8. But although patience be a
virtue of the mind, yet partly the mind exercises it in the mind
itself, partly in the body. In itself it exercises patience, when,
the body remaining unhurt and untouched, the mind is goaded by any
adversities or filthinesses of things or words, to do or to say
something that is not expedient or not becoming, and patiently
bears all evils that it may not itself commit any evil in work or
word. By this patience we bear, even while we be sound in body,
that in the midst of the offenses of this world our blessedness is
deferred: of which is said what I cited a little before, “If what
we see not we hope for, we do by patience wait for it.” By this
patience, holy David bore the revilings of a railer,2638
and, when
he might easily have
avenged himself, not only did it not, but even
refrained another who was
vexed and moved for him; and more put
forth his kingly
power by prohibiting than by exercising
vengeance.
Nor at that time was his body
afflicted with any
disease or
wound,
but there was an acknowledging of a time of
humility, and a bearing
of the will of
God, for the sake of which there was a drinking of
the
bitterness of contumely with most
patient mind. This
patience
the
Lord taught, when, the
servants being moved at the mixing in of
the tares and wishing to
gather them up, He said that the
householder answered, “Leave both to grow until the
harvest.”
2639
That,
namely, must be
patience put up with, which must not be in
haste
put away. Of this
patience Himself afforded and showed an example,
when, before the passion of His Body, He so bore with His
disciple
Judas, that ere He pointed him out as the
traitor, He
endured him
as a
thief;
2640
and before
experience of
bonds and
cross and
death, did, to those
lips so full
of
guile, not deny the
kiss of
peace.
2641
All these, and whatever else there
be, which it were tedious to rehearse,
belong to that manner of
patience, by which the
mind doth, not its own
sins but any evils so
ever from without, patiently
endure in itself, while the body
remains altogether unhurt. But the other manner of
patience is that
by which the same
mind bears any
troubles and grievances whatsoever
in the sufferings of the body; not as do foolish or
wicked men for
the sake of getting
vain things or perpetrating
crimes; but as is
defined by the
Lord, “for
righteousness’ sake.”
2642
In both
kinds, the holy Martyrs
contended. For both with scornful reproofs
of the
ungodly were they filled, where, the body remaining intact,
the
mind hath its own (as it were) blows and
wounds, and bears
these unbroken: and in their bodies they were bound,
imprisoned,
vexed with
hunger and
thirst,
tortured, gashed, torn asunder,
burned, butchered; and with
piety immovable submitted unto
God
their mind, while they were suffering in the flesh all that
exquisite cruelty could devise in its mind.
E.C.F. INDEX & SEARCH
