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Book IV.
Basil heard this, and after
a little pause thus replied:
If thou wert thyself ambitious of obtaining
this office, thy fear would have been reasonable; for in being
ambitious of undertaking it, a man confesses himself to be
qualified for its administration, and if he fail therein, after it
has been entrusted to him, he cannot take refuge in the plea of
inexperience, for he has deprived himself of this excuse
beforehand,125
| 125 προλαβῶν γὰρ αὐτὸς
›αυτοῦ
ταύτην
‡φείλετο
τὴν
‡πολογίαν. | by having
hurriedly seized upon the ministry, and whoever willingly and
deliberately enters upon it, can no longer say, “I have sinned in
this matter against my will—and against my will I have ruined
such and such a soul;” for He who will one day judge him, will
say to him, “Since then thou wert conscious of such inexperience,
and hadst not ability for undertaking this matter without incurring
reproach, why wert thou so eager and presumptuous as to take in
hand what was so far beyond thy power? Who compelled thee to do so?
Didst thou shrink or fly, and did any one drag thee on by force?”
But thou wilt hear nothing like this, for thou canst have nothing
of this kind to condemn thyself for; and it is evident to all that
thou wert in no degree ambitious of this dignity, for the
accomplishment of the matter was due to the action of others.
Hence, circumstances which leave those who are ambitious of this
office no chance of pardon when they err therein, afford thee ample
ground for excuse.
Chrysostom: At this I shook
my head and smiled a little, admiring the simple-mindedness of the
man, and thus addressed him: I could wish indeed that matters were
as thou sayest, most excellent of men, but not in order that I
might be able to accept that office from which I lately fled. For
if, indeed, no chastisement were to await me for undertaking the
care of the flock of Christ without consideration and experience,
yet to me it would be worse than all punishment, after being
entrusted with so great a charge, to have seemed so base towards
Him who entrusted me with it. For what reason, then, did I wish
that thou wert not mistaken in this opinion of thine? truly for the
sake of those wretched and unhappy beings (for so must I call them,
who have not found out how to discharge the duties of this office
well, though thou wert to say ten thousand times
over that they had been driven to undertake
it, and that, therefore, their errors therein are sins of
ignorance)—for the sake, I say, of such that they might succeed
in escaping that unquenchable fire, and the outer darkness126
and the worm
that dieth not127
and the
punishment of being cut asunder,128
and perishing together with the
hypocrites.
But what am I to do for thee? It is not as
thou sayest; no, by no means. And if thou wilt, I will give thee a
proof of what I maintain, from the case of a kingdom, which is not
of such account with God as the priesthood. Saul, that son of Kish,
was not himself at all ambitious of becoming a king, but was going
in quest of his asses, and came to ask the prophet about them. The
prophet, however, proceeded to speak to him of the kingdom, but not
even then did he run greedily after it, though he heard about it
from a prophet, but drew back and deprecated it, saying, “Who am
I, and what is my father’s house.”129
What then? When he made a bad use
of the honor which had been given him by God, were those words of
his able to rescue him from the wrath of Him who had made him king?
And was he able to say to Samuel, when rebuked by him: “Did I
greedily run and rush after the kingdom and sovereign power? I
wished to lead the undisturbed and peaceful life of ordinary men,
but thou didst drag me to this post of honor. Had I remained
in my low estate I should easily have escaped all these stumbling
blocks, for were I one of the obscure multitude, I should never
have been sent forth on this expedition, nor would God have
committed to my hands the war against the Amalekites, and if I had
not had it committed to me, I should not have sinned this sin.”
But all such arguments are weak as excuses, and not only weak, but
perilous, inasmuch as they rather kindle the wrath of God. For he
who has been promoted to great honor by God, must not advance the
greatness of his honor as an excuse for his errors, but should make
God’s special favor towards him the motive for further
improvement; whereas he who thinks himself at liberty to sin
because he has obtained some uncommon dignity, what does he but
study to show that the lovingkindness of God is the cause of his
personal transgression, which is always the argument of those who
lead godless and careless lives. But we ought to be on no
account thus minded, nor to fall away into the insane folly of such
people, but be ambitious at all times to make the most of such
powers as we have, and to be reverent both in speech and
thought.
