat themselves\nas a business speculation. Weep bitterly, groan at home when no one is\nlooking: this is sympathy, and this will be helpful to you also. For, in\ngrieving for another, you will be all the more zealous never to fall in\nthe same way, and you will tremble at sin ever afterwards. Weep for\nunbelievers, for those who are not different from unbelievers, who\ndepart hence without baptism, without being signed with the seal: these\nshould have tears and wailings, they are outside the royal palace with\nthose awaiting judgment and with the condemned. _Amen, I say to you,\nunless a man be born of water and the Spirit, he shall not enter into\nthe kingdom of heaven._ Weep for those who have died in riches, and have\ndevised no comfort for their own souls out of their wealth, who have\nreceived power to wash away their sins, and have not willed to do it.\nWeep all of you for these both in secret and in public, but with decorum\nand reverence, not making a show of yourselves. Let us shed tears over\nthese not for one day, nor two, but during our whole life. This is no\nfoolish weeping, but the weeping of affection; the other is senseless,\nand therefore it soon spends itself. Grief which is born of the fear of\nGod endures for ever. Let us weep for these and help them as much as we\ncan. Let us devise some succour for them; it may be a slight thing, but\nlet us somehow do it. How and in what manner? By praying and inviting\nothers to pray for them, by constantly giving alms to the poor for them.\nThis deed has its consolation. Listen to God\u2019s words: _I will protect\nthis city for Myself and for David, My servant_. If the mere remembrance\nof a just man could do so much, what will works done for him not be able\nto accomplish? Not in vain was it ordained by the Apostles that the dead\nshould be commemorated at the tremendous mysteries: they knew what a\ngreat gain and benefit it would be to the dead. For when a whole people\nstands with uplifted hands in full and sacred assembly, and the awful\nsacrifice is lying before us, how shall we not reach God in our prayer\nfor them? But this applies to those who have died in the faith. With\nregard to catechumens they are not deemed worthy of this consolation;\nthey lack all such succour, save in one particular. What is this? We may\ngive alms for them to the poor, and the action brings them a certain\nrefreshment, because God wills us to be of use to each other. For why\ndid He command us to pray for the peace and well-being of the world, or,\nagain, for all men? Although there are thieves, and tomb-despoilers, and\nplunderers, and men full of every sort of evil amongst the whole number,\nyet we still pray for them all. Perhaps there may be a conversion of\nsome. Now, as we pray for the living who do not differ from the dead, so\nwe may pray for the departed. Job offered sacrifices for his children,\nand freed them from their sins. _Lest perhaps_, he said, _they have\nsinned in their hearts_. Thus is a man provident for his children. He\ndid not say, as the multitude of men _do_ say, \u2018I will leave them\npossessions,\u2019 nor a fine name, nor, \u2018I will buy an office,\u2019 nor fields,\nbut what, _Lest perhaps they have sinned in their hearts_. For what is\nthe profit of those things? None, of things that remain here below. _I\nwill make_, he says, _the King of all propitious to them: and then\nnothing is wanting to them_. _The Lord is my Shepherd, and I shall lack\nfor nothing._ Here are great riches, here are treasures. If we have the\nfear of God we want nothing, but without it, even if we have a kingdom,\nwe are the poorest of men. A God-fearing man has no equal. The fear of\nthe Lord exceeds all things. This let us possess, and let us do all\nthings unto this end: even if we have to give up our life, or our body\nto be cut in pieces, let us not fear: let us do all our actions in order\nto gain this fear. Thus shall we become richer than all, and arrive at\nthe goods to come in Christ Jesus Our Lord, to Whom, with the Father and\nthe Holy Spirit, be honour, power, and glory, now and for ever. Amen.\n\n\n The Departed at the Sacred Mysteries.\n (_Homilies on First Epistle to Corinthians_, xli., vol. ii., p. 524.)\n\n \u00b7 \u00b7 \u00b7 \u00b7 \u00b7 \u00b7 \u00b7\n\nSince, then, we are to enjoy goods so great, let us join ourselves to\nthat company which is as bright as the sun, and let us not weep for\nthose who depart hence, but for those who make a bad end. For, as the\nhusbandman does not grieve over his seed dissolved, but is in fear and\nanxiety as long as it remains solid, so he rejoices when he sees that it\n_is_ dissolved. For dissolution is the beginning of the future\ngenerating. So let us also rejoice when the corruptible habitation\nperishes, and man is generated. And wonder not if Paul called the\nburying a generating, for this is the better generating of the two.\nDeath, labours, dangers, cares, succeed the one; whilst for the other,\nif we have lived righteously, we receive crowns and rewards: corruption\nand death succeed the one; incorruption, immortality, and a thousand\ngoods succeed the other. In the one generating there is embracing,\npleasure, sleep; in the other there is only the voice coming down from\nheaven, and all things accomplished in the twinkling of an eye. And he\nwho rises is no more driven to a laborious life, but he will be where\npain and sorrow and lamentation have fled away. If, however, you are\nseeking for a protector, and weep over the man on this account, fly for\nrefuge to God, the common Protector, and Saviour, and Benefactor of all:\nto the almighty Friend, to the never-failing Succour, to the lasting\nShelter, Who is everywhere and always holding us up. \u2018But,\u2019 you say,\n\u2018the intercourse was pleasant and fascinating.\u2019 I know it was. Still, if\nyou meet your suffering with your reason, and consider in yourself who\nit is that has taken him, and that if you bear it bravely, you offer up\nyour wish as a sacrifice to God, you will be borne aloft even over this\nwave, and Christian principle will effect what the action of time does;\nbut if you are pusillanimous, time will weaken your passion without\nbringing you a reward. Together with these recollections, ponder on the\nexamples offered both in this present life and in Holy Scripture.\nConsider how Abraham slaughtered his own son, neither shedding tears nor\nuttering a bitter word. \u2018But _he_ was Abraham,\u2019 you say. Yet you are\ncalled to greater conflicts. Job, indeed, showed sorrow as a loving\nfather would who mourns over those departing from him. Now _we_ show the\ngrief of foes and enemies. For if a man were summoned to a palace and\ncrowned, and you were to beat your breast and be in sorrow at it, I\nshould say you were not a friend to the man crowned, but a determined\nadversary and hater. \u2018I am not weeping for him,\u2019 you say, \u2018but for\nmyself.\u2019 Neither is this the part of a lover\u2014the wishing him to be still\nin conflict on your account, to be left in uncertainty as to the future,\ninstead of being crowned, or to be tossing on the sea when he might be\nresting in harbour. \u2018But,\u2019 you say, \u2018I know not where he has gone.\u2019 How\nis it that you do not know? This will be evident from the fact of his\nhaving lived righteously or the reverse. \u2018And as he departed in sin,\nthis is the very reason why I am tormented.\u2019 What you say is a mere\npretext. If this is why you mourn over a dead man, you should have taken\npains with the living one and set him right. You are throughout thinking\nof your own interests, not of his. If, indeed, he departed hence in sin,\nyou should rejoice that his sins were stopped and that he did not\ncontinue in evil, and you should help him by those means which are in\nyour power: not by tears, but by prayers, and supplications, and\nalms-giving, and offerings. It is not by chance that these things have\nbeen ordered, nor is it due to haphazard that we commemorate the dead at\nthe sacred mysteries, and that we succour them by supplication to the\nLamb, Who is lying there, Who takes away the sins of the world, but that\nthey may derive hence some consolation. Nor is it without reason that he\nwho is standing by the altar, as the sacred mysteries are performed,\nutters this cry: for all those who have fallen asleep in Christ, and for\nthose who make commemoration in their behalf. For if commemoration were\nnot made for them, this would not be said. Our mysteries are no\ntheatrical display. God forbid! These things take place by the\ndisposition of the Spirit. Therefore, let us help them, and make\ncommemoration in their behalf. For if Job\u2019s sacrifice purified his\nchildren, why do you doubt that the departed receive comfort when we too\noffer sacrifice for them? God is wont to give graces to some on behalf\nof others. And this Paul also showed, saying _that for this gift\nobtained for us, by the means of many persons, thanks may be given by\nmany in our behalf_. Let us not weary of helping the departed, both by\noffering sacrifice and claiming intercession for them. For the sacrifice\nwhich saves the whole world is before us. Therefore we pray confidently\nat it for what concerns the world, and we name them with martyrs, and\nconfessors, and pontiffs. For we are all one body, even if certain\nmembers be more resplendent than others; and everywhere we may be\ngaining forgiveness for them, by prayers, by offerings made for them, by\nthose who are named with them. Why, then, do you grieve and weep, when\nyou are able to apply so great a forgiveness to him who has departed? Is\nit because you have become lonely, and have lost your protector? But you\nought never to say this, because you have not lost God. As long as you\npossess Him, He will be more to you than any man, be he father, child,\nor near relation; for even when these were living, it was He in reality\nWho did everything.\n\n\n The Tombs of the Martyrs.\n (_Homily on the Martyrs, Benedictine Edition_, t. ii., p. 667.)\n\nThe feasts of the martyrs are not according to the course of days only,\nbut they are reckoned also by the disposition of those who celebrate\nthem. For instance, have you imitated a martyr, have you emulated his\ngoodness, have you pressed on in the footsteps of his ascetic life?\nThen, though it is not a martyr\u2019s day, you have celebrated a martyr\u2019s\nfeast. For to honour a martyr is to imitate him. Just as evil-doers are\nfeastless in the midst of feasts, so the righteous, even if there be no\nsolemnity, have carried out one. The feast is characterised by purity of\nconscience. This Paul expressed clearly: _Therefore, let us keep the\nfeast not in the old leaven of evil and wickedness, but in the\nunleavened bread of purity and truth_. There is, then, unleavened bread\namongst the Jews, and so there is amongst us; but with them it consists\nof wheaten flour, with us in a pure life and in remaining spotless.\nThus, he who wards off every stain keeps a feast every day, is ever\ncelebrating a solemnity not only on the feast of the martyr or at his\nshrine, but also sitting at home. Every man can keep the martyr\u2019s feast\nby himself. In saying this I do not mean that we should _not_ go to the\ntombs of the martyrs. I mean that, being there, we should frequent these\nplaces with befitting devotion, not only on their days, but that we\nshould show the same piety out of their days. Who would not revere this\ngathering of ours to-day, this splendid sight, the fervent charity and\nglowing spirit, the boundless love, which are here manifested? Nearly\nall the city has been eager to come; fear of his master has not withheld\nthe servant; no straits of poverty, no feebleness of age, have kept the\npoor or the old away; no tenderness of sex in women, no extreme of\nluxury has hindered the rich, no folly of power the ruler. But a longing\nfor the martyrs vanquishing all such disparity, both the weakness of\nnature and the stress of poverty hold together by one bond the vast\nmultitude gathered here, who are moved by the wings of this desire to\nlive the life of the heavenly citizens. For, treading under foot all\nallurements to excess and wickedness, you are consumed with longing for\nthe martyrs. As with the dawn of day wild animals flee away and take\nshelter in their own holes, so when the light of the martyrs bursts upon\nour minds all diseases are put to flight and the bright flame of\nmortification is enkindled. And let us keep this fire alive not now\nonly, but always, when this spiritual spectacle has been broken up; let\nus retire to our own homes with the same fervour, not giving ourselves\nup to taverns, or dissoluteness, or drunkenness, or feastings. You have\nmade night into day through these sacred vigils: do not again make day\ninto night through inebriation, and gluttony, and meretricious songs.\nYou have honoured the martyrs by your presence, your attention, and your\nfervour: honour them by going modestly home, lest anyone seeing you\ntaking your ease in a low place should say that you came not on account\nof the martyrs, but to increase your passion and to incite your bad\ndesires. This I say, prohibiting not feasting but sin, prohibiting not\nwine but drunkenness. It is not the wine which is evil, it is\nintemperance. Wine is the gift of God, intemperance is the devil\u2019s\ninvention.... Intemperance is ever an evil, beloved brethren, and most\nof all on the feast day of the martyrs. Together with the sin, it is a\nmost open contempt and folly and putting aside of the divine words;\nhence the chastisement would be double. If, therefore, you have come to\nthe martyrs and mean afterwards to drink, you had better remain at home\nand not shame nor insult the martyrs\u2019 feast, nor scandalise your\nneighbour, nor distort your understanding, nor add to your sins. You\ncame to look upon men who were racked with torments, covered with blood,\nand adorned with wounds, who gave up this present life and took their\nflight to the life above. Show yourself worthy of those wrestlers.\n_They_ despised life, do _you_ despise luxury; they renounced their life\nin this world, do you renounce the craving for drink. Do you wish for\nfeasting? Remain by the martyr\u2019s tomb, weep there a fountain of tears,\ngrieve in your mind, take a blessing from that tomb. Let it assist you\nin your prayers; make the account of his fight your constant reading;\nembrace the coffin; nail yourself to the shrine. Not only the bones of\nthe martyrs, but their tombs also and their coffins, produce an abundant\nblessing. Take holy oil and sign your whole body with it, your tongue,\nyour lips, your throat and eyes, and you will avoid the abyss of\ndrunkenness.\n\n \u00b7 \u00b7 \u00b7 \u00b7 \u00b7 \u00b7 \u00b7\n\n\n The Bodies of the Martyrs.\n (_Homily on the Martyrs, Benedictine Edition_, t. ii., p. 650.)\n\n \u00b7 \u00b7 \u00b7 \u00b7 \u00b7 \u00b7 \u00b7\n\nYesterday was the martyrs\u2019 feast, and so is to-day. Would that we could\nbe always keeping the feast of the martyrs! For if those who are mad\nafter theatres, and who gape open-mouthed at horses racing, cannot have\nenough of those foolish spectacles, how much more should we be\ninsatiable for the feasts of the saints. In the one place there is a\ndiabolical pomp, in the other a Christian feast: in the one place devils\nare revelling, in the other angelic choirs are singing: in the one place\nsouls are lost, in the other there is salvation for all who are gathered\ntogether. Do not theatres offer any pleasure at all? If they do, not\nsuch as the other. What pleasure, indeed, is there in seeing horses\nrunning senselessly to and fro? In the other case, you see, not brute\nanimals yoked together, but countless chariots of martyrs, and God as\ncharioteer in the midst of them, leading the way to heaven. Listen to\nthe prophet saying that the souls of the saints are God\u2019s chariot:\n_God\u2019s chariots are ten thousand fold, and thousands those who rejoice_.