10. To this man let them2643
look who
put themselves to
death when they are sought for to have
life put
upon them; and by bereaving themselves of the present, deny and
refuse also that which is to come. Why, if people were driving them
to deny
Christ or to do any thing contrary to
righteousness, like
true Martyrs, they ought rather to bear all patiently than to
dare
death impatiently. If it could be right to do this for the sake of
running away from evils, holy Job would have
killed himself, that
being in so great evils, in his
estate, in his sons, in his limbs,
through the
devil’s
cruelty, he might
escape them all. But he did
it not.
Far be it from him, a
wise man, to
commit upon himself what
not even that
unwise woman suggested. And if she had suggested it,
she would with good reason here also have had that answer which she
had when suggesting blasphemy; “Thou hast spoken as one of the
foolish
women. If we have received good at the
hand of the
Lord,
shall we not bear
evil?”
2644
Seeing even he also would have
lost
patience, if either by blasphemy as she had suggested, or by
killing himself which not even she had
dared to speak of, he should
die, and be among them of whom it is written, “Woe unto them that
have lost
patience!”
2645
and rather increase than
escape
pains, if after the
death of his body he should be hurried off to
punishment either of blasphemers, or of murderers, or of them which
are worse even than parricides. For if a parricide be on that
account more
wicked than any homicide, because he
kills not merely
a man but a near relative; and among parricides too, the nearer the
person
killed, the greater criminal he is judged to be: without
doubt worse still is he who
kills himself, because there is none
nearer to a man than himself. What then do these
miserable persons
mean, who, though both here they have
inflicted pain upon
themselves, and hereafter not only for their impiety towards
God
but for the very
cruelty which they have
exercised upon themselves
will deservedly
suffer pains of His inflicting, do yet
seek
moreover the glories of Martyrs? since, even if for the true
testimony of
Christ they
suffered persecution, and
killed
themselves, that they might not
suffer any thing from their
persecutors, it would be rightly said to them, “Woe unto them
which have lost
patience!” For how hath
patience her just
reward,
if even an impatient suffering receives the
crown? or how shall
that man be judged
innocent, to whom is said, “Thou shall
love
thy
neighbor as thyself,”
2646
if he commit murder upon himself
which he is forbidden to commit upon his neighbor?
E.C.F. INDEX & SEARCH