For (to leave the kingdom and to come to the
priesthood, which is the more immediate subject of our discourse)
neither was Eli ambitious of obtaining his high office, yet what
advantage was this to him when he sinned therein? But why do I say
obtain it? not even had he wished could he have avoided it, because
he was under a legal necessity to accept it. For he was of the
tribe of Levi, and was bound to undertake that high office which
descended to him from his forefathers, notwithstanding which even
he paid no small penalty for the lawlessness130
| 130 παρανομίας. If
παροινίας be read, then
“excesses” must be understood:—the word meaning, 1st, excess
in drink; and 2d, excess of any kind. | of his sons. And the very first
High Priest of the Jews,131
concerning whom God spake so many
words to Moses, when he was unable to withstand alone the frenzy of
so great a multitude, was he not very nearly being destroyed, but
for the intercession of his brother, which averted the wrath of
God?132
And since we
have mentioned Moses, it will be well to show the truth of what we
are saying from what happened to him. For this same saintly Moses
was so far from grasping at the leadership of the Jews as to
deprecate the offer,133
and to decline it when God
commanded him to take it, and so to provoke the wrath of Him who
appointed him; and not only then, but afterwards when he entered
upon his rule, he would gladly have died to have been set free from
it: “Kill me,” saith he, “if thou art going to deal thus with
me.”134
| 134 Numb. xi.
15.
̓Ει δ'οὕτω σὺ ποιεις μοι
‡πόκτεινόνμε,
LXX. | But what
then? when he sinned at the waters of strife,135
could these repeated refusals be
pleaded in excuse for him? Could they prevail with God to grant him
pardon? And wherefore was he deprived of the promised land? for no
other reason, as we all know, than for this sin of his, for which
that wondrous man was debarred from enjoying the same blessings
which those over whom he ruled obtained; but after many labors and
sufferings, after that unspeakable wandering, after so many battles
fought and victories won, he died outside the land to reach which
he had undergone so much toil and trial; and though he had
weathered the storms of the deep, he failed to enjoy the blessings
of the haven after all. From hence then thou seest that not only
they who grasp at this office are left without excuse for the sins
they commit in the discharge thereof, but they too
who come to it through the ambitious desire of others; for truly if
those persons who have been chosen for this high office by God
himself, though they have never so often refused it, have paid such
heavy penalties, and if nothing has availed to deliver any of them
from this danger, neither Aaron nor Eli, nor that holy man the
Saint, the prophet, the wonder worker, the meek above all the men
which were upon the face of the earth,136
who spake with God, as a man
speaketh unto his friend,137
hardly shall we who fall so
infinitely short of the excellence of that great man, be able to
plead as a sufficient excuse the consciousness that we have never
been ambitious of the dignity, more especially when many of the
ordinations now-a-days do not proceed from the grace of God, but
are due to human ambition. God chose Judas, and counted him one of
the sacred band, and committed to him, as to the rest, the dignity
of the apostolic office; yea he gave him somewhat beyond the
others, the stewardship of the money.138
But what of that? when he
afterwards abused both these trusts, betraying Him whom he was
commissioned to preach, and misapplying the money which he should
have laid out well; did he escape punishment?139
| 139 i.e., because he had been chosen an
apostle. | nay for this very reason he even
brought upon himself greater punishment, and very reasonably too.