\nThat which He has made a gift to the powers above, He has granted to our\nnature also. He sits upon the cherubim, as the psalm says: _He ascended\nupon the cherubim, and He flew_; and again: _He who sitteth upon the\ncherubim and looketh into the abysses_. This He has given to us also. He\nsits on them, He dwells in us. _I will abide in you and will walk in\nyou_, He says. They have become His chariot, let us become His temple.\nSee you how these honours are akin? See you how He has reconciled the\nthings above and the things below? Therefore, if we choose, we are in\nnothing removed from the angels! As I began by saying, yesterday was the\nmartyrs\u2019 feast, and to-day is the martyrs\u2019 feast: not the martyrs who\nare amongst us here, but those who are in the country, or rather, they\nalso are with us. Town and country, in the business of this life, are\ndistinct from each other, but as far as piety is concerned, they meet on\nthe same ground. Tell me not, then, that they have the tongue of\nbarbarians: look rather at their mortified minds. How does unity of\nlanguage serve me where the spirit is not one? How does a different\nspeech hurt me where there is harmony in the things of faith? According\nto this reasoning, the country is in no sort of way worse off than the\ntown: they enjoy equality of privileges in the head and chief of good\nthings. So it was that Our Lord Jesus Christ did not confine Himself to\ncities, and leave country places empty and deserted, but He went about\nthrough cities and villages, preaching the Gospel, and curing every\nsickness and disease.... This is why God sowed martyrs not in cities\nalone, but in the country too, so that we may use their feasts as a\nnecessary opportunity of meeting each other, and oftener in the country\nthan in the city. For God gave the greater honour to the inferior, as\nthis member is weaker, and therefore enjoyed more attention. Dwellers in\ntowns always have the benefit of teaching at their command, but not so\nthose who live in remote places. God, therefore, comforting the poverty\nof the teachers in the fruitfulness of the martyrs, has ordained that\nthe greater number should be buried in the country. They have not always\nthe voice of teachers, but the voice of the martyr speaking to them from\nhis tomb, and with more force. And that you may know that the martyrs\nspeak more powerfully in their silence than we by our voice, it has\noften happened that many have discoursed to multitudes concerning\ngoodness, and have effected nothing; whilst others, who said no word,\nhave done wonders through the shining example of their life. Much more\nhave the martyrs effected this, not raising the voice of their body, but\nthe voice of their deeds, which is far louder than the voice of the\nmouth. Through this voice they speak to everyone of the human race in\nthese words: \u2018Look at us, and see what evils we have endured. What have\nwe suffered in being condemned to death, and finding eternal life? We\nhave been made worthy to lay down our bodies for Christ. If we had not\noffered them up then for Christ, in a little while we should have been\nobliged to put off this temporary life of theirs in spite of\nourselves.[25] If martyrdom had not come upon us, the common death of\nnature would have dissolved our bodies. On this account we give thanks\nto God without ceasing for making us worthy to use inevitable death for\nthe salvation of our souls, and for receiving as a gift from us, and\nwith the greatest honour, that which was a matter of necessity. Are the\ntorments oppressive and painful? If they are, they pass away in a moment\nof time, whilst the refreshment lasts during eternal ages. Nor are the\ntorments painful even for one moment to those who have their eyes on\nwhat is to come, and who gaze intently upon the Judge. Because blessed\nStephen saw Christ with the eyes of faith, he was not conscious of the\nvolley of stones, but instead of the stones he was counting the rewards\nand crowns. So do you rise above present things to the contemplation of\nthe future, and you will be insensible to even a brief consciousness of\npain. This and much more is what the martyrs say, and they are far more\npersuasive than we are. For if I tell you that torment is not torment,\nmy words are not to be trusted, for there is no difficulty about talking\nwisely. But the martyr, who speaks by his deeds, cannot be gainsaid.\nAnd, as with ordinary baths, when they are bubbling over with hot water,\nno one has the courage to jump in, as long as those who are sitting by\nthe bath invite each other to enter by word only, they induce nobody to\ntry. But as soon as one of them puts in either his hand or his foot,\nand, encouraged by the attempt, plunges in his whole body, by his\nsilence he persuades those outside, more than the others by all they\nsay, to try the bath; and so it is with the martyrs. In their case we\nhave the stake instead of the bath. Those outside, by all their talk, do\nnot carry much weight; yet, if a single martyr plunge in, not his foot\nnor his hand alone, but his whole body, he offers by his action\nsomething more forcible than any advice or preaching, and he stops the\nanxiety of those standing round. See you how the voice of the martyr is\nmore powerful even in its silence? This is why God has left us their\nbodies. This is why, victorious of old, they have not yet risen.\nCombats, indeed, they endured not long ago, but they have not yet\nenjoyed the resurrection, and this for your greater benefit, that you,\npondering that fight of theirs, may be incited to carry out your own\nrace. They do not suffer in the least from the delay, whilst _your_\nprofit is immense. After these things they will receive their reward,\neven if they do not now. If God were to take them away from us at this\npresent time, He would cut off much strength and consolation; because\ntrue strength and consolation come to all men from the tombs of the\nsaints, and you are witnesses of what I say. For often when we have used\nthreats, kindness, tears, and exhortations, you were not moved to\nfervour in prayer, but going to the shrine, without any sermon, and\nmerely seeing the tombs of the saints, you shed a fountain of tears, and\nwarmed to your prayer although the martyr is lying there voiceless in a\ndeep silence. Whence, then, comes the good to the conscience, which\nopens, as it were, the floodgates of tears? It is the sight of the\nmartyr and the remembrance of all his good deeds. Just as when the poor\nsee other men who are rich and in high offices attended by body-guards,\nand enjoying great honour from the king, learn to feel their poverty\nmore keenly in the prosperity of others, so is it with us when we call\nto mind the fortitude which the martyrs showed towards God, the King of\nall their shining example and their glory, and remember our own sins.\nTheir abundance makes our grief and sorrow at our poverty more poignant,\nand this consciousness shows us how far we are left behind them: hence\ncome our tears. Again, God left us their bodies, so that whenever the\npressure of earthly business and cares should shroud our minds in\ndarkness,\u2014for private and public affairs are full of this,\u2014we should\nleave our house, go out of the city, bid farewell to these harassing\nthoughts, and seek out the shrine. We may enjoy the spiritual atmosphere\nthere, forget our business, feed on peace, have the companionship of the\nsaints, pray to Him Who is their judge for our own salvation, pour forth\nmany supplications, and through all these means, lightening our\nconscience, may return home in much sweetness of spirit. The biers of\nthe martyrs are nothing else than secure harbours, the sources of\nspiritual streams, inexhaustible treasures of wealth which are never\nconsumed. And just as harbours receive vessels which have been much\ntossed by the waves, and place them in safety, so the biers of the\nmartyrs receiving these spirits of ours, which are absorbed by the cares\nof life, establish them in great peace and security. Just as streams of\ncold water revive failing and scorched bodies, so do those\nresting-places calm souls which are burnt up with foul passions. The\nmere sight of them quenches evil cupidity, and wasting envy, and burning\ndesires, and any other trouble of the same kind, and they are superior\nto treasures of great wealth. For treasures of money present many\ndangers to those who find them, and when divided into many parts become\nless in the distribution. Here there is nothing of this sort, for the\nattainment is without dangers. Contrary to what happens in material\ntreasures, this division does not diminish _this_ treasure. The former,\nas I said, are lessened by being divided. Now, when these are\ndistributed amongst many, then it is that they most of all show what\ntheir riches are. For such is the nature of spiritual things that they\nare increased by distribution, and become greater by division. Meadows\nwith their sight of roses and violets are not so delightful as the tombs\nof the martyrs which offer to souls who gaze upon them an indestructible\nand undying delight.\n\n \u00b7 \u00b7 \u00b7 \u00b7 \u00b7 \u00b7 \u00b7\n\n\n The Tombs of the Servants.\n (\u039f\u1f31 \u03c4\u03ac\u03c6\u03bf\u03b9 \u03c4\u1ff6\u03bd \u03b4\u03bf\u1f7a\u03bb\u03c9\u03bd.)\n(_Homilies on Second Epistle to Corinthians_, xxvi., vol. iii., p. 273.)\n\n \u00b7 \u00b7 \u00b7 \u00b7 \u00b7 \u00b7 \u00b7\n\nThus God has led all the saints through tribulation and distress,\nhelping them on the one hand whilst securing the rest against conceiving\nan unduly high opinion of their merits. Thus it was in the beginning\nthat idolatries prevailed by the excessive admiration lavished upon men,\nand in this way the Roman Senate decreed Alexander to be the thirteenth\ngod. For it had this authority of electing and making gods. When the\nwhole work of Christ became known the provincial ruler sent to enquire\nwhether they thought He too should be a god. They would not agree to\nthat, and were impatient and angry that the power of the Crucified,\nbursting forth before their vote and decree, had attracted the whole\nworld to its own majesty. This was ordained even against their will, so\nthat the divinity of Christ might not be preached by vote of man, and\nthat He should not be looked upon as one of the many decreed by them to\nbe divine. For they made pugilists gods, and the creatures of Hadrian\u2019s\ninfamous lust, whence, too, the city of Antinoos derives its name. For,\nsince death bears witness against mortal nature, the devil lighted upon\nanother way\u2014the immortality of the soul, to which he joined gross\nflattery, and led many into impiety. What malice! Whenever _we_ bring\nforward this argument in its proper place, he destroys it; but when he\nwishes to make an injurious use of it himself, he sets it up most\nzealously. If anyone should ask, \u2018How is Alexander a god? Did he not die\nand die miserably?\u2019 He answers, \u2018But his spirit is immortal\u2019. Then you\nthink over in your mind the argument for immortality, and play the\nphilosopher in order that you may turn men away from the God of all; but\nwhen _we_ say that this is the greatest gift of God, you persuade those\nwhom you cheat that we are low-minded and cringing, and nothing better\nthan unreasoning animals. And if we were to say that the Crucified\nlives, they would indulge in great laughter at us, although the whole\nuniverse is crying out that He does live, and did cry out of old, then\nby signs, now by converts, for these successes do not belong to a dead\nman; but if some one declares that Alexander lives, you believe him,\nalthough he has no wonder whatever to bring forward in proof of it.\n\u2018Yes, he has,\u2019 you reply; \u2018in his lifetime Alexander did many and great\ndeeds, for he subdued peoples and cities, and made many victorious wars,\nand set up trophies.\u2019 Now, if I am able to show you things which neither\nAlexander nor any other man of his day contemplated in his lifetime,\nwhat further proof of the resurrection do you require? That a living\nman, being a king, and having an army, should carry out wars and\nvictories is neither astonishing nor wonderful; but to do things so\ngreat after crucifixion and the tomb, to do them over land and sea, this\nis truly awe-inspiring, and proclaims divine and infinite power. After\nhis death Alexander did not hinder his empire from dissolution, and when\nit had disappeared did not bring it back again. How should a dead man do\nthis? Now, Christ set up His kingdom in dying. And why do I speak of\nChrist, since He gave to His disciples also to become famous after\ndeath? Tell me, where is Alexander\u2019s tomb? Show it to me and say what\nday he died. But the tombs of Christ\u2019s servants are famous; they have\ntaken possession of the most royal city, and their days are solemnly\nkept as a feast for the world. Whilst the one is unknown amongst his own\ncountrymen, even barbarians are familiar with the other. And the tombs\nof the servants of the Crucified are more splendid than the courts of\nkings, not in the greatness and beauty of the monument, though in this,\ntoo, they are remarkable, but, what is far more, through the devotion of\nthose who frequent them. And he who is clothed in the royal purple\nleaves his throne to embrace those tombs, and, putting off the garb of\nvanity, stands as a suppliant of the saints in order to make them his\nintercessors with God, and the crowned king has need of a dead\ntent-maker and a fisherman as patrons. I ask you, would you dare to call\nthe Lord of these a dead man, Whose servants, though no longer here, are\nthe protectors of the kings of the earth? And you may see this happening\nnot in Rome alone, but also in Constantinople. For here, too, the son\nthought his father, Constantine the Great, most highly honoured if he\nmight be buried in the vestibule of the Fisherman. What door-keepers in\npalaces are to kings, this kings are at the tombs of fishermen. The\nfishermen, like lords of the spot, have taken possession of what is\nwithin; the kings, like sojourners and neighbours, have been contented\nto have a separate place in the doorway, thus proving to unbelievers\nthat pre-eminence in the resurrection will belong to fishermen. For if\nit be so here in the matter of tombs, how much more in the resurrection.\nAnd the order is reversed: kings become servants and subjects, whilst\nsubjects are invested with regal dignity, or rather with something even\ngreater. The truth itself shows that there is no flattery in the matter,\nfor kings have become famous through these subjects of theirs. Their\ntombs are far more awe-inspiring than those of all kings put together;\nthere is great solitude in the one and a great crowd at the other. If\nyou wish to compare these tombs with royal courts, here again they carry\noff the palm. Many are the bustling people at the court, but at the tomb\nmany are they who call and attract rich and poor, men and women, slaves\nand freemen. There is great fear at the one, and an unspeakable delight\nat the other. But it is a pleasant sight to look upon the king with his\ngolden sceptre and his crown on his head, his guards standing near, and\nprinces, and generals, and commanders, and officers high and low. Yet\nthe spectacle presented by the other is so much more magnificent and\nineffable, that, compared to it, the court would seem to be a puppet\nshow and child\u2019s play. You have hardly crossed the threshold when the\nplace carries your mind up to heaven, to the King above, to the army of\nthe angels, to the throne of the Most High, to glory unspeakable. At\ncourt it falls to the ruler\u2019s part to release one man and to put another\nin chains; now, the bones of the saints have not this poor and miserable\nauthority, but a power far greater. For they call forth demons and\ntorture them, and release from their sharpest chains those who are\nbound. What is more awful than this tribunal? Whilst no one is seen and\nno one appears by the devil\u2019s side, there are voices and convulsions,\nand blows and torments, and angry tongues, the devil not bearing that\nwonderful power. And they who carry those bodies have dominion over\nbodiless spirits: dust, and bones, and ashes, tear those invisible\nbeings into pieces. So it is that no man would ever go a long journey to\nsee royal palaces, whilst many kings have often travelled far for this\nspectacle. For the testimony of the saints furnishes a likeness and a\nsymbol of the judgment to come, devils are punished, men are chastised\nand set free. See you the power of the saints even when they are dead,\nand the weakness of sinners even whilst living? Fly therefore from evil,\nthat you may have dominion over these, and pursue goodness with all\nzeal. For, if things so wonderful take place here, judge what it will be\nlike hereafter.\n\n \u00b7 \u00b7 \u00b7 \u00b7 \u00b7 \u00b7 \u00b7\n\n\n\n\n PART III.\n PERSONAL.\n\n\n To Innocent, Bishop of Rome.[26]\n\nTo my most reverend Lord, and the most religious Bishop Innocent, John\nsends greeting in the Lord.\n\nI think that before the reception of our letters your Piety will have\nheard of the iniquitous deed which has been attempted here; for the\nenormity of the evil has allowed scarcely a part of the world to be in\nignorance of this direful tragedy. Report, carrying news of what has\ntaken place to the farthest extremities of the earth, has everywhere\ncalled forth much wailing and lamentation. Since, however, it is not a\nquestion of tears alone, but of setting things straight and trying to\nfind out how this most cruel tempest inflicted on the Church is to be\nstayed, I deem it necessary to urge my most honoured and reverend lords\nand bishops Demetrius, Pansophius, Pappo, and Eugenius to give up their\nown affairs, to brave the seas, and to set out on a long journey, and to\nhasten to your Charity, so that, when you have been clearly informed of\nall things, a remedy may be more speedily applied. With these we shall\nsend the most esteemed and beloved of the deacons, Paul and Cyriacus.\nAnd I myself in the shape of a letter will inform your Charity briefly\nof what has taken place. Theophilus, being bishop of Alexandria, and\ncertain men setting our most religious emperor against him, he was\nordered to come here alone. Accompanied by not a few Egyptian bishops,\nhe makes his appearance, as if wishing from the first to show that he\ncomes to war and to fight us. Then, when he had arrived at great and\nheaven-favoured Constantinople, he did not come to the cathedral\naccording to custom and old-established usage, nor did he visit us, nor\ndid he take part in sermon, prayer, or communion, but on disembarking he\npassed by the vestibule of the church and established himself at a\ndistance from the city, although we repeatedly invited him and those\nwith him to stay with us, for lodgings and everything else needful for\nhim were in readiness; neither they nor he would hear of it. Seeing\nthis, I was much perplexed, not being able to imagine the cause of this\nunjust enmity. Still, we did our part and what was incumbent on us for\nthem, and continually invited him to meet us and to say why he had thus\nmade a quarrel with us from the very first and brought discord into so\ngreat a city. As he would not explain the reason, and as his accusers\nwere urgent, our most religious emperor summoned us. He ordered me\nforthwith to go to the place where Theophilus was, and to hear the case\nagainst him. His accusers were urging assaults, and slaughterings, and\nnumberless other things. We, however, who know the laws of our fathers,\nand reverence and honour the man, and having his own letters, too, to\nshow that causes should not be carried out of their proper jurisdiction,\nbut that matters concerning the province should be concluded in the\nprovince, did not accept the task of judging him, but declined with much\nfirmness. He, on the contrary, adding to his previous conduct, summoned\nour archdeacon most peremptorily, as if the church were already widowed\nand without a bishop, and through him gained all the clergy to his side.\nSo the churches became deserted, abandoned in each case by the clergy,\nwho were preparing to take action against us and to accuse us. This\ndone, he sent to summon us into court, though he had not cleared himself\nfrom the charges made against him, which was manifestly against every\ncanon and every law. Now, we, knowing perfectly well that we were\ninvited, not to a court of justice, or we would have gone a thousand\ntimes over, but to a foe and an enemy, as subsequent events, no less\nthan what had already taken place, have proved, sent to him Demetrius,\nbishop of Pessinus, Eulysius, bishop of Apamea, and Lupicinus, bishop of\nAppiaria, and the priests Germanus and Severus, who made careful answer\nas befitting us, saying that we refused not judgment, but an outspoken\nenemy and a declared foe. For how is the man who, without receiving a\ncharge against me, has so acted from the first, and held himself aloof\nfrom church communion and prayers, and incited accusers, who has gained\nthe clergy to himself and emptied the cathedral, how is he fit to mount\nthe judge\u2019s throne which is not his in any sort of way? For it does not\nbelong to Egypt to sit in judgment on Thrace, when, too, he of Egypt is\nunder accusation and a declared enemy. Yet he showed no regard to us,\nbeing bent on carrying out his own purposes, though we showed that we\nwere equal to defend ourself before a hundred or a thousand bishops, and\nto prove ourself innocent, as we are; but he would not abide it. Now, in\nour absence, while we were demanding a synod and seeking judgment, not\navoiding a hearing but open enmity, he received accusers, absolved those\nexcommunicated by me, and took information from those very men who had\nnot cleared themselves of charges, and had it written down officially,\nall which acts are against the ordinary course of custom and canon law.\nWhy need I go on? He left nothing untried until he had cast us out with\na high hand both from the city and the Church, and this late in the\nevening, all the people pressing after us. I was taken and carried off\nby the _curiosus_[27] in the midst of the city, thrown into a ship, and\nI sailed through the night, all this because I had demanded a synod for\nmy just hearing. Who could listen to all this with dry eyes, however\nstony his heart? But, as I said, we need not only to grieve for the evil\naccomplished, we must also remedy it, and therefore I appeal to your\nCharity to stand by us and sorrow with us, and to do everything you can\nthat it may go no further. For their illegal proceedings did not stop\nhere, but were aggravated by others besides their former ones. When our\nmost religious emperor turned them out of the church which they had\nshamefully usurped, and many bishops present seeing their iniquity, and\nflying from their approach as from a fire consuming everything, retired\ninto their own dioceses, we at last were recalled to the city, and to\nthe church from which we had been impiously cast out: more than thirty\nbishops brought us back, our most religious emperor sending a notary for\nthe purpose, but he (Theophilus) took immediate flight. For what reason?\nBecause, when we came back, we entreated our most religious emperor to\ncall a synod to avenge what had taken place. Conscious, therefore, of\nhis deeds, and fearing to be convicted, the imperial letters having been\nsent to all parts, calling all together, he threw himself in the dead of\nthe night into a little boat, and thus escaped, taking all his party\nwith him. But we in the security of our conscience did not desist from\nentreating our most religious emperor as before, who with a kindness\nworthy of him sent for him again from Egypt, and for those with him,\nthat they might give an account of what had taken place, and that he\nmight not suppose the iniquitous attempt made by a party in our absence,\nin the face of all canon law, should be a sufficient excuse for himself.\nYet he did not heed the imperial letters, but stayed at home, alleging\nthe sedition of the people, and the untimely zeal of some who, forsooth,\nwere opposing him, although before the imperial letters this same people\nhad rained down accusations against him. However, we will not now enter\ninto these things, but we have said this much, wishing to show that he\nwas caught in the act of plotting. Moreover, after this, we did not\nrest, but demanded a judgment founded on enquiry and answer, for I said\nwe were prepared to show ourself free from blame, and them most guilty.\nFor certain Syrians who had been with him at that time were left here,\nand they had taken part in all his proceedings. These we approached in\nour readiness for judgment, and often repeated our demand, asking for\nthe documents or heads of accusation, or to be told the nature of the\ngrievance against us, or who the accusers are. We could obtain none of\nthese things, and again we were thrust out of the see. How shall I\nnarrate what then happened\u2014an unequalled tragedy? What words will\nsuffice? What ear will listen untroubled? Whilst we made the same offer,\nas I was saying, a great military force collected on the great\nSabbath[28] itself, and we going into the church as the evening was\ndrawing on, they tore by force all our clergy from our side, and\nsurrounded the sanctuary with armed men. The women in the sacred\nbuilding, who had undressed for baptism at that very time, fled away\nwithout their clothes in fear at this terrible invasion. Nor were they\nallowed to cover themselves as much as womanly decency would require,\nbut many of them were wounded and thrust outside, the fonts were filled\nwith blood, and the sacred waters polluted. Yet the evil did not stop\neven here. Proceeding to where the holy elements were reserved, the\nsoldiers, amongst whom some were known to me as not Christians,[29]\nlooked at everything within the veil (\u03c4\u1f70 \u1f14\u03bd\u03b4\u03bf\u03bd), and as it happens in a\ngreat tumult, the most sacred Blood of Christ was spilt upon those\nsoldiers, and as in a barbarian captivity, everything was dared. The\npeople fled into solitude, and the multitude passed their time outside\nthe city, and the churches at so great a feast became empty, and more\nthan forty bishops, our companions, with people and clergy, went into\nhiding for no cause. The sighs and groans and bitter tears called forth\nby these misfortunes filled marketplaces, and houses, and deserts, and\nevery part of the city. Through the extreme wickedness of the deed, not\nthe sufferers alone, but also those who were not sufferers in this way,\nsympathised with us: not the orthodox alone, but heretics, and Jews, and\nheathens. There was everywhere trouble, and agitation, and grief, as if\nthe city had been taken by storm. And these things were attempted\nagainst the intention of our most religious emperor, at nightfall, by\nthe machinations of bishops, who, in many instances, led the troops, and\nwere not ashamed to have the attendance of civil officers instead of\ndeacons. When day came the whole city was transported beyond the walls,\nunder trees, and in valleys, finishing the feast like straying sheep.\n\nYou will be able to surmise the rest, for, as I said, it is impossible\nto repeat word for word what has taken place in each case. What is so\ngrievous is that evils so great and crying have not yet come to an end,\nand that there is no hope of liberation. On the contrary, they increase\nday by day, and we have become a laughing-stock to many. Or rather, no\nman laughs, however unrighteous he may be, for all men are in tears, as\nI have said, at this recent iniquity, which is the climax of misfortune.\nWhat if we were to speak of the troubles of the other churches?\u2014for the\nevil was not restricted to Constantinople, but spread to the East. For\njust as inflammation which begins in the head corrupts all the members,\nso now iniquities arising from the fountainhead, as it were, of this\ngreat city, have opened the door to a general agitation. Everywhere\npriests are against bishops, bishops against bishops, and people divided\nagainst themselves, whilst others are brooding sedition: badness is\ngrowing apace, and the whole world is overturned. When you learn all\nthis, my most honoured and religious Lord, show forth a courage and zeal\nbefitting you, that so great a flood of iniquity against the churches\nmay be stemmed. For if this custom should obtain, and anyone who wishes\nit should be allowed free ingress into the dioceses of others at so\ngreat a distance, to thrust out those whom he chooses, to act on his own\nauthority, as it pleases himself, understand that all things will be\ndissolved, that the whole world will be involved in irremediable war,\nevery man fighting everyone else. Now, in order that so great a\ndestruction should not overwhelm all things under the sun, I beseech you\nto enjoin by letter that what has been iniquitously perpetrated against\nus in our absence, and by one party, whilst we did not refuse judgment,\nmay have no force, as indeed it has none by its very nature, and that\nthose who are thus convicted may be subjected to the penalty of\necclesiastical laws. With regard to ourself, who have been neither\ncondemned nor convicted, we ask you for the continued benefit of your\nletters and of your charity, and of everything else which we previously\nenjoyed. If they who have been so guilty would even now allege charges\nby reason of which they iniquitously cast us out, not telling us of the\naccusations nor making charges against us, the accusers not appearing,\nlet us have an impartial judge, and we will submit ourselves to his\nsentence and prove ourself guiltless of what is brought against us, as\nindeed we are. Their recent deeds are against all propriety and every\nlaw and ecclesiastical canon. And why do I speak of ecclesiastical\ncanon? Not even in secular tribunals have such things been ever\nattempted, nay, not amongst barbarians: neither Scythians nor Sauromites\nhave ever given sentence for one party alone, in the absence of the\naccused, who was refusing, not judgment, but hatred, demanding a\nthousand judges, declaring himself innocent, ready to clear himself from\ncharges in the face of the world, and showing that he is blameless in\neverything. Considering all this, and learning things more clearly from\nmy lords and most religious brethren, the bishops, I beseech you show us\nthat zeal which becomes your office. Thus you will rejoice not us alone,\nbut all churches in general, and you will be rewarded by God, Who does\nall things for their peace. Farewell, and pray for me, most honoured and\nholy Lord.\n\n\n Letter addressed to some Imprisoned Bishops and Priests, a.d. 404.\n (_Benedictine Edition_, cxviii., t. iii., p. 689.)\n\nYou are dwelling in a prison and are in chains, and are shut up with\nunclean and filthy men: who could be more blessed than you on this\naccount? Who wears on his head so noble a golden crown as he whose right\nhand is fettered for God? What dwelling-place so vast and splendid as a\nprison full of gloom, and dirt, and ill smells, and tribulation for the\nsame cause? Rejoice, therefore, exult, you are crowned, be glad that\nthese sad occurrences are the means of procuring you immense riches.\nThis is the seed full of unspeakable promise; this is the combat which\nis secure of victory and reward; this is the voyage productive of a rich\nreturn. With these things in your minds, my most honoured and religious\nlords, rejoice and be of good cheer, cease not to give praise to God in\nall circumstances. You are inflicting severe blows on the devil, and\nlaying up to yourselves a great reward in heaven. _For the sufferings of\nthis time are not worthy to be compared to the glory to come which shall\nbe revealed in you._ Pray write to me often. I desire most earnestly to\nreceive letters from men who are in chains for God\u2019s sake, telling me of\nyour sufferings, and even in a strange land I shall be greatly consoled\nby their perusal.