For we must not use the high honors given to us by God so as to
offend Him, but so as to please Him better. But he who claims
exemption from punishment where it is due, because he has been
exalted to higher honor than others, acts very much like one of
those unbelieving Jews, who after hearing Christ say, “If I had
not come and spoken unto them, they had not had sin,” “If I had
not done among them the works which none other did, they had not
had sin,”140
should
reproach the Saviour and benefactor of mankind by replying, “Why,
then, didst thou come and speak? why didst thou work miracles? was
it that thou mightest punish us the more?” But these are the
words of madness and of utter senselessness. For the Great
Physician came not to give thee over, but to heal thee—not to
pass thee by when thou wert sick, but to rid thee entirely of
disease. But thou hast of thine own accord withdrawn thyself from
his hands; receive therefore the sorer punishment. For as thou
wouldest have been freed from thy former maladies if thou hadst
yielded to his treatment, so if, when thou sawest him coming to
thine aid thou fleddest from him, thou wilt no longer be able to
cleanse thyself of these infirmities, and as thou art unable, thou
wilt both suffer punishment for them, and also because for thy part
thou madest God’s solicitude for thy good of none effect.
Therefore we who act like this are not subjected to the same
torment after as before we received honor at God’s hands, but far
severer torment after than before. For he who has not become good
even by being well treated, deserves all the bitterer punishment.
Since, then, this excuse of thine has been shown to be weak, and
not only fails to save those who take refuge in it, but exposes
them so much the more, we must provide ourselves with some other
means of safety.
Basil: Tell me of what
nature is that? since, as for me, I am at present scarce master of
myself, thou hast reduced me to such a state of fear and trembling
by what thou hast said.
Chrysostom: Do not, I
beseech and implore thee, do not be so downcast. For while there is
safety for us who are weak, namely, in not undertaking this office
at all, there is safety for you too who are strong, and this
consists in making your hopes of salvation depend, next to the
grace of God, on avoiding every act unworthy of this gift, and of
God who gave it. For they certainly would be deserving of the
greatest punishment who, after obtaining this dignity through their
own ambition, should then either on account of sloth, or
wickedness, or even inexperience, abuse the office. Not that we are
to gather from this that there is pardon in store for those who
have not been thus ambitious. Yea, even they too are deprived of
all excuse. For in my judgment, if ten thousand were to entreat and
urge, a man should pay them no attention, but should first of all
search his own heart, and examine the whole matter carefully before
yielding to their importunities. Now no one would venture to
undertake the building of a house were he not an architect, nor
will any one attempt the cure of sick bodies who is not a skilled
physician; but even though many urge him, will beg off, and will
not be ashamed to own his ignorance; and shall he who is going to
have the care of so many souls entrusted to him, not examine
himself beforehand? will he accept this ministry even though he be
the most inexperienced of men, because this one commands him, or
that man constrains him, or for fear of offending a third? And if
so, how will he escape casting himself together with them into
manifest misery. Had he continued as he was, it were possible for
him to be saved, but now he involves others in his own destruction.
For whence can he hope for salvation? whence
to obtain pardon? Who will then
successfully intercede for us? they who are now perhaps urging us
and forcibly dragging us on? But who will save these same at such a
moment? For even they too will stand in need in their turn of
intercession, that they may escape the fire. Now, that I say not
these things to frighten thee, but as representing the matter as in
truth it is, hear what the holy Apostle Paul saith to Timothy his
disciple, his own and beloved son, “Lay hands suddenly on no man,
neither be partaker of other men’s sins.”141
Dost thou not see from what great
blame, yea and vengeance, we, so far as in us lies, have delivered
those who were ready to put us forward for this office.