\n\n\n To the Priests and Monks Theodotus, Nicholas, and Cherea. Written from\n his Exile at Kucusus, a.d. 405.\n (_Benedictine Edition_, cxlvi., t. iii., p. 685.)\n\nYou allege the incursion of the Isaurians as the cause of your absence,\nbut I look upon you as present and myself as with you, and see no\nobstacle in this against your arrival. For such are the wings of charity\nthat they fly swiftly and with great alacrity in every direction, in\nspite of a thousand impediments. But if I am deprived of your bodily\npresence, cease not from prayer, and our merciful God will grant it us.\nSince I too, bearing you constantly in my mind, long for a sight of you\nin the flesh, and I know that I shall have this too, as you are\nearnestly beseeching Him Who can do all things to break up the winter\nand to establish peace everywhere. Now, to gladden you with news of\nmyself, I am enjoying much quiet and leisure. And although many things\ndisturb my health, as, for instance, the absence of physicians and the\nwant of necessaries (for there are no shops here and no drugs), a bad\nclimate (for the summer tries me no less than the winter, by its\nexcessive heat as opposed to the cold), a siege severe and constant,\nwith perpetual fears of incursions from the Isaurians,\u2014in spite, I say,\nof all this and much more which is undermining my strength whilst\nrecovering from that great danger and severe illness, I am fairly well.\nDo not fail to write to me often, and to tell me how you yourselves are.\nFor I view your affection as a great consolation and encouragement, as a\ntreasure producing a multitude of good things. And whenever I think\nabout your own state, your steadfast heart, your strong and enduring\nlove, I cannot put it out of my mind. I take refuge in the thought as in\na spacious and calm harbour away from the surging waves of tribulation.\n\n\n To some Priests and Monks in Ph\u0153nicia, who were Instructing Heathens.\n (_From Kucusus_, A.D. 405. cxxiii., t. iii., p. 663.)\n\nPilots, when they see the ocean stirred up from its depths, and a heavy\nstorm and disturbance, not only do not desert the vessel, but show\ngreater industry and more willingness by watching themselves and rousing\nthe others. And physicians, too, when they see that the fever is active\nand very high, not only do not leave the sick man to himself, but then\nespecially do all they can, and show a greater diligence and readiness\nboth through others and through themselves so as to overcome the\ndisease. Why do I say this? That no one of you through the disturbance\nwhich has taken place should desire to leave Ph\u0153nicia and to come here\nfor quiet. The more the trials, the angrier the waves, the heavier the\ntrouble, the greater the reason for your staying in readiness, and\nwatchfulness, and diligence, showing forth more eagerness, so that your\nfine house may not fall, nor your labour be in vain, nor the fruits of\nyour agriculture disappear. For God is able to quell the disturbance and\nto reward your patience. When things run smoothly our reward is not so\ngreat as it is for you now when there is much difficulty, great\nagitation, and when many are scandalised. Considering, therefore, the\nwork done, and the labour surmounted, and the good works which you have\naccomplished, and that by the grace of God you have conquered impiety to\na certain extent, that things in Ph\u0153nicia had come to improve, that your\nreward and crown are now greater, that God will remove obstacles before\nlong and give you many compensations for your patience, stand fast and\nendure. Even now you should not want for anything, but it was my command\nthat you should have the same plenty and abundance, whether in clothes,\nor shoes, or food, as the brethren. If I, who am in so much tribulation\nand affliction in a solitude of Kucusus, take your good deeds so much to\nheart, how much should you, who are enjoying great plenty, do your part,\nas far as necessity allows you. I repeat, then, let no one frighten you,\nfor things gave good promise, and this you may ascertain from the\nanswers sent by his Reverence the priest Constantine. If you remain, be\nthere a thousand obstacles, you will overcome them all. There is nothing\nequal to patience and endurance; it is like a rock. In truth, those\ndisturbances and plottings against Churches are like waves beating\nagainst a rock, dissolving in their own foam. Consider what the blessed\nApostles suffered, both from their own people and from strangers; how\nduring all their time of preaching they passed through temptations, and\ndangers, and plottings, and were consumed by prisons, and chains, and\nstripes, and hunger, and nakedness. Still, dwelling in those very\nprisons, they did not relinquish the stewardship entrusted to them.\nBlessed Paul, in his prison, scourged, covered with blood, fastened to\nthe wood, in the midst of all this suffering, gave instruction, baptised\nhis jailor, and left nothing unturned. Pondering on all this, according\nto my counsel, stand bravely and without flinching, with your hope on\nGod and on His help, which is before everything, and be careful to let\nme have a detailed answer. On this account I have sent the priest John,\nthat he may quiet your minds, and not suffer you to be disturbed by\nanyone. I have done my part, encouraging you by words, exhorting you by\nadvice, and offering you plenty of necessaries, so that you may want for\nnothing.\n\n \u00b7 \u00b7 \u00b7 \u00b7 \u00b7 \u00b7 \u00b7\n\n\n To Studius, the Prefect of the City, on the Death of his Brother.\n (_From Kucusus_, A.D. 404. _Benedictine Edition_, cxcvii., t. iii., p.\n 710.)\n\nI know that you have understanding and can reason, and that before my\nletter reaches you you will have heard in meekness of your happy\nbrother\u2019s departure, for I would not call it death. Now, since we, too,\nmust do our part, I invite you, my most honoured Lord, to show yourself\nas you are at this time; not that you should not grieve, for this is\nimpossible, being a man clothed in flesh and looking in vain for such a\nbrother, but that you should restrain your sorrow. You know the\nperishableness of human things, how worldly business is like flowing\nrivers, and how we should call blessed only those who depart this life\nwith good hope. They go not to death, but from combat to rewards, from\nwrestlings to crowns, from a storm-tossed sea to a calm harbour.\nPondering on these things, be consoled, since my own grief is not small,\nand we have a sovereign consolation in it\u2014his goodness, which, I think,\nmust offer you true solace. If the departed had been bad and full of\nevil, we ought to weep and mourn for him; but being what he was, after a\nlife of mildness and goodness, as all the city knew it to be, fearing\nwhat was just, showing a fitting courage, independence, and fortitude,\ndespising present things, a stranger to worldly cares, we should rejoice\nwith him and with you that you have sent before you _this_ brother, who\nmay place the treasure which was his on his departure in a sure and safe\nplace. Do not, then, my most honoured Lord, have any thoughts unworthy\nof yourself, or be broken by grief, but show now what you are, and let\nme see for my comfort that even _my_ letter has done something for you.\nSo, at our great distance from each other, I shall be proud to have\novercome much of your sadness by a mere letter.\n\n\n To Malchus on the Death of his Daughter.\n (\u039c\u03b1\u03bb\u03c7\u1ff3, lxxi., t. iii., p. 632.)\n\nDo not be sad; do not put down the beautiful death of your happy\ndaughter to your sins. She has reached the waveless shore and come to\neverlasting life. Removed from the troubled waters of this present life,\nshe stands upon the rock, and whatever good things she has gathered\ntogether, those she holds as a most secure treasure. You should rejoice\nand exult and be glad that, like an intelligent gardener gathering the\nripe fruit, you have offered her soul to the common Lord of all.\nApplying the remedy of such thoughts as these to yourself and to my most\nhonoured lady, her mother, increase the reward reserved to you under\nthese circumstances, so that not only on account of her excellent early\ntraining, but also for humbly and thankfully bearing her happy departure\nhence, you may receive a great crown from our merciful God.\n\n\n To Olympias, A.D. 404.\n (_On the Virginal Life_, ii., t. iii., p. 542.)\n\n \u00b7 \u00b7 \u00b7 \u00b7 \u00b7 \u00b7 \u00b7\n\nVirginity is so great a thing, and requires so much labour, that when\nChrist had come down from heaven in order to make men angels, and to sow\nthe heavenly life on earth, He did not venture even then to enjoin it or\nto make a law of it, but He _did_ teach death to self, than which there\nis nothing harder. He taught men to crucify themselves, always to do\ngood to their enemies, yet He did not make a law of virginity. He left\nit to the free-will of His hearers, saying, _Let him who can, take it._\nIt is a weighty undertaking: it has arduous wrestlings with the sweat of\ncombat, and its path is rugged and precipitous. This is plainly shown by\nthose in the Old Law, who were full of good deeds. For Moses, that great\nman who summed up the prophets in his person, the intimate friend of\nGod, who enjoyed so much favour with Him as to be able to snatch six\nhundred thousand from the chastisement of a divine stroke, and was so\ngreat as to command the sea, who parted the ocean, drew water from the\nrock, and transformed the atmosphere, who changed the Nile\u2019s waters into\nblood, who opposed Pharaoh with an army of frogs and locusts, and\nchanged the whole face of creation, and worked a thousand other wonders,\nand many virtuous deeds,\u2014for he was remarkable in every way,\u2014yet he\ncould not even look at _these_ wrestlings, but needed marriage and the\nsociety of his wife, with its security. He dared not launch himself on\nthe ocean of virginity fearing its waves. Then there was the patriarch\nwho immolated his son and was strong enough to tread upon the most\ntyrannical of nature\u2019s feelings. He had courage to sacrifice his son,\nthat son being Isaac, in the bloom of his age, in the very flower of his\nyouth, his own and only-begotten son, vouchsafed to him contrary to all\nhope, and full of righteousness, his one stay in his old age. He it was\nwho led this son forth to the mountain for that consummation, and\nprepared the altar and laid the wood upon it, who placed the victim in\nreadiness, and drew the sword and held it to his son\u2019s neck. For he who\nwas of adamant, or rather harder than adamant, both held him for\nslaughter and drew the knife. He who was thus firm by nature increased\nhis natural fortitude by the mortification of his will, and gave proof\nof angelical calmness in his deeds. Yet the man who could encounter so\ngreat a battle, and go beyond nature itself, dared not face the combats\nof virginity. He also dreaded its wrestlings, and took to himself the\ncomfort of marriage.\n\n \u00b7 \u00b7 \u00b7 \u00b7 \u00b7 \u00b7 \u00b7\n\n\n The Blessedness of Suffering.\n (_To Olympias_, A.D. 404 or 405. \u1f48\u03bb\u03c5\u00b5\u03c0\u03af\u03b1\u03b4\u03b9, xvii., t. iii., p. 604.)\n\nNothing strange or out of the way is happening to you, but it is\nextremely fitting and proper that the strength of your spirit should be\nincreased by constant temptations, and your fervour and power in combat\nbecome greater, and that you should reap therefrom much sweetness. It is\nthe nature of tribulation, when it encounters a brave and ardent soul,\nto bring about these results. And as the fire refines gold by its\naction, so does tribulation purify and refine golden souls. Therefore\nPaul says, _Tribulation worketh patience and patience probation_. Hence,\nI too am in joy and gladness, and in this vast solitude am consoled by\nthis fortitude of yours. Therefore, even if thousands of wolves hem you\nin and endless evil plottings, I have no fear; but it is my prayer that\npresent temptation may pass away and that you may not encounter others,\nthus fulfilling the divine law, which bids us pray not to fall into\ntemptation. And if, perchance, it should happen again, I have confidence\nin your soul of gold, and in the great riches which you would gain for\nyourself. With what threat will they who act against their own interests\nbe able to frighten you? By loss of money? But this, I know well, is\nlike smoke in your eyes, and is accounted more worthless than mud by the\nway. Is it by exile from home and country? But you are able to live in\ngreat and populous cities as well as in deserts, and to pass your time\nin peace and quiet, and to put away worldly visions. Or do they threaten\nyou with death? This, too, has been always in your thoughts, and if they\nshould drag you to execution they will find a dead body in their hands.\nWhy need I say more? No one will be able to do anything to you which you\nhave not already borne with much patience. You, who have ever walked on\na steep and thorny path, have accustomed yourself to all these things;\nyou, who have shown consummate skill under training, now appear more\nradiant in the combat: not only are you not troubled by what has taken\nplace, but you are soaring above the earth and rejoicing. You are glad\nto have a part now in those combats for which you had prepared yourself,\nand this in your woman\u2019s body, which is weaker than a spider\u2019s web.\nWhilst men are raging and gnashing their teeth, you are treading their\nmadness under foot in much cheerfulness, and you would be ready to\nsuffer many more things than they could prepare against you. Blessed and\nthrice-blessed are you by reason of the crowns to come, or rather by\nthose very wrestlings. For these struggles, even before the reward, and\nin the oppression of the fight, have their present rewards, and\ncompensations, and sweetness; they have contentedness, and fortitude,\nand steadfastness, and patience in making you invincible, unconquerable,\nfar above all; they so exercise you that you can suffer no evil from\nanyone, and make you stand upon the rock in spite of angry waves, and\nbear a furious ocean with great peacefulness. These are the rewards of\ntribulation, even before the kingdom of heaven. I know that, already,\nyou account yourself divested of the body, on the wings of sweetness,\nbut that if called upon you would put it off more easily than others do\nthe clothes which they wear. Rejoice, then, and be glad both over\nyourself and over those who die the blessed death, who die not in their\nbed, not in their houses, but in prisons, and chains, and torments.\nGrieve only for the doers of these things, and weep for them: this is\nworthy of your virtue. Since you wish to hear about my bodily health, I\nhave so far got rid of the illness which troubled me and am better now,\nif only winter when it comes does not affect my weakness of stomach. We\nare also in perfect security from Isaurian invasions.\n\n\n To Olympias.\n (_From Arabissus_, A.D. 406. \u1f48\u03bb\u03c5\u00b5\u03c0\u03af\u03b1\u03b4\u03b9, xv., t. iii., p. 601.)\n\nWould you, who have given proof of so much mortification from your youth\nupwards, and have trodden human pride under foot, expect to live a quiet\nlife without combat? How should this be? For if men who are fighting\nother men receive a thousand wounds in combats and wars, you who have\nbeen armed against principalities, and powers, and the lords of darkness\nin this world, against spiritual forces of wickedness, who have fought\nthus valiantly, and set up victorious trophies, and thus vexed the\ndevil,\u2014how should you hope to lead a peaceful and untroubled life?