2. For as it is not enough for those who are chosen
to say in excuse for themselves, “I did not summon myself to this
office, nor could I avoid what I did not see beforehand;” so
neither will it be a sufficient plea for those who ordain them to
say that they did not know him who was ordained. The charge against
them becomes greater on account of their ignorance of him whom they
brought forward, and what seems to excuse them only serves to
accuse them the more. For how absurd a thing, is it not? that they
who want to buy a slave, show him to the physician, and require
sureties for the sale, and information about him from their
neighbours, and after all this do not yet venture on his purchase
without asking for some time for a trial of him; while they who are
going to admit any one to so great an office as this, give their
testimonial and their sanction loosely and carelessly, without
further investigation, just because some one wishes it, or to court
the favor, or to avoid the displeasure of some one else. Who shall
then successfully intercede for us in that day, when they who ought
to defend us stand themselves in need of defenders? He who is going
to ordain, therefore, ought to make diligent inquiry, and much more
he who is to be ordained. For though they who ordain him share his
punishment, for any sins which he may commit in his office, yet so
far from escaping vengeance he will even pay a greater penalty than
they—save only if they who chose him acted from some worldly
motive contrary to what seemed justifiable to themselves. For if
they should be detected so doing, and knowing a man to be unworthy
have brought him forward on some pretext or other, the amount of
their punishment shall be equivalent to his, nay perhaps the
punishment shall be even greater for them who appointed the unfit
man. For he who gives authority to any one who is minded to destroy
the Church, would be certainly to blame for the outrages which that
person commits. But if he is guilty of no such thing, and says that
he has been misled by the opinions of others, even then he shall
not altogether remain unpunished, but his punishment shall be a
little lighter than his who has been ordained. What then? It is
possible that they who elect may come to the election deceived by a
false report. But he who is elected could not say, “I am ignorant
of myself,” as others were of him. As one who will receive
therefore a sorer punishment than they who put him forward, so
should he make his scrutiny of himself more careful than that which
they make of him; and if they in ignorance drag him on, he ought to
come forward and instruct them carefully about any matters whereby
he may stop their being misled; and so having shown himself
unworthy of trial may escape the burden of so high an office.
For what is the reason why, in the arts of
war, and merchandize,142
| 142 'Εμπορίας, restricted here to commerce carried
on by sea, as the context shows. | and husbandry, and other
departments of this life, when some plan is proposed, the
husbandman will not undertake to navigate the ship, nor the soldier
to till the ground, nor the pilot to lead an army, under pain of
ten thousand deaths? Is it not plainly this? that each foresees the
danger which would attend his incompetence? Well, where the loss is
concerned with trifles shall we use so much forethought, and refuse
to yield to the pressure of compulsion, but where the punishment is
eternal, as it is for those who know not how to handle the
Priesthood, shall we want only and inconsiderately run into so
great danger, and then advance, as our excuse, the pressing
entreaties of others? But He who one day will judge us will
entertain no such plea as this. For we ought to show far more
caution in spiritual matters than in carnal. But now we are not
found exhibiting as much caution. For tell me: if supposing a man
to be an artificer, when he is not so, we invited him to do a piece
of work, and he were to respond to the call, and then having set
his hand to the material prepared for the building, were to spoil
the wood and spoil the stone, and so to build the house that it
straightway fell to pieces, would it be sufficient excuse for him
to allege that he had been urged by others and did not come of his
own accord? in no wise; and very reasonably and justly so. For he
ought to have refused even at the call of others. So for the man
who only spoils wood and stone, there will be no escape from paying
the penalty, and is he who destroys souls, and builds the
temple of God carelessly, to think that the compulsion of others is
his warrant for escaping punishment? Is not this very absurd? For I
omit the fact as yet that no one is able to compel the man who is
unwilling. But be it that he was subjected to excessive pressure
and divers artful devices, and then fell into a snare; will this
therefore rescue him from punishment? I beseech thee, let us not
deceive ourselves, and pretend that we know not what is obvious to
a mere child. For surely this pretence of ignorance will not be
able to profit in the day of reckoning. Thou wert not ambitious,
thou sayest, of receiving this high office, conscious of thine own
weakness. Well and good. Then thou oughtest, with the same mind, to
have declined the solicitation of others; or, when no one called
thee, wast thou weak and incapable, but when those were found ready
to offer thee this dignity, didst thou suddenly become competent?