\nTherefore you should not be disquieted because battles, and agitation,\nand fears assail you on every side. You should wonder, on the contrary,\nif none of these things came to pass. Labour and peril are the lot of\ngoodness. You knew this well enough before my letter, and do not need to\nlearn it from others. I write this, then, since I am not instructing one\nwho is ignorant. For we know that neither banishment from our country\nnor the loss of money, though insupportable to most men\u2014neither contempt\nnor any other suffering of the kind, will be able to disturb you. For if\nthe companions of those who have suffered these things have become\nenviable, how much more those who are actually suffering them?\nTherefore, on both accounts, Paul proclaims believers amongst the\nHebrews, saying: _Call to mind the former days, wherein, being\nilluminated, you endured a great fight of afflictions, and on the one\nhand, indeed, by reproaches and tribulations, were made a gazing-stock,\nand on the other became companions of them that were used in such sort._\nTherefore, there is no need for _me_ to write a long letter. No man,\nindeed, goes to offer assistance to a conqueror who holds a splendid\ntrophy of victory in his hands, but only praise. I, too, know how much\ninterior spirit you have shown in what has befallen you. I account you\nblessed, and admire you for your patience in the present, as well as for\nthe rewards which it will bring to you. I am well aware, however, that\nyou wish to hear how I am getting on, for I have been silent for a very\nlong time. I have thrown off the violence of my illness, but still feel\nits effects. I have had excellent physicians, yet the want of\nnecessaries destroys the good of my cure. For not only are there no\nremedies here, and no one of the things required for a suffering body,\nbut both famine and pestilence are imminent.\n\n \u00b7 \u00b7 \u00b7 \u00b7 \u00b7 \u00b7 \u00b7\n\n\n To P\u0153anius. \u2018Glory be to God in all things.\u2019\n (A.D. 404. \u03a0\u03b1\u03b9\u03b1\u03bd\u03b9\u1ff3, cxciii., tom. iii., p. 708.)\n\nYou greatly refreshed me and made me rejoice, when, in telling me of\nyour misfortunes, you added the word, which we should always say in\neverything befalling us: \u2018Glory be to God in all things\u2019. This is a\nstroke which hits the devil in the right place; this is great security\nand happiness in every danger to the man who utters it. In giving voice\nto it, dark despondency vanishes. Cease not, then, from saying it and\nfrom teaching it to others. Thus a destructive storm, even should it\nincrease in fury, will be changed into peace; thus the storm-tossed will\nreap a greater reward, whilst they are also removed from evils. This it\nwas which crowned Job; this word overthrew the devil, and made him\nretire in confusion; this removes all anxiety. Continue, therefore, to\nuse it on all occasions. Let no one be in trouble about this place. For\nif Kucusus be indeed a solitude, I enjoy much quiet there, and I have\nbeen able to cure a large part of the no small infirmity contracted\nthrough weakness on my journey, by sitting constantly in the house.\n\n \u00b7 \u00b7 \u00b7 \u00b7 \u00b7 \u00b7 \u00b7\n\n\n Vanity of Vanities.\n (_Homily on Eutropius_,[30] _Benedictine Edition_, tom. iii., p. 381.)\n\nAt all times, but especially now, it is pertinent to say, _Vanity of\nvanities, and all is vanity_. Where is now that splendid consulship,\nthose magnificent torches and applauding assemblies, those balls and\nbanquets and stately feasts? Where are those crowns and curtains, those\ngatherings of a whole city, the cheerings of amphitheatres, the\nflatteries of crowded houses? All these things have vanished: a mighty\ngale has blown down the leaves, and shown us a naked tree, one shaken\nfrom its foundations. Such has been the force of the wind that, after\nsapping the tree\u2019s life, it threatens to tear it up by the roots. Where\nare now those false friends, and those drinking parties and banquets?\nWhere are those swarms of parasites, that wine which never ceased\nflowing all day long, those wonderful dishes produced by the cooks,\nthose servants of the consulate,\u2014all those who spoke and acted to curry\nfavour? They were a night\u2019s dream, and they vanished with the daylight;\nthey were spring blossoms scorched by summer heat: they were passing\nshadows, dissolving smoke, bubbles which have burst, a cobweb torn away.\nTherefore I would put before you the frequent use of those spiritual\nwords: _Vanity of vanities, all is vanity_.\n\nThese are words which should be engraved on walls, on clothes, on the\nmarket-place, in dwelling-houses, by the wayside, on doors and\nthresholds, and, most of all, in the conscience of each one of us, which\nwe should regard through everything, since trickery and masks and\nhypocrisy seem to be truth amongst the majority of men. These are words\nwhich every man should speak to his neighbour both at the morning and\nthe evening meal, and at meetings, and which he should hear from others:\n_Vanity of vanities, and all is vanity_. Was I not always telling you\nthat riches are fleeting? You would not believe me. Did I not tell you\nthat wealth is an arrogant companion? You would not be persuaded. Now, a\npersonal experience has shown you that it is not only fleeting, not only\narrogant, but also murderous, for it has caused your fear and trembling\nat this hour. Did I not tell you, when you so often reproached me for\nspeaking the truth to your face, that I loved you better than your\nflatterers? Am not I, your reprover, in greater trouble about you than\nthose who fawned upon you? Did I not add to these words that the wounds\ninflicted by a friend are more to be trusted than the kisses of enemies?\nIf you had borne my wounds those kisses of theirs would not now have\nbrought forth death, for _my_ wounds work health, whereas their kisses\nprepared a fatal disease! Where are now your cup-bearers? Where are\nthose who cleared the market-place before you, and who were full of your\npraises in the crowd? They have fled, and given up your friendship; they\nprovide for their own safety at the cost of your agony. It is not so\nwith us, but we would not be rebuffed even when you did not want us, and\nnow that you have fallen we stand by you and protect you. That Church,\nwhich was warred upon by you, has opened her heart to receive you;\nwhereas those fostered theatres, which you often fought us about, have\ndelivered you up to destruction. Still we ceased not to say, \u2018Why do you\nact thus? You rage against the Church and are walking towards a\nprecipice,\u2019 and you heeded nothing. Yet the races, those squanderers of\nyour wealth, have sharpened their sword against you, whilst the Church,\nthe object of your unseemly wrath, hastens to meet you, wishing to\nrescue you from their wiles.\n\nI say these things now, not desiring to insult the fallen, but in order\nto increase the security of those who have not fallen: not to tear open\nthe sores of the wounded, but to maintain in sound health those who are\nnot wounded: not to shipwreck the man tossed by the waves, but to warn\nthose who are sailing in calm seas so that they may avoid sinking. How\ncan this be done? By taking to heart the vicissitudes of human things.\nFor if _this_ man had feared a change of fortune, it would not have come\nupon him, but neither his own lot nor that of others improved him: now\ndo you who are nursing your riches gather your lesson from this man\u2019s\nmisfortune, for nothing is more insecure than human things.\nConsequently, if a man were to call them neediness itself, he would say\nless than the truth, whether he liken them to smoke or mire, or a dream,\nor spring blossoms, or anything else, so perishable are they, and so\nless than nothing. That nothingness has indeed much that is insecure is\nevident from this: who was ever a mightier man than he? Did he not\nsurpass the whole world by his wealth? Did he not rise to the height of\nhonours? Did not all men hold him in fear and awe? Yet see, he is more\nmiserable than slaves, and more to be pitied than menials, in greater\nwant than the poor who are pinched with hunger, having before his eyes\nday by day swords pointed at him, and dungeons and executioners, and the\nroad leading to death. Nor does he enjoy the memory of his past\npleasure, nor is he conscious even of the light; but in the midst of\nday, as if in darkest night, encompassed by anguish, he is deprived of\nhis sight. Try as I will, however, I cannot measure that suffering by\nwords, which delivers him up to an hourly expectation of death. But what\nneed is there of our words since he bears them distinctly written on\nhimself for us, as if engraven on a statue? For yesterday men came to\nhim from the imperial court, wishing to drag him away by force, and he\ntook refuge amongst the sacred vessels: he looked already nothing better\nthan a dead man, his teeth were chattering, his whole body shivering and\ntrembling, his voice was broken, his tongue faltering, and he himself as\nif the life in him had turned to stone.\n\nI say these things, not in scorn nor in reproach at his misfortune, but\nin the wish to soften your judgment, and to enkindle your pity, and to\npersuade you to be satisfied with the chastisement already inflicted.\nFor there are amongst you many inhuman men who would even reproach me\nfor receiving him at the sanctuary. I should desire to soften their\ncruelty by dwelling on the sufferings of this man. Why do you reproach\nme, beloved brethren? Because, you say, he who warred incessantly\nagainst the Church has found shelter in it. For this very reason you\nshould have praised God the more for allowing him to fall into a need so\ngreat as to learn both the power and the kindness of the Church: the\npower, on the one hand, to outlive so overwhelming a reverse inflicted\nby his enemies, and the kindness with which she who was persecuted\nextends her shield, and covers him with her own wings, putting him in\nperfect security, and bearing no memory of former things, but opening\nher heart to him with the most tender love. This is more wonderful than\nany trophy, this is a magnificent victory: by this the heathen is\nconverted and even the Jew put to shame: this it is which shows forth\nthe brightness of her countenance; that, taking her foe captive, she\nspares him; that whereas all men forsake him, she alone, as a tender\nmother, hides him in her own sanctuary curtains, and encounters imperial\nwrath, an angry populace, a boundless hatred, on his account. This is\nthe altar\u2019s adornment. What adornment is it, you ask, that the man who\nis abominable, and avaricious, and cursed, should touch the altar? Speak\nnot thus, since the harlot too touched the feet of Christ, and she was\nindeed full of sin and impurity, yet it was no reproach to Jesus, but a\ngreat wonder and song of praise, for she who was unclean did not defile\nthe Holy One; on the contrary, He, the Good and the Pure, made that\nabandoned harlot clean through His touch. Do not bear malice, O man. We\nare servants of Him Who was crucified, and Who said, _Forgive them, for\nthey know not what they do_. \u2018But,\u2019 you say, \u2018it was he who, by various\nlaws and regulations, cut off flight to the altar.\u2019 Consider, then, that\nexperience has taught him the value of his own action, and he himself\nhas been the first to break the law which he made. He has become a\nspectacle to the world, and in his silence he raises a voice of warning\nto all men, \u2018Do not likewise, that you may not suffer in like manner\u2019.\nThrough his misfortune he has become a teacher, and through it the altar\nsends forth a great radiance. It is now especially terrible, and evident\nto all men, because it holds the lion in chains. The royal statue would\nbe greatly adorned, not so much by depicting the king as he sits on the\nthrone, clothed in purple, and wearing his crown, as by barbarians under\nthe royal feet, with their hands tied behind them and their faces to the\nground. You yourselves, in your eagerness to come here, can testify that\nhe has spoken no word, for indeed the spectacle before us to-day is\nnoteworthy, and I see here as many people collected together as in the\nholy Easter festival. He in his silence has called them; his deeds have\nspoken louder than the voice of a trumpet. You have come here, virgins\nfrom your chambers, women from your drawing-rooms, men leaving the\nmarketplace deserted, that you may contemplate human nature convicted,\nand see the perishableness of earthly things laid bare, the shameful\nspectacle of that which was yesterday, and but lately so brilliant. So\nmuch for the success born of avarice, which is more shamefaced than any\nold woman\u2019s blotches: the change of fortune has passed over it like a\nsponge, and wiped away both paint and titles.\n\nSuch is the power of this catastrophe: it has made him who was\nconspicuous and illustrious now appear more miserable than all. If the\nrich man come in, he will be taught much, for, contemplating him, who\nhad the whole world at his command, thrown down from so mighty a height,\ntrodden under foot, fallen lower than a hare or a frog, fastened without\nchains to this pillar, and done to death by fear in his anguish though\nunfettered, he restrains his wrath, humbles his pride, and draws that\nlesson of wisdom which it behoves him to draw, from human things, and so\ngoes away, learning by facts what the Scripture speaks of in the words,\n_All flesh is grass, and all human glory as the flower of the field_,\nthat the grass has been burnt up and the flower thrown away: that man\nshall be burnt up as swiftly as grass, and trodden under foot as quickly\nas the flower of the field: that our days are like smoke, and so on. In\nhis turn, the poor man comes in, and, gazing at this spectacle, he does\nnot despair of himself, nor is he afflicted at his own poverty, but he\nis thankful to his neediness for providing him with a place of refuge,\nand a calm harbour, and a wall of strength. And often, seeing these\nthings, he would prefer to remain where he is, rather than to have all\nthings for a short time, and then to be in danger of his life. See you\nhow this man\u2019s flight hither is no small advantage to the rich and poor\nalike, to small people and great people, to bondsmen and freemen? See\nhow each one has gone away with his own lesson drawn from the sight\nalone? Now, have I succeeded in softening your passion and putting an\nend to your anger? Have I extinguished your inhumanity and enkindled\nsympathy within you? Indeed, I think so, for your faces show it, and\nyour tears. If, then, your stony hearts have been softened and mellowed,\nput forth also the fruit of alms-giving, and, showing the ear of\nsympathy, let us solicit the emperor, or rather let us call upon our\nmerciful God to mitigate the emperor\u2019s wrath, and to make him kind, so\nthat he may grant us a full pardon. Already, indeed, since the day of\nhis flight, there has been no small change; for when the emperor learnt\nthat he had taken refuge in this place, in the presence of the soldiers\nwho were incited against his crimes and preparing to put him to death,\nhe made a long speech. In it he quieted their anger, alleging not only\nthis man\u2019s delinquencies, but giving him credit for whatever good he had\ndone, and calling upon them to show him mercy in the one case, and in\nthe other to pardon him as a man. Upon their again urging him to avenge\nthe insulter of the emperor, crying out, stamping with their feet,\nthreatening him with death, and brandishing their spears, he drew floods\nof tears from the driest eyes, and, reminding them of the sacred table\nto which he had fled, he put an end to their anger.\n\nLet us, then, do our part also, for what excuse would you have if the\nemperor, when insulted, bears no malice, and you who are not insulted\nshould be thus angry? How, when this spectacle is removed, would you\napproach the mysteries and recite that prayer in which we are commanded\nto say, \u2018Forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who have\ntrespassed against us,\u2019 whilst you are calling for revenge against\n_your_ trespassers? Did he commit great injustice and look down upon\nall? I do not deny it, but this is no time for judgment, this is the\ntime for mercy; not for chastisement, but for kindness; not for\nexamination, but for concession; not for strict justice, but for pity\nand kindness. Therefore, let no man be wrathful nor discontented; rather\nlet us supplicate our merciful God to grant him a period of life, and to\nsnatch him from impending death, so that he may redeem his\ntransgressions. Let us go together to our merciful emperor, entreating\nhim, by the Church and by the altar, to release that one man who is\nseeking refuge at the sacred table. If we do this, the emperor too will\napprove, and God will ratify the emperor\u2019s decision, and He will give us\na great reward for our mercy. For in proportion as He turns away from\nthe hard and inhuman man, and hates him, so does He protect and cherish\nthe kind and merciful man. If he be a just man also, God holds brighter\ncrowns in reserve for him: if he has sinned, He overlooks his\niniquities, and gives him this great reward for his kindness to his\nfellow-man. _I desire mercy and not sacrifice_, He says. And everywhere\nin the Scripture you find Him seeking for this and saying that it is the\nremission of sins. So, then, we shall make Him merciful to ourselves,\nand atone for our own sins. Thus we shall adorn the Church, and win the\napplause of our merciful emperor, as I was saying, and all the people\nwill rejoice: the ends of the earth will be in admiration at the kind\nand gentle spirit of our city, and throughout the whole world those who\nhear what has taken place will sing our praises. In order that we may\nenjoy these goods, let us fall down on our knees in supplication,\nentreat, beseech; let us shield the captive from danger, from flight,\nfrom death, so that we ourselves may enjoy lasting goods by the grace\nand mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ, to Whom be glory and might, now and\nfor ever and ever. Amen.\n\n\n\n\n FOOTNOTES\n\n\n[1]Card. Newman.\n\n[2]Palladius, _Life of St. Chrysostom_, in his works, vol. xiii., pp.\n 39, 40.\n\n[3]In writing the above sketch, Nirschl\u2019s _Lehrbuch der Patrologie und\n Patristik_ has been used, and Cardinal Newman\u2019s notice of the Saint\n quoted once or twice, and everywhere borne in mind.\n\n[4]Translated from the Greek Oxford and Cambridge Edition\n\n[5]Translated from the Greek Oxford Edition.\n\n[6]Compare \u1f00\u03bb\u03bb\u2019 \u1f24\u03c4\u03bf\u03b9 \u00b5\u1f72\u03bd \u03c4\u03b1\u1fe6\u03c4\u03b1 \u0398\u03b5\u1ff6\u03bd \u1f10\u03bd \u03b3\u03bf\u03cd\u03bd\u03b1\u03c3\u03b9 \u03ba\u03b5\u1fd6\u03c4\u03b1\u03b9 (\u1f38\u03bb\u03b9\u03b1\u03b4\u03bf\u03c2 P. 514).\n\n[7]St. Chrysostom here refers from memory to the _Acts_, where Peter and\n _John_ are spoken of as \u201cilliterate and ignorant men\u201d (c. iv., v.\n 13).\n\n[8]Translated from Greek Benedictine Edition in folio, tom. ii., p. 2.\n\n[9]I have ventured to change \u1f10\u03bd\u03bd\u03b1\u03c4\u03ae\u03bd into _another_. It is part of a\n long argument.\n\n[10]\u03b4\u03b5\u03ba\u03ac\u03c4\u03b7\u03bd \u03b1\u1f30\u03c4\u03af\u03b1\u03bd.\n\n[11]Compare with St. Augustine, _Da amantem et sentit quod dico_.\n\n[12]Translated from the Greek Benedictine Edition in folio.\n\n[13]Compare with St. Augustine: Unde temporibus eruditis, et omne quod\n fieri non potest respuentibus, sine ullis miraculis nimium\n mirabiliter incredibilia credidit mundus?\u2014_De Civitate Dei_, l.\n xxii., c. viii.\n\n[14]\u039c\u1f70\u03bb\u03bb\u03bf\u03bd \u03b4\u1f72 \u03bf\u1f50\u03ba \u03b1\u1f50\u03c4\u03bf\u1f76 \u00b5\u03cc\u03bd\u03bf\u03b9, \u1f00\u03bb\u03bb\u1f70 \u03ba\u03b1\u1f76 \u1f41 \u03c0\u03ac\u03bd\u03c4\u03c9\u03bd \u03ba\u03bf\u03c1\u03c5\u03c6\u03b1\u1fd6\u03bf\u03c2 \u03a0\u03ad\u03c4\u03c1\u03bf\u03c2.\n\n[15]\u1f4d\u00b5\u03b9\u03bb\u03b9\u03b1 \u03c0\u03c1\u03bf \u03c4\u1fc6\u03c2 \u1f10\u03be\u03bf\u03c1\u03af\u03b1\u03c2. Benedictine Edition. There is a doubt about\n the authenticity of the latter part of this Homily, which has not\n been translated.\n\n[16]\u1f18\u03ba\u03ba\u03bb\u03b7\u03c3\u03af\u03b1\u03c2 \u03b4\u1f72 \u03c3\u03ac\u03c1\u03ba\u03b1 \u1f00\u03bd\u03ad\u03bb\u03b1\u03b2\u03b5.\n\n[17]Translated from the Greek German Edition, \u03a0\u03b5\u03c1\u1f76 \u1f39\u03b5\u03c1\u03c9\u03c3\u03c5\u03bd\u1fc6\u03c2. Leipzig,\n 1872.\n\n[18]See Ezekiel, c. xxxiii., v. 6.\n\n[19]Benedictine Edition, t. xii., p. 167.\n\n[20]Greek Oxford Edition.\n\n[21]\u1f08\u03bb\u03bb\u2019 \u03b1\u1f50\u03c4\u1f78\u03c2 \u1f41 \u03c3\u03c4\u03b1\u03c5\u03c1\u03c9\u03b8\u03b5\u1f76\u03c2 \u1f51\u03c0\u1f72\u03c1 \u1f21\u00b5\u1ff6\u03bd \u03a7\u03c1\u03b9\u03c3\u03c4\u03cc\u03c2.\n\n[22]... \u00b5\u03b5\u03c4\u03b1\u1fe4\u1fe5\u03c5\u03b8\u00b5\u03af\u03b6\u03b5\u03b9 \u03c4\u1f70 \u03c0\u03c1\u03bf\u03ba\u03b5\u03af\u00b5\u03b5\u03bd\u03b1.\n\n[23]The single word _altar_ has to stand for the Greek\u03b2\u03c9\u00b5\u03cc\u03c2 and\n \u03b8\u03c5\u03c3\u03b9\u03b1\u03c3\u03c4\u03ae\u03c1\u03b9\u03bf\u03bd, the former meaning the altar on which a bloody\n offering is made, the latter the altar on which the sacrifice after\n the order of Melchisedec is offered.\n\n[24]P. 295 of the same Homily.\n\n[25]Blessed Thomas More\u2019s words to his wife will here occur to many:\n \u2018How long, thinkest thou, I might still live?\u2019 and when she replied,\n \u2018Full twenty years, if it so pleases God,\u2019 answered, \u2018Should I give\n up eternity for twenty years?\u2019\n\n[26]Benedictine Edition, tom. iii., p. 515. St. Chrysostom wrote this\n letter, A.D. 404, before his second exile, from which he never\n returned. Copies of it were sent to the Archbishops of Milan and\n Aquileia.\n\n[27]The _Curiosi_ were officers whose business it was to pursue crime\n and treason of all kinds, and to summon and denounce the guilty to\n the emperor.\u2014_Benedictine\u2019s note._\n\n[28]Holy Saturday.\n\n[29]Uninitiated (\u1f00\u00b5\u03cd\u03b7\u03c4\u03bf\u03b9 \u1f26\u03c3\u03b1\u03bd), to speak the language of that day.\n\n[30]Eutropius, the eunuch, the unworthy minister of the emperor, who had\n attempted to take away the right of asylum from the Church, fell\n suddenly, and fled for refuge to the altar of the cathedral. On this\n occasion Chrysostom defended him from the angry people and the\n soldiers sent to apprehend him.\n\n\n THE END.\n\n\n\n\n INDEX.\n\n\n A\n Abraham, sacrifice of, 290.\n Alexander, thirteenth god, 266;\n his tomb obscure, 268.\n Altar, radiance of, 301;\n fruitfulness of, 233.\n Almsgiving, by words, 65;\n value of, 70;\n interest of, 71.\n Angels of the mysteries, 211.\n Antioch, John of, 1;\n surnamed Golden Mouth, 2.\n Anthusa, St., mother of St. Chrysostom, 1.\n Apostles, condition of, 102;\n victory of, 103;\n mines of, 109;\n glory of, 96.\n Arcadius, emperor, 6;\n death of, 14.\n Argument, an irrefutable, 98.\n Arsacius, intruded into see of Constantinople, 12.\n\n\n B\n Basil, friend of Chrysostom, 3.\n Bond of new Covenant, 219, 220.\n Blood of Our Lord, 242;\n drunk by Himself, 221.\n Bread, one for all, 244.\n\n\n C\n Charity not consumed, 31.\n Chastisement here, 123, 124.\n Children, witness of, 50.\n Christ, our High Priest, 214;\n His Pasch, 229.\n Christians, responsibility of, 62.\n Chrysostom, government of, 8;\n expulsion of, 11;\n appeal to Pope, 12;\n at Comana, 13;\n death of, 14;\n his body translated to Constantinople\u2014to Rome, 15;\n character of his works, 17;\n summary of, 18, 19, 20;\n his letter to Pope Innocent, 272;\n unjustly summoned into court, 275;\n thrust out of his see, 277;\n in exile, 283.\n Church, invincible, 90, 190;\n brighter than sun, 190;\n heaven made for it, 192;\n soul\u2019s remedies in, 194;\n olives of, 240;\n vengeance of, 298;\n generosity of, 300.\n Cities, strong walls of, 151.\n Clothing Christ, 69.\n Conquering by contraries, 141, 142.\n Community life, 149.\n Conscience, tribunal of, 122.\n Constantine the Great, where buried, 269.\n Crucified ever living, 267;\n power of, 144.\n\n\n D\n Departed at the mysteries, 250, 254.\n Diodorus, bishop of Tarsus, 3.\n Dispositions for the mysteries, 215, 216, 238, 247.\n\n\n E\n Eucharist, union of, 243;\n makes earth heaven, 246.\n Eternity, proved by suffering, 131.\n Eudoxia, empress, 9;\n statue to, 11;\n death of, 14.\n Eusebius, bishop of Nicomedia, 5.\n Eutropius, fall of, 296;\n anguish of, 299;\n spectacle to all men, 302.\n\n\n F\n Feast of the martyrs, what, 259.\n Flavian, bishop of Antioch, 4;\n election of, 7.\n Forgiveness as we forgive, 304.\n Friendships, spiritual, 48;\n worldly, 47.\n\n\n G\n Gallic Rufinus, 8.\n Gifts of God through senses, 237.\n Gladness in tribulation, 126, 127.\n God, good by essence, 42;\n His instruments, 146;\n His kindness, 179;\n His paradoxes, 32;\n in visible things, 120;\n not to be encompassed, 166.\n Golden heart, 68.\n Goodness, a beacon, 58, 60;\n voice of, 56, 57;\n peace of, 81.\n Gospel, propagation of, 89;\n announcement of, 101, 104.\n Gregory Nazienzen, St., 6.\n\n\n H\n Heathen, argument with, 97.\n Holiness everywhere possible, 78, 80.\n Holy Spirit, gifts of, 34.\n Holy tears, 249.\n Human glory, vanity of, 296, 297.\n Humble, abode of, 148.\n Humility in labour, 150.\n\n\n I\n In chains for Christ, 153, 154.\n\n\n J\n Jews, dispersion of, 181.\n Jewish sacrifice ceased, 231.\n Jona, son of, 183.\n Joy for faithful departed, 287.\n Judas, communion of, 218.\n Judgment, proved by suffering, 25.\n Jurisdiction, each province its own, 274.\n\n\n K\n Kindness, reward of, 305.\n\n\n L\n Loss of a daughter, 288.\n Love, true, 46, 140.\n\n\n M\n Magi, faith of, 245.\n Man made for eternity, 168;\n the man not the state, 79, 82.\n Marriages of old, 106;\n money marriages, 107.\n Martyrs, voice of, 261, 263;\n shrines of, 264, 265.\n Martyrdom, the blessed death, 293.\n Matthias, election of, 189.\n Meletius, bishop of Antioch, 3;\n death of, 7.\n Ministering to Christ, 75.\n Miracles, spiritual, 86, 88, 175.\n Mites, spiritual, 100.\n Money, tyranny of, 41, 43.\n More, Blessed Thomas, 262.\n Mortification, happiness of, 121.\n\n\n N\n Nature, good, 28.\n Nova Roma, see of, 9.\n\n\n O\n Oak, Synod of the, 10.\n Olympias, 293;\n fortitude of, 294.\n\n\n P\n Paschal Lamb, a figure, 230.\n Patience, more than alms-giving, 135;\n a rock of strength, 285.\n Paul and Plato, 95.\n Paul, humility of, 115;\n chains of, 155;\n voice of, 223;\n heart of, 224, 225;\n Peter\u2019s companion, 227;\n apostolate in prison, 286.\n Persecution for justice, 282.\n Peter\u2019s prerogatives, 27, 184, 185;\n Peter scandalised, 186;\n before and after Resurrection, 176, 178, 187;\n temptation of, 196;\n sin of, 197;\n at Jerusalem, 188.\n Pilots, necessity of, in storm, 284.\n Plato, achievements of, 143.\n Pope Innocent, protest of, 12.\n Poverty, 40;\n voluntary, 44, 45.\n Power of holy bodies, 270.\n Priesthood, 202.\n Priests, 195;\n sinners not angels, 198;\n spiritual generators, 201, 203;\n responsibility of, 205;\n purity required of, 206;\n snares of, 207, 208;\n rulers of the world, 209.\n Priscilla and Persis, 105.\n Privilege of servant, 156.\n Probation, 133, 137.\n Prosperity, vanity of, 303.\n\n\n R\n Resurrection, proved in nature, 159, 160;\n by creation, 163;\n by human things, 165;\n confirmed by signs, 169, 170, 174;\n by faith of world, 177;\n same body in, 161, 162.\n Riches and poverty, whence, 35, 39.\n Rome, why blessed, 222.\n\n\n S\n Sacrifice of new law, 199, 200, 210;\n for the dead, 251, 255.\n Salt and light, 55.\n Signs of Apostles, a testimony, 173;\n greatest of, 52, 53.\n Socrates, end of, 145.\n Sojourners, 72.\n Sorrow, false, 253.\n Soul, worth of, 99.\n Stilicho, 8.\n Strength in weakness, 83.\n Sufferings of just, 134, 137;\n suffering its own reward, 292.\n\n\n T\n Table of peace, 235, 236.\n Teacher\u2019s example followed, 92.\n Teaching by life, 77, 91, 93.\n Temple, buyers and sellers in, 49.\n Thanksgiving, 128, 129, 136, 138, 295.\n The truth and the figure, 213.\n Theodosius, death of, 4;\n reign of, 6.\n Theophilus, patriarch of Alexandria, 5, 273, 276;\n enmity of, 9;\n summoned to Constantinople, 10;\n instigator of sacrilege, 278, 279.\n Time and eternity, 33.\n Timothy, 110;\n infirmities of, 111;\n advice to, 112, 113;\n diligent in fasting, 114;\n his zeal, 116.\n Tongue, a hand, 64.\n Touch of faith, 66.\n\n\n U\n Unleavened bread, 256.\n\n\n V\n Vespasian and Titus, 180.\n Virginity not commanded, 289.\n\n\n W\n Way, truth, and life, 23.\n Wickedness, way to unbelief, 167.\n Why Our Lord ate after Resurrection, 172.\n Wine, gift of God, 258;\n drinking, 117, 118.\n Working for eternity, 139.\n\n\n Z\n Zebedee, sons of, 26.\n\n\n\n\n _SELECTION_\n FROM\n BURNS & OATES\u2019\n _Catalogue_\n OF\n PUBLICATIONS.\n\n\n LONDON: BURNS AND OATES, Ld.\n ORCHARD ST., W., & 63 PATERNOSTER ROW, E.C.\n NEW YORK: 9 BARCLAY STREET.\n 1888.\n\n\n\n\n NEW BOOKS.\n\n\nThe Holy See and the Wandering of the Nations. By T. W. Allies, K.C.S.G.\n Demy 8vo, cloth, 10s. 6d.\n\nCharacteristics from the Writings of Archbishop Ullathorne, together\n with a Bibliographical account of the Archbishop\u2019s Works By the\n Rev. M. F. Glancey, of St. Mary\u2019s College, Oscott.\n [Immediately.\n\nSt. Peter, Bishop of Rome; or, the Roman Episcopate of the Prince of the\n Apostles, proved from the Fathers, History and Chronology, and\n illustrated by arguments from other sources. By the Rev. T.\n Livius, C.SS.R., M.A., Oriel College, Oxford. Dedicated to his\n Eminence Cardinal Newman. Demy 8vo, 12s.\n\nA Menology of England and Wales; or, Brief Memorials of the British and\n English Saints, arranged according to the Calendar. Together with\n the Martyrs of the 16th and 17th centuries. Compiled by order of\n the Cardinal Archbishop and the Bishops of the Province of\n Westminster, by the Rev. Richard M. Stanton, Priest of the\n Oratory. In one volume. Demy 8vo, cloth, 14s.\n\nThe Canons and Decrees of the Sacred and \u0152cumenical Council of Trent,\n celebrated under the Sovereign Pontiffs, Paul III., Julius III.,\n and Pius IV., translated by the Rev. J. Waterworth. To which are\n prefixed Essays on the External and Internal History of the\n Council. A new edition. Demy 8vo, cloth, 10s. 6d.\n\nRecords of the English Catholics of 1715. Edited by John Orlebar Payne,\n M.A. With a complete index. Demy 8vo, Cloth gilt, 15s.\n\nExplanation of the Psalms and Canticles in the Divine Office. By St.\n Alphonsus Liguori. Translated from the Italian by Thomas Livius,\n C.SS.R. With a Preface by his Eminence Cardinal Manning. Crown\n 8vo, cloth, 7s. 6d.\n\nLife of St. Anastasia. Translated by Miss Margaret Howitt, and edited by\n the Rev. Kenelm Vaughan.\n [Immediately.\n\nLives of the Saints and Blessed of the Three Orders of St. Francis.\n Translated from the original \u201cAur\u00e9ole S\u00e9raphique\u201d of the Very Rev.\n Father Leon, ex-Provincial of the Friars Minor of the Observance.\n Complete in 4 vols., price 8s. 6d. each.\n\nLife of St. Patrick, Apostle of Ireland. By the Rev. W. B. Morris, of\n the Oratory. A new, revised, and greatly enlarged edition. Cloth,\n 5s.\n\n\u201cJesu\u2019s Psalter\u201d; What it was at its origin, and as consecrated by the\n use of many Martyrs and Confessors. With Chant for its more solemn\n recitation. By the Rev. Samuel Heydon Sole, Priest of Chipping\n Norton. Cloth gilt, 3s. 6d.\n\nSt. Peter\u2019s Chains; or, Rome and the Italian Revolution. A series of\n Sonnets. By Aubery de Vere. Cloth, 2s.\n\n\n\n\n SELECTION\n FROM\n BURNS AND OATES\u2019 CATALOGUE\n OF PUBLICATIONS.\n\n\nALLIES, T. W. (K.C.S.G.)\n\n See of St. Peter.\n \u00a30 4 6\n Formation of Christendom. Vols. I., II., III. each\n 0 12 0\n Church and State as seen in the Formation of Christendom, 8vo, pp.\n 472, cloth\n 0 14 0\n The Throne of the Fisherman, built by the Carpenter\u2019s Son, the Root,\n the Bond, and the Crown of Christendom. Demy 8vo\n 0 10 6\n\n \u201cIt would be quite superfluous at this hour of the day to recommend\n Mr. Allies\u2019 writings to English Catholics. Those of our readers who\n remember the article on his writings in the _Katholik_, know that he\n is esteemed in Germany as one of our foremost writers.