What ludicrous nonsense! worthy of the extremest punishment. For
this reason also the Lord counsels the man who wishes to build a
tower, not to lay the foundation before he has taken his own
ability to build into account, lest he should give the passers by
innumerable opportunities of mocking at him.143
But in his case the penalty only
consists in becoming a laughing-stock; while in that before us the
punishment is that of fire unquenchable, and of an undying worm,144
gnashing of
teeth, outer darkness, and being cut asunder,145
and having a portion with the
hypocrites.
But my accusers are unwilling to consider any
of these things. For otherwise they would cease to blame a person
who is unwilling to perish without cause. It is not the management
of corn and barley, oxen or sheep, that is now under our
consideration, nor any such like matters, but the very Body of
Jesus. For the Church of Christ, according to St. Paul, is
Christ’s Body,146
and he who
is entrusted with its care ought to train it up to a state of
healthiness, and beauty unspeakable, and to look everywhere, lest
any spot or wrinkle,147
or other like blemish should mar
its vigor and comeliness. For what is this but to make it appear
worthy, so far as human power can, of the incorruptible and
ever-blessed Head which is set over it? If they who are ambitious
of reaching an athletic condition of body need the help of
physicians and trainers,148
| 148 Παιδοτριβῶν,
literally, those who teach boys wrestling. | and exact diet, and constant
exercise, and a thousand other rules (for the omission of the
merest trifle upsets and spoils the whole), how shall they to whose
lot falls the care of the body, which has its conflict not against
flesh and blood, but against powers unseen, be able to keep it
sound and healthy, unless they far surpass ordinary human virtue,
and are versed in all healing proper for the soul?
3. Pray, art thou not aware that that body is
subject to more diseases and assaults than this flesh of ours, is
more quickly corrupted, and more slow to recover? and by those who
have the healing of these bodies, divers medicines have been
discovered, and an apparatus of different instruments, and diet
suitable for the sick; and often the condition of the atmosphere is
of itself enough for the recovery of a sick man; and there are
instances of seasonable sleep having saved the physician all
further labor. But in the case before us, it is impossible to take
any of these things into consideration; nay there is but one method
and way of healing appointed, after we have gone wrong, and that
is, the powerful application of the Word. This is the one
instrument, the only diet, the finest atmosphere. This takes the
place of physic, cautery and cutting, and if it be needful to sear
and amputate, this is the means which we must use, and if this be
of no avail, all else is wasted; with this we both rouse the soul
when it sleeps, and reduce it when it is inflamed; with this we cut
off excesses, and fill up defects, and perform all manner of other
operations which are requisite for the soul’s health. Now as
regards the ordering of our daily life for the best, it is true
that the life of another may provoke us to emulation. But in the
matter of spurious doctrine, when any soul is diseased thereby,
then there is great need of the Word, not only in view of the
safety of our own people, but in view of the enemy without. If,
indeed, one had the sword of the spirit, and the shield of faith,149
so as to be
able to work miracles, and by means of these marvels to stop the
mouths of impudent gainsayers, one would have little need of the
assistance of the Word; still in the days of miracles the Word was
by no means useless, but essentially necessary. For St. Paul made
use of it himself, although he was everywhere so great an object of
wonder for his miracles; and another150
| 150 1 Pet.
iii. 15. “Haud
seio an ita loqui possit primatus Romani defensor.”
Bengel’s Edition of this Treatise, Leipzig, 1834, p. 145, note
17. | of those who belonged to the
“glorious company of the Apostles” exhorts us to apply
ourselves to acquiring this power, when he says: “Be ready always
to give an answer to every man that asketh you a reason concerning
the hope that is
in you,” and they all, with one accord, committed the care of the
poor widows to Stephen, for no other reason than that they
themselves might have leisure “for the ministry of the Word.”151
To this we
ought equally to apply ourselves, unless indeed we are endued with
a power of working miracles. But if there is not the least sign of
such a power being left us, while on every side many enemies are
constantly attacking us, why then it necessarily follows that we
should arm ourselves with this weapon, both in order that we may
not be wounded ourselves with the darts of the enemy, and in order
that we may wound him.