\u201d\u2014_Dublin\n Review._\n\nALLIES, MARY.\n\n Leaves from St. Augustine. With preface by T. W. Allies, K.C.S.G.\n Crown 8vo\n 0 6 0\n\n \u201cThe plain, outspoken, yet truly Christian doctrine of the great\n Bishop of Hippo has an honest hearty ring about it which contrasts\n strangely with the weak-kneed theology of those who would cut and trim\n the Gospel to the taste of worldly society.\u201d\u2014_Morning Post._\n\n \u201cWelcome to such volumes, and were there many of them.\u201d\u2014_Weekly\n Register._\n\nALLNATT, C. F. B.\n\n Cathedra Petri. Third and Enlarged Edition. Paper.\n 0 5 0\n\n \u201cInvaluable to the controversialist and the theologian, and most\n useful for educated men inquiring after truth or anxious to know the\n positive testimony of Christian antiquity in favour of Papal\n claims.\u201d\u2014_Month._\n\n Which is the True Church? New Edition\n 0 1 4\n The Church and the Sects\n 0 1 0\n\nANNUS SANCTUS:\n\n Hymns of the Church for the Ecclesiastical Year. Translated from the\n Sacred Offices by various Authors, with Modern, Original,\n and other Hymns, and an Appendix of Earlier Versions.\n Selected and Arranged by Orby Shipley, M. A. In stiff\n boards\n 0 3 6\n Plain Cloth, lettered\n 0 5 0\n Edition de luxe\n 0 10 6\n\n ANSWERS TO ATHEISTS: OR NOTES ON Ingersoll. By the Rev. A Lambert,\n (over 100,000 copies sold in America). Ninth edition.\n Paper\n 0 0 6\n Cloth\n 0 1 0\n\nB. N.\n\n The Jesuits: their Foundation and History. 2 vols. crown 8vo, cloth,\n red edges\n 0 15 0\n\n \u201cThe book is just what it professes to be\u2014_a popular history_, drawn\n from well-known sources,\u201d &c.\u2014_Month._\n\nBACQUEZ, L\u2019ABB\u00c9\n\n The \u201cDivine Office\u201d: From the French of l\u2019Abb\u00e9 Bacquez, of the\n Seminary of St. Sulpice, Paris. Edited by the Rev. Father\n Taunton, of the Congregation of the Oblates of St.\n Charles. Cloth\n 0 6 0\n\n \u201cThe translation of this most edifying work from the walls of St.\n Sulpice, the source of so much sacerdotal perfection, comes to us most\n opportunely, and we heartily commend it to the use of the clergy and\n of the faithful.\u201d\u2014The Cardinal Archbishop of Westminster.\n\n \u201cA very complete manual, learned, wholesome, and devout.\u201d\u2014_Saturday\n Review._\n\nBELLECIO, FATHER ALOYSIUS, (S.J.).\n\n Spiritual Exercises, according to the Method of St. Ignatius of\n Loyola. Translated from the Italian Version of Father\n Anthony Bresciani, S.J., by William Hutch, D.D. Third\n edition\n 0 2 6\n\nBORROMEO, LIFE OF ST. CHARLES.\n\n From the Italian of Peter Guissano. 2 vols.\n 0 15 0\n\n \u201cA standard work, which has stood the test of succeeding ages; it is\n certainly the finest work on St. Charles in an English\n dress.\u201d\u2014_Tablet._\n\nBOWDEN, REV. H. S. (of the Oratory) Edited by\n\n Dante\u2019s Divina Commedia: Its scope and value. From the German of\n Francis Hettinger, D.D. With an engraving of Dante. Crown\n 8vo\n 0 10 6\n\n \u201cAll that Venturi attempted to do has been now approached with far\n greater power and learning by Dr. Hettinger, who, as the author of the\n \u2018Apologie des Christenthums,\u2019 and as a great Catholic theologian, is\n eminently well qualified for the task he has undertaken.\u201d\u2014_The\n Saturday Review._\n\nBRIDGETT, REV. T. E. (C.SS.R.).\n\n Discipline of Drink\n 0 3 6\n\n \u201cThe historical information with which the book abounds gives evidence\n of deep research and patient study, and imparts a permanent interest\n to the volume, which will elevate it to a position of authority and\n importance enjoyed by few of its compeers.\u201d\u2014_The Arrow._\n\n Our Lady\u2019s Dowry; how England Won and Lost that Title. Second Edition\n 0 9 0\n\n \u201cThis book is the ablest vindication of Catholic devotion to Our Lady,\n drawn from tradition, that we know of in the English\n language.\u201d\u2014_Tablet._\n\n Ritual of the New Testament. An essay on the principles and origin of\n Catholic Ritual in reference to the New Testament. Third\n edition\n 0 5 0\n The Life of the Blessed John Fisher. With a reproduction of the famous\n portrait of Blessed John Fisher by Holbein, and other\n Illustrations. Cloth\n 0 7 6\n\nBRIDGETT, REV. T. E. (C.SS.R.), Edited by.\n\n Suppliant of the Holy Ghost: a Paraphrase of the \u2018Veni Sancte\n Spiritus.\u2019 Now first printed from a MS. of the seventeenth\n century composed by Rev. R. Johnson, with other\n unpublished treatises by the same author. Second edition.\n Cloth\n 0 1 6\n Souls Departed. By Cardinal Allen. First published in 1565, now edited\n in modern spelling by the Rev. T. E. Bridgett\n 0 6 0\n\nCASWALL, FATHER.\n\n Catholic Latin Instructor in the Principal Church Offices and\n Devotions, for the Use of Choirs, Convents, and Mission\n Schools, and for Self-Teaching. 1 vol., complete\n 0 3 6\n Or Part I., containing Benediction, Mass, Serving a Mass, and various\n Latin Prayers in ordinary use\n 0 1 6\n May Pageant: A Tale of Tintern. (A Poem) Second edition\n 0 2 0\n Poems\n 0 5 0\n Lyra Catholica, containing all the Breviary and Missal Hymns, with\n others from various sources. 32mo, cloth, red edges\n 0 2 6\n\nCATHOLIC BELIEF: OR, A SHORT AND Simple Exposition of Catholic Doctrine.\nBy the Very Rev. Joseph Fa\u00e0 di Bruno, D.D. Sixth edition Price 6d.; post\nfree,\n\n 0 0 8\u00bd\n Cloth, lettered,\n 0 0 10\n Also an edition on better paper and bound in cloth, with gilt\n lettering and steel frontispiece\n 0 2 0\n\nCHALLONER, BISHOP.\n\n Meditations for every day in the year. New edition. Revised and edited\n by the Right Rev. John Virtue, D.D., Bishop of Portsmouth.\n 8vo. 5th edition\n 0 3 0\n And in other bindings.\n\nCOLERIDGE, REV. H. J. (S.J.)\n\n (_See Quarterly Series._)\n\nDEHARBE, FATHER JOSEPH, (S.J.)\n\n A History of Religion, or the Evidences or the Divinity of the\n Christian Religion, as furnished by its History from the\n Creation of the World to our own Times. Designed as a Help\n to Catechetical Instruction in Schools and Churches. Pp.\n 628\n net 0 8 6\n\nDEVAS, C. S.\n\n Studies of Family Life: a contribution to Social Science. Crown 8vo\n 0 5 0\n\n \u201cWe recommend these pages and the remarkable evidence brought together\n in them to the careful attention of all who are interested in the\n well-being of our common humanity.\u201d\u2014_Guardian._\n\n \u201cBoth thoughtful and stimulating.\u201d\u2014_Saturday Review._\n\nDRANE, AUGUSTA THEODOSIA.\n\n History of St. Catherine of Siena and her Companions. A new edition in\n two vols\n 0 12 6\n\n \u201cIt has been reserved for the author of the present work to give us a\n complete biography of St. Catherine.... Perhaps the greatest success\n of the writer is the way in which she has contrived to make the Saint\n herself live in the pages of the book.\u201d\u2014_Tablet._\n\nDUKE, REV. H. C.\n\n King, Prophet, and Priest: or, a Course of Lectures on the Catholic\n Church. Cloth\n 0 6 6\n\n \u201cSeventeen admirable lectures full of instruction, learned as well as\n simple ... singularly well arranged and very clearly\n expressed.\u201d\u2014_Tablet._\n\nENGLISH CATHOLIC NON-JURORS OF 1715.\n\n Being a Summary of the Register of their Estates, with Genealogical\n and other Notes, and an Appendix of Unpublished Documents\n in the Public Record Office. Edited by the late Very Rev.\n E. E. Estcourt, M.A., F.S.A., Canon of St. Chad\u2019s,\n Birmingham, and John Orlebar Payne, M.A. 1 vol., demy 8vo\n 1 1 0\n\n \u201cThis handsomely printed volume lies before us. Every student of the\n history of our nation, or of families which compose it, cannot but be\n grateful for a catalogue such as we have here.\u201d\u2014_Dublin Review._\n\n \u201cMost carefully and creditably brought out.... From first to last full\n of social interest, and it contains biographical details for which we\n may search in vain elsewhere.\u201d\u2014_Antiquarian Magazine._\n\nEYRE, MOST REV. CHARLES, (Abp. of Glasgow).\n\n The History of St. Cuthbert; or, An Account of his Life, Decease, and\n Miracles. Third Edition. Illustrated with maps, charts,\n &c., and handsomely bound in cloth. Royal 8vo\n 0 14 0\n\n \u201cA handsome, well appointed volume, in every way worthy of its\n illustrious subject.... The chief impression of the whole is the\n picture of a great and good man drawn by a sympathetic\n hand.\u201d\u2014_Spectator._\n\nFABER, REV. FATHER.\n\n All for Jesus\n 0 5 0\n Bethlehem\n 0 7 0\n Blessed Sacrament\n 0 7 6\n Creator and Creature\n 0 6 0\n Ethel\u2019s Book of the Angels\n 0 5 0\n Foot of the Cross\n 0 6 0\n Growth in Holiness\n 0 6 0\n Hymns\n 0 6 0\n Notes on Doctrinal and Spiritual Subjects, 2 vols. each\n 0 5 0\n Poems\n 0 5 0\n Precious Blood\n 0 5 0\n Sir Lancelot\n 0 5 0\n Spiritual Conferences\n 0 6 0\n Life and Letters of Frederick William Faber, D.D., Priest of the\n Oratory of St. Philip Neri. By John Edward Bowden of the\n same Congregation\n 0 6 0\n\nFOLEY, HENRY (S.J.)\n\n Records of the English Province of the Society of Jesus. Vol. I.,\n Series I. Demy 8vo, 720 pp.\n net 1 6 0\n Vol. II., Series II., III., IV. Demy 8vo, 622 pp.\n net 1 6 0\n Vol. III., Series V., VI., VII., VIII. Demy 8vo, over 850 pp.\n 1 10 0\n Vol. IV., Series IX., X., XI. Demy 8vo, 750 pp.\n net 1 6 0\n Vol. V., Series XII. Demy 8vo, nearly 1100 pp., with nine Photographs\n of Martyrs\n net 1 10 0\n Vol. VI., Diary and Pilgrim-Book of the English College, Rome. The\n Diary from 1579 to 1773, with Biographical and Historical\n Notes. The Pilgrim-Book of the Ancient English Hospice\n attached to the College from 1580 to 1656, with Historical\n Notes. Demy 8vo, pp. 796\n net 1 6 0\n Vol. VII. Part the First: General Statistics of the Province; and\n Collectanea, giving Biographical Notices of its Members\n and of many Irish and Scotch Jesuits. With 20 Photographs\n net 1 6 0\n Vol VII. Part the Second: Collectanea, Completed; With Appendices.\n Catalogues of Assumed and Real Names: Annual Letters;\n Biographies and Miscellanea\n net 1 6 0\n\n \u201cAs a biographical dictionary of English Jesuits, it deserves a place\n in every well-selected library, and, as a collection of marvellous\n occurrences, persecutions, martyrdoms, and evidences of the results of\n faith, amongst the books of all who belong to the Catholic\n Church.\u201d\u2014_Genealogist._\n\nFORMBY, REV. HENRY.\n\n Monotheism: in the main derived from the Hebrew nation and the Law of\n Moses. The Primitive Religion of the City of Rome. An\n historical Investigation. Demy 8vo.\n 0 5 0\n\nFRANCIS DE SALES, ST.: THE WORKS OF.\n\n Translated into the English Language by the Rev. H. B. Mackey, O.S.B.,\n under the direction of the Right Rev. Bishop Hedley,\n O.S.B.\n Vol. I. Letters to Persons in the World. Cloth\n 0 6 0\n\n \u201cThe letters must be read in order to comprehend the charm and\n sweetness of their style.\u201d\u2014_Tablet._\n\n Vol. II.\u2014The Treatise on the Love of God. Father Carr\u2019s translation of\n 1630 has been taken as a basis, but it has been modernized\n and thoroughly revised and corrected.\n 0 9 0\n\n \u201cTo those who are seeking perfection by the path of contemplation this\n volume will be an armoury of help.\u201d\u2014_Saturday Review._\n\n Vol. III. The Catholic Controversy.\n 0 6 0\n\n \u201cNo one who has not read it can conceive how clear, how convincing,\n and how well adapted to our present needs are these controversial\n \u2018leaves.\u2019\u201d\u2014_Tablet._\n\n Vol. IV. Letters to Persons in Religion. [Just out.\n 0 6 0\n\n \u2042 Other vols. in preparation.\n Devout Life\n 0 1 6\n Manual of Practical Piety\n 0 3 6\n Spiritual Combat. Pocket size, 32mo, cloth\n 0 1 0\n\nGALLWEY, REV. PETER (S.J.)\n\n Precious Pearl of Hope in the Mercy of God, The. Translated from the\n Italian. With Preface by the Rev. Father Gallwey. Cloth.\n 0 4 6\n Lectures on Ritualism and on the Anglican Orders. 2 vols.\n 0 8 0\n Or may be had separately.\n\nGIBSON, REV. H.\n\n Catechism Made Easy. Being an Explanation of the Christian Doctrine. 2\n vols., cloth\n 0 7 6\n\n \u201cThis work must be of priceless worth to any who are engaged in any\n form of catechetical instruction. It is the best book of the kind that\n we have seen in English.\u201d\u2014_Irish Monthly._\n\nGILLOW, JOSEPH.\n\n Literary and Biographical History, or, Bibliographical Dictionary of\n the English Catholics. From the Breach with Rome, in 1534,\n to the Present Time. _Vols. I., II. and III. cloth, demy\n 8vo_\n _each_ 0 15 0\n\n \u201cThe patient research of Mr. Gillow, his conscientious record of\n minute particulars, and especially his exhaustive bibliographical\n information in connection with each name, are beyond praise.\u201d\u2014_British\n Quarterly Review._\n\n \u201cNo such important or novel contribution has been made to English\n bibliography for a long time.\u201d\u2014_Scotsman._\n\n The Haydock Papers. Illustrated. Demy 8vo.\n 0 7 6\n\nHEDLEY, BISHOP.\n\n Our Divine Saviour, and other Discourses. Crown 8vo.\n 0 6 0\n\n \u201cA distinct and noteworthy feature of these sermons is, we certainly\n think, their freshness\u2014freshness of thought, treatment, and style;\n nowhere do we meet pulpit commonplace or hackneyed phrase\u2014everywhere,\n on the contrary, it is the heart of the preacher pouring out to his\n flock his own deep convictions, enforcing them from the \u2018Treasures,\n old and new,\u2019 of a cultivated mind.\u201d\u2014_Dublin Review._\n\nHERGENROTHER, DR.\n\n Catholic Church and Christian State. On the Relation of the Church to\n the Civil Power. From the German. 2 vols., paper\n 1 0 0\n\nHUMPHREY, REV. W. (S.J.)\n\n The Divine Teacher: A Letter to a Friend. With a Preface in Reply to\n No. 3 of the English Church Defence Tracts, entitled\n \u201cPapal Infallibility.\u201d\n Fifth edition. Cloth\n 0 2 6\n Sixth edition. Wrapper\n 0 1 0\n Mary Magnifying God. May Sermons. Fifth edition\n 0 2 6\n Other Gospels; or, Lectures on St. Paul\u2019s Epistle to the Galatians.\n Crown 8vo, cloth\n 0 4 0\n The Written Word; or, Considerations on the Sacred Scriptures\n 0 5 0\n Mr. Fitzjames Stephen and Cardinal Bellarmine\n 0 1 0\n Suarez on the Religious State: A Digest of the Doctrine contained in\n his Treatise, \u201cDe Stat\u00fb Religionis.\u201d 3 vols., pp. 1200.\n Cloth, roy. 8vo.\n 1 10 0\n\n \u201cThis laborious and skilfully executed work is a distinct addition to\n English theological literature. Father Humphrey\u2019s style is quiet,\n methodical, precise, and as clear as the subject admits. Every one\n will be struck with the air of legal exposition which pervades the\n book. He takes a grip of his author, under which the text yields up\n every atom of its meaning and force.\u201d\u2014_Dublin Review._\n\nLEE, REV. F. G. (D.D.)\n\n Edward the Sixth: Supreme Head. Crown 8vo\n 0 10 6\n\n \u201cIn vivid interest and in literary power, no less than in solid\n historical value, Dr. Lee\u2019s present work comes fully up to the\n standard of its predecessors; and to say that is to bestow high\n praise. The book evinces Dr. Lee\u2019s customary diligence of research in\n amassing facts, and his rare artistic power in welding them into a\n harmonious and effective whole.\u201d\u2014_John Bull._\n\nLIFE OF FATHER CHAMPAGNAT,\n\n Founder of the Society of the Little Brothers of Mary. Containing a\n portrait of Fr. Champagnat, and four full page\n illustrations. Demy 8vo\n 0 8 0\n\n \u201cA work of great practical utility, and one eminently suited to these\n times.\u201d\u2014_Tablet._\n\n \u201cA serious and able essay on the science and art of the Christian\n education of children, exemplified in the career of one who gave his\n life to it.\u201d\u2014_Dublin Review._\n\nLIGUORI, ST. ALPHONSUS.\n\n New and Improved Translation of the Complete Works of St. Alphonsus,\n edited by the late Bishop Coffin:\u2014\n Vol. I. The Christian Virtues, and the Means for Obtaining them. Cloth\n elegant\n 0 4 0\n Or separately:\u2014\n 1. The Love of our Lord Jesus Christ\n 0 1 4\n 2. Treatise on Prayer. (_In the ordinary editions a great part of\n this work is omitted_)\n 0 1 4\n 3. A Christian\u2019s rule of Life\n 0 1 0\n Vol. II. The Mysteries of the Faith\u2014The Incarnation; containing\n Meditations and Devotions on the Birth and Infancy of\n Jesus Christ, &c., suited for Advent and Christmas.\n 0 3 6\n Cheap edition\n 0 2 0\n Vol. III. The Mysteries of the Faith\u2014The Blessed Sacrament\n 0 3 6\n Cheap edition\n 0 2 0\n Vol. IV. Eternal Truths\u2014Preparation for Death\n 0 3 6\n Cheap edition\n 0 2 0\n Vol. V. Treatises on the Passion, containing \u201cJesus hath loved us,\u201d\n &c.\n 0 3 0\n Cheap edition\n 0 2 0\n Vol. VI. Glories of Mary. New edition\n 0 3 6\n With Frontispiece, cloth\n 0 4 6\n Also in better bindings.\n\nMANNING, CARDINAL.\n\n Blessed Sacrament the Centre of Immutable Truth. A new revised\n edition.\n 0 1 0\n Confidence in God. Fourth edition\n 0 1 0\n England and Christendom\n 0 10 6\n Eternal Priesthood. Seventh Edition\n 0 2 6\n Four Great Evils of the Day. Fifth Edition. Paper\n 0 2 6\n Cloth\n 0 3 6\n Fourfold Sovereignty of God. Third edition. Paper\n 0 2 6\n Cloth\n 0 3 6\n Glories of the Sacred Heart. Fourth edition.\n 0 6 0\n Grounds of Faith. Seventh edition.\n 0 1 6\n Holy Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ according to St. John. With a\n Preface by His Eminence.\n 0 1 0\n Religio Viatoris. Third Edition. Wrapper.\n 0 1 0\n Cloth.\n 0 2 0\n Independence of the Holy See. Second Edition.\n 0 5 0\n Internal Mission of the Holy Ghost. Fourth edition\n 0 8 6\n Love of Jesus to Penitents. Seventh edition\n 0 1 6\n Miscellanies. 2 vols. (Vol. III. is in preparation.)\n 0 15 0\n Office of the Holy Ghost under the Gospel\n 0 1 0\n Petri Privilegium\n 0 10 6\n Praise, A Sermon on; with an Indulgenced Devotion.\n 0 1 0\n Sermons on Ecclesiastical Subjects. Vols. I. II. and III.\n each 0 6 0\n Sin and its Consequences. Sixth edition\n 0 6 0\n Temporal Mission of the Holy Ghost. Third edition\n 0 8 6\n Temporal Power of the Pope. Third edition\n 0 5 0\n The Office of the Church in Higher Education\n 0 0 6\n True Story of the Vatican Council. Second Edition.\n 0 5 0\n\nMANNING, CARDINAL, Edited by.\n\n Life of the Cur\u00e9 of Ars. New edition, enlarged.\n 0 4 0\n\nMIVART, PROF. ST. GEORGE (M.D., F.R.S.)\n\n Nature and Thought. Second edition\n 0 4 0\n\n \u201cThe complete command of the subject, the wide grasp, the subtlety,\n the readiness of illustration, the grace of style, contrive to render\n this one of the most admirable books of its class.\u201d\u2014_British Quarterly\n Review._\n\n A Philosophical Catechism. Fifth edition\n 0 1 0\n\n \u201cIt should become the _vade mecum_ of Catholic students.\u201d\u2014_Tablet._\n\nMORRIS, REV. JOHN (S.J.)\n\n Letter Books of Sir Amias Poulet, keeper of Mary Queen of Scots. Demy\n 8vo\n 0 10 6\n Troubles of our Catholic Forefathers, related by themselves. Second\n Series. 8vo, cloth.\n 0 14 0\n Third Series\n 0 14 0\n The Life of Father John Gerard, S.J. Third edition, rewritten and\n enlarged\n 0 14 0\n The Life and Martyrdom of St. Thomas Becket. Second and enlarged\n edition. In one volume, large post 8vo, cloth, pp. xxxvi.,\n 632,\n 0 12 6\n or bound in two parts, cloth\n 0 13 0\n\nMURPHY, J. N.\n\n Chair of Peter. Third edition, with the statistics, &c., brought down\n to the present day. 720 pages. Crown 8vo\n 0 6 0\n\n \u201cIn a series of clearly written chapters, precise in statement,\n excellently temperate in tone, the author deals with just those\n questions regarding the power, claims, and history of the Roman\n Pontiff which are at the present time of most actual\n interest.\u201d\u2014_Dublin Review._\n\nNEWMAN, CARDINAL.\n\n Annotated Translation of Athanasius. 2 vols.\n each 0 7 6\n Apologia pro Vit\u00e2 su\u00e2\n 0 6 0\n Arians of the Fourth Century, The\n 0 6 0\n Callista. An Historical Tale.\n 0 5 6\n Difficulties of Anglicans. Two volumes\u2014\n Vol. I. Twelve Lectures\n 0 7 6\n Vol. II. Letter to Dr. Pusey and to the Duke of Norfolk\n 0 5 6\n Discussions and Arguments\n 0 6 0\n Doctrine of Justification\n 0 5 0\n Dream of Gerontius\n 0 0 6\n Essay on Assent\n 0 7 6\n Essay on the Development of Christian Doctrine\n 0 6 0\n Essays Critical and Historical. Two volumes, with Notes\n each 0 6 0\n Essays on Miracles, Two. 1. Of Scripture. 2. Of Ecclesiastical History\n 0 6 0\n Historical Sketches. Three volumes\n each 0 6 0\n Idea of a University. Lectures and Essays\n 0 7 0\n Loss and Gain. Ninth Edition\n 0 5 6\n Occasional Sermons\n 0 6 0\n Parochial and Plain Sermons. Eight volumes\n each 0 5 0\n Present Position of Catholics in England.\n 0 7 0\n Sermons on Subjects of the Day\n 0 5 0\n Sermons to Mixed Congregations\n 0 6 0\n Theological Tracts\n 0 8 0\n University Sermons\n 0 5 0\n Verses on Various Occasions.\n 0 5 6\n Via Media. Two volumes, with Notes\n each 0 6 0\n\nNORTHCOTE, VERY REV. J. S. (D.D.)\n\n Roma Sotterranea; or, An Account of the Roman Catacombs. New edition.\n Re-written and greatly enlarged. This work is in three\n volumes, which may at present be had separately\u2014\n Vol. I. History\n 1 4 0\n Vol. II. Christian Art.\n 1 4 0\n Vol. III. Epitaphs of the Catacombs\n 0 10 0\n The Second and Third Volumes may also be had bound together in cloth\n 1 12 0\n Visit to the Roman Catacombs: Being a popular abridgment of the larger\n work.\n 0 4 0\n Mary in the Gospels\n 0 3 6\n\nPOPE, THOMAS ALDER, M.A. (of the Oratory.)\n\n Life of St. Philip Neri, Apostle of Rome. From the Italian of Alfonso\n Capecelatro. 2 vols\n 0 15 0\n\n \u201cNo former life has given us so full a knowledge of the surroundings\n of St. Philip.... To those who have not read the original we can say,\n with the greatest confidence, that they will find in these two\n well-edited volumes a very large store of holy reading and of\n interesting history.\u201d\u2014_Dublin Review._\n\nQUARTERLY SERIES (Edited by the Rev. H. J. Coleridge, S.J.)\n\n Baptism of the King: Considerations on the Sacred Passion. By the Rev.\n H. J. Coleridge, S.J.\n 0 7 6\n Christian Reformed in mind and Manners, The. By Benedict Rogacci, of\n the Society of Jesus. The Translation edited by the Rev.\n H. J. Coleridge, S.J.\n 0 7 6\n Chronicles of St. Antony of Padua, the \u201cEldest Son of St. Francis.\u201d\n Edited by the Rev. H. J. Coleridge, S.J.\n 0 3 6\n Colombi\u00e8re, Life of the Ven. Claude de la\n 0 5 0\n Dialogues of St. Gregory the Great: an Old English Version. Edited by\n the Rev. H. J. Coleridge, S.J.\n 0 6 0\n During the Persecution. Autobiography of Father John Gerard, S.J.\n Translated from the original Latin by the Rev. G. R.\n Kingdon, S.J.\n 0 5 0\n English Carmelite, An. The Life of Catherine Burton, Mother Mary\n Xaveria of the Angels, of the English Teresian Convent at\n Antwerp. Collected from her own Writings, and other\n sources, by Father Thomas Hunter, S.J.\n 0 6 0\n Gaston de S\u00e9gur. A Biography. Condensed from the French Memoir by the\n Marquis de S\u00e9gur, by F. J. M. A. Partridge\n 0 3 6\n Gracious Life, A (1566-1618); being the Life of Madame Acarie (Blessed\n Mary of the Incarnation), of the Reformed Order of our\n Blessed Lady of Mount Carmel. By Emily Bowles\n 0 6 0\n History of the Sacred Passion. By Father Luis de la Palma, of the\n Society of Jesus. Translated from the Spanish. With\n Preface by the Rev. H. J. Coleridge, S.J. Third edition\n 0 5 0\n Holy Infancy Series. By the Rev. H. J. Coleridge, S.J.\n Vol. I. Preparation of the Incarnation\n 0 7 6\n \u201c II. The Nine Months. Life of our Lord in the Womb\n 0 7 6\n \u201c III. The Thirty Years. Our Lord\u2019s Infancy and Hidden Life\n 0 7 6\n Hours of the Passion. Taken from the Life of Christ by Ludolph the\n Saxon\n 0 7 6\n Life and Teaching of Jesus Christ, in Meditations for every Day in the\n Year. By P. N. Avancino, S.J. 2 vols.\n 0 10 6\n Life and Letters of St. Francis Xavier. By the Rev. H. J. Coleridge,\n S.J. 2 vols.\n 0 10 6\n Life of Anne Catherine Emmerich. By Helen Ram. With Preface by the\n Rev. H. J. Coleridge, S.J.\n 0 5 0\n Life of Christopher Columbus. By the Rev. A. G. Knight, S.J.\n 0 6 0\n Life of Henrietta d\u2019Osseville (in Religion, Mother Ste. Marie),\n Foundress of the Institute of the Faithful Virgin.\n Arranged and edited by the Rev. John George M\u2019Leod, S.J.\n 0 5 6\n Life of Margaret Mostyn (Mother Margaret of Jesus), Religious of the\n Reformed Order of our Blessed Lady of Mount Carmel\n (1625-1679). By the Very Rev. Edmund Bedingfield. Edited\n from the Manuscripts preserved at Darlington, by the Rev.\n H. J. Coleridge, S.J.\n 0 6 0\n Life of our Life: The Harmony of the Gospel, arranged with\n Introductory and Explanatory Chapters, Notes and Indices.\n By the Rev. H. J. Coleridge, S.J. 2 vols. (out of print)\n 0 15 0\n Life of the Blessed John Berchmans. Third edition. By the Rev. F.\n Goldie, S.J.\n 0 6 0\n Life of the Blessed Peter Favre, First Companion of St. Ignatius\n Loyola. From the Italian of Father Boero. (Out of print).\n 0 6 6\n Life of King Alfred the Great. By Rev. A. G. Knight, S.J. Book I.\n Early Promise: II. Adversity; III. Prosperity; IV. Close\n of Life.\n 0 6 0\n Life of Mother Mary Teresa Ball. By Rev. H. J. Coleridge, S.J. With\n Portrait\n 0 6 6\n Life of St. Jane Frances Fremyot de Chantal. By Emily Bowles. Third\n Edition\n 0 5 0\n Life of St. Bridget of Sweden. By the late F. J. M. A. Partridge\n 0 6 0\n Life and Letters of St. Teresa. 3 vols. By Rev. H. J. Coleridge, S.J.\n each 0 7 6\n Life of Mary Ward. By Mary Catherine Elizabeth Chambers, of the\n Institute of the Blessed Virgin. Edited by the Rev. H. J.\n Coleridge, S.J. 2 vols.,\n each 0 7 6\n Life of Jane Dormer, Duchess of Feria. By Henry Clifford. Transcribed\n from the Ancient Manuscript in the possession of the Lord\n Dormer, by the late Canon E. E. Estcourt, and edited by\n the Rev. Joseph Stevenson, S.J.\n 0 5 0\n Mother of the King, The. By the Rev. H. J. Coleridge, S.J.\n 0 7 6\n Mother of the Church. \u201cSequel to Mother of the King.\u201d\n 0 6 0\n Of Adoration in Spirit and Truth. By the Rev. J. E. Nieremberg. S.J.\n Old English translation. With a Preface by the Rev. P.\n Gallwey, S.J. A New Edition\n 0 6 6\n Pious Affections towards God and the Saints. Meditations for every Day\n in the Year, and for the Principal Festivals. From the\n Latin of the Ven. Nicholas Lancicius, S.J. With Preface by\n Archbishop George Porter, S.J.\n 0 7 6\n Prisoners of the King, a book of thoughts on the doctrine of\n Purgatory. By the Rev. H. J. Coleridge, S.J. New Edition.\n 0 5 0\n Public Life of our Lord Jesus Christ. By the Rev. H. J. Coleridge,\n S.J. vols 1 to 9\n each 0 6 6\n Vols 10 and 11\n each 0 6 0\n Return of the King. Discourses on the Latter Days. By the Rev. H. J.\n Coleridge, S.J.\n 0 7 6\n St. Mary\u2019s Convent, Micklegate Bar, York. A History of the Convent.\n Edited by the Rev. H.J. Coleridge, S.J.\n 0 7 6\n Story of St. Stanislaus Kostka. With Preface by the Rev. H. J.\n Coleridge, S.J.\n 0 3 6\n Story of the Gospels, harmonised for meditation. By the Rev. H. J.\n Coleridge, S.J.\n 0 7 6\n Works and Words of our Saviour, gathered from the Four Gospels. By the\n Rev. H. J. Coleridge, S.J.\n 0 7 6\n Sufferings of the Church in Brittany during the Great Revolution. By\n Edward Healy Thompson, M.A.\n 0 6 6\n Suppression of the Society of Jesus in the Portuguese Dominions. From\n Documents hitherto unpublished. By the Rev. Alfred Weld,\n S.J.\n 0 7 6\n [This volume forms the First Part of the General History of the\n Suppression of the Society.]\n Teaching and Counsels of St. Francis Xavier. Gathered from his\n letters. Edited by the Rev. H. J. Coleridge, S.J.\n 0 5 0\n Three Catholic Reformers of the fifteenth Century. By Mary H. Allies.\n 0 6 0\n Thomas of Hereford, Life of St. By Fr. Lestrange\n 0 6 0\n Tribunal of Conscience, The. By Father Gasper Druzbicki, S.J.\n 0 3 6\n\nRAWES, THE LATE REV. Fr., Edited by.\n\n _The Library of the Holy Ghost_:\u2014\n Vol. I. St. Thomas Aquinas on the Adorable Sacrament of the Altar.\n With Prayers and Thanksgivings for Holy Communion. Red\n cloth\n 0 5 0\n _Little Books of the Holy Ghost_:\u2014\n Book 1. St. Thomas Aquinas on the Commandments. 32mo, 233 pp. Cloth\n gilt\n 0 2 0\n Book 2. Little Handbook of the Archconfraternity of the Holy Ghost.\n Fourth edition. 111 pp.\n 0 1 0\n Gilt\n 0 1 2\n Book 3. St. Thomas Aquinas on the Lord\u2019s Prayer. 139 pp.\n 0 1 0\n Cloth gilt\n 0 1 3\n Book 4. The Holy Ghost the Sanctifier. By Cardinal Manning. 213 pp.\n 1s. 6d. and 0 2 0\n Guide to the Archconfraternity of the Servants of the Holy Ghost.\n Edited by the Rev. R. Butler, Director, cloth\n 0 0 2\n\nRICHARDS, REV. WALTER J. B. (D.D.)\n\n Manual of Scripture History. Being an Analysis of the Historical Books\n of the Old Testament. By the Rev. W. J. B. Richards, D.D.,\n Oblate of St. Charles; Inspector of Schools in the Diocese\n of Westminster. In Four Parts\n each 0 1 0\n Or, the Four Parts bound together. Cloth\n 0 4 0\n\n \u201cHappy indeed will those children and young persons be who acquire in\n their early days the inestimably precious knowledge which these books\n impart.\u201d\u2014_Tablet._\n\nRYDER, REV. H. I. D. (of the Oratory.)\n\n Catholic Controversy: A Reply to Dr. Littledale\u2019s \u201cPlain Reasons.\u201d\n Fifth edition\n 0 2 6\n\n \u201cFather Ryder of the Birmingham Oratory, has now furnished in a small\n volume a masterly reply to this assailant from without. The lighter\n charms of a brilliant and graceful style are added to the solid merits\n of this handbook of contemporary controversy.\u201d\u2014_Irish Monthly._\n\nSOULIER, REV. P.\n\n Life of St. Philip Benizi, of the Order of the Servants of Mary. Crown\n 8vo\n 0 8 0\n\n \u201cA clear and interesting account of the life and labours of this\n eminent Servant of Mary.\u201d\u2014_American Catholic Quarterly._\n\n \u201cVery scholar-like, devout and complete.\u201d\u2014_Dublin Review._\n\nTHOMPSON, EDWARD HEALY, (M.A.)\n\n The Life of Jean-Jacques Olier, Founder of the Seminary of St.\n Sulpice. New and Enlarged Edition. Post 8vo, cloth, pp.\n xxxvi. 628\n 0 15 0\n\n \u201cIt provides us with just what we most need, a model to look up to and\n imitate; one whose circumstances and surroundings were sufficiently\n like our own to admit of an easy and direct application to our own\n personal duties and daily occupations.\u201d\u2014_Dublin Review._\n\n The Life and Glories of St. Joseph, Husband of Mary, Foster-Father of\n Jesus, and Patron of the Universal Church. Grounded on the\n Dissertations of Canon Antonio Vitali, Father Jos\u00e9 Moreno,\n and other writers. Crown 8vo, cloth, pp. xxvi., 488,\n 0 6 0\n\n \u201cNo literature contains a more splendid tribute to St. Joseph.\u201d\u2014_Irish\n Monthly._\n\n (By the same author. \u201cLibrary of Religious Biography.\u201d 9 vols. already\n published. List on application.)\n\nULLATHORNE, BISHOP.\n\n Endowments of Man, &c. Popular edition.\n 0 7 0\n Groundwork of the Christian Virtues: do.\n 0 7 0\n Christian Patience, do. do.\n 0 7 0\n Ecclesiastical Discourses\n 0 6 0\n Memoir of Bishop Willson.\n 0 2 6\n\nWARD, WILFRID.\n\n The Clothes of Religion. A reply to popular Positivism\n 0 3 6\n\n \u201cVery witty and interesting.\u201d\u2014_Spectator._\n\n \u201cReally models of what such essays should be.\u201d\u2014_Church Quarterly\n Review._\n\nWISEMAN, CARDINAL.\n\n Fabiola. A Tale of the Catacombs\n 3s. 6d. and 0 4 0\n Also a new and splendid edition printed on large quarto paper,\n embellished with thirty-one full-page illustrations, and a\n coloured portrait of St. Agnes. Handsomely bound.\n 1 1 0\n\n\n BURNS AND OATES, Ld.\n London: Orchard St., W., & 63 Paternoster Row, E.C.;\n and at New York.\n\n\n\n\n Transcriber\u2019s Notes\n\n\n\u2014Silently corrected a few typos.\n\n\u2014Retained publication information from the printed edition: this eBook\n is public-domain in the country of publication.\n\n\u2014In the text versions only, text in italics is delimited by\n _underscores_.","title":"Leaves from St. John Chrysostom","tradition":"scripture-revelation","translated_text":null,"word_count":88316}