4. Wherefore it should be our ambition that
the Word of Christ dwell in us richly.152
For it is not for one kind of
battle only that we have to be prepared. This warfare is manifold,
and is engaged with a great variety of enemies; neither do all
these use the same weapons, nor do they practice the same method of
attack; and he who has to join battle with all, must needs know the
artifices of all, and be at once both archer and slinger, captain
and general, in the ranks and in command, on foot and on horseback,
in sea-fight and in siege. In common warfare, indeed, each man
repels the enemy by discharging the particular duty which he has
undertaken. But here it is otherwise; and if any one wishes to come
off conqueror in this warfare, he must understand all forms of the
art, as the devil knows well how to introduce his own assailants
through any one spot which may happen to be unguarded, and to carry
off the sheep. But not so where he perceives the shepherd coming
equipped with accurate knowledge at all points, and well acquainted
with his plottings. Wherefore we ought to be well-guarded in all
parts: for a city, so long as it happens to be surrounded with a
wall, laughs to scorn the besiegers, abiding in great security; but
if any one makes a breach in the wall, though but of the size of a
gate, the rest of the circuit is of no use, although the whole of
it stand quite securely; so it is with the city of God: so long as
the presence of mind and wisdom of the shepherd, which answers to
the wall, protect it on all sides, all the enemy’s devices end in
his confusion and ridicule, and they who dwell within the wall
abide unmolested, but wherever any one has been able to demolish a
single part, though the rest stand never so fast, through that
breach ruin will enter upon the whole. For to what purpose does a
man contend earnestly with the Greeks, if at the same time he
becomes a prey to the Jews? or get the better of both these and
then fall into the clutches of the Manichæans?153
| 153 The followers of Manes, or Manichæus, who was born
about 240 A.D. He taught that God was the cause of good, and matter
the cause of evil. This theory about matter led him to hold that
the body of Jesus was an incorporeal phantom. He eliminated the Old
Testament from the Scriptures, and held himself at liberty also to
reject such passages in the New Testament as were opposed to his
own opinions. See Robertson: Hist. of the Christian Church, vol. i.
139–145. | or after he has proved himself
superior to them even, if they who introduce fatalism154
| 154 “οἱ την
›ιμαρμν™ην ἐισ€γοντες,” sc. The Stoics. They were
still a numerous body, and St. Chrysostom himself wrote six
Homilies against them. | enter in,
and make havoc of the flock? But not to enumerate all the heresies
of the devil, it will be enough to say that unless the shepherd is
well skilled in refuting them all, the wolf, by means of any one of
them, can enter, and devour the greater part of the flock. In
ordinary warfare we must always look for victory being won or
defeat sustained by the soldiers who are on the field of battle.
But in the spiritual warfare the case is quite different. For there
it often happens that the combat with one set of enemies secures a
victory for others who never engaged in battle at all, nor took any
trouble, but were sitting still all the while; and he who has not
much experience in such occurrences will get pierced, so to say,
with his own sword, and become the laughing-stock of friends and
foes alike. I will try by an example to make clear what I am
saying. They who receive the wild doctrines of Valentinus and
Marcion,155
| 155 Marcion and Valentinus (A.D. 140) were each
founders of a form of Gnosticism. Each held that the God of the Old
Testament was morally contrary to the God of the New: while the
system of Valentinus represented the imaginative and speculative
side of Gnosticism, that of Marcion represented its practical side,
and was rather religious than theological. The sect of the
Valentinians lasted as late as the 5th century; and Marcionism was
not extinct till the 6th. | and of all
whose minds are similarly diseased, exclude the Law given by God to
Moses from the catalogue of the Divine Scriptures. But Jews so
revere the Law, that although the time has come which annuls it,
they still contend for the observance of all its contents, contrary
to the purpose of God. But the Church of God, avoiding either
extreme, has trodden a middle path, and is neither induced on the
one hand to place herself under its yoke, nor on the other does she
tolerate its being slandered, but commends it, though its day is
over, because of its profitableness while its season lasted. Now it
is necessary for him who is going to fight with both these
enemies,156
| 156 Sc. Jews and Marcionites. | to be fully
conversant with this middle course. For if in wishing to teach the
Jews that they are out of date in clinging to the old law, he
begins to find fault with it unsparingly, he gives no little handle
to those heretics who wish to pull it to pieces; and if in his
ambition to stop their mouths he extols it immoderately, and speaks
of it with admiration, as
necessary for this present time, he unseals
the lips of the Jews. Again they who labor under the frenzy of
Sabellius and the craze of Arius,157
| 157 Sabellius was condemned in a Council held in Rome,
A.D. 263, for holding that there is but one person in the Godhead,
and that the Word and Holy Spirit are only virtues or emanations of
the Deity. Arius held that our Lord Jesus Christ existed before His
Incarnation, that by Him as by an instrument the Supreme God made
the worlds, and that as being the most ancient and the highest of
created beings, He is to be worshipped; but that He had a beginning
of existence, and so is not God’s co-eternally begotten Son, nor
of the very substance of the Supreme God. See Liddon, Bampton
Lectures, i. p. 25. The heresy of Arius was condemned at the
Council of Nicæa, A.D. 325. | have both fallen from a sound faith
for want of observing a middle course. The name of Christian is
applied to both these heretics; but if any one examines their
doctrines, he will find the one sect not much better than the Jews,
and differing from them only in name, and the other158
very nearly
holding the heresy of Paul of Samosata,159
| 159 Paul of Samosata was appointed Bishop of Antioch
about 260 A.D. The Humanitarian movement culminated in his
teaching, which maintained that the Word was only in the Father, as
reason is in man; that Jesus was a mere man, and that he is called
Son of God as having, in a certain sense, become such through the
influence of the Divine Word which dwelt in him, but without any
personal union. | and that both are very wide of the
truth. Great, therefore, is the danger in such cases, and the way
of orthodoxy is narrow and hemmed in by threatening crags on either
side, and there is no little fear lest when intending to strike at
one enemy we should be wounded by the other. For if any one assert
the unity of the Godhead, Sabellius straightway turns that
expression to the advantage of his own mental vagary,160
| 160 i.e., while he maintained the Unity of the
Godhead against the Arians there was danger of slipping into the
Sabellian error of “confounding the Persons.” | and if he
distinguish the Persons, and say that the Father is one, and the
Son another, and the Holy Spirit a third, up gets Arius, ready to
wrest that distinction of Persons into a difference of substance;161
| 161 i.e., while he divided the Persons against
the Sabellians he had to guard against the Arian error of
“dividing the substance” also. | so we must
turn and flee both from the impious confounding of the Persons by
the one, and the senseless division of the substance by the other,
confessing, indeed, that the Godhead of the Father and of the Son
and of the Holy Ghost, is all one, while we add thereunto a Trinity
of Persons. For then we shall be able to fortify ourselves against
the attacks of both heretics. I might tell thee besides these, of
several other adversaries against which, except we contend bravely
and carefully, we shall leave the field covered with
wounds.
5. Why should any one describe the silly
chatter of our own people? For these are not less than the attacks
upon us from without, while they give the teacher even more
trouble. Some out of an idle curiosity are rashly bent upon busying
themselves about matters which are neither possible for them to
know, nor of any advantage to them if they could know them. Others
again demand from God an account of his judgments, and force
themselves to sound the depth of that abyss which is unfathomable.
“For thy judgments,” saith the Scriptures, “are a great
deep,”162
and about
their faith and practice thou wouldest find few of them anxious,
but the majority curiously inquiring into matters which it is not
possible to discover, and the mere inquiry into which provokes God.
For when we make a determined effort to learn what He does
not wish us to know, we fail to succeed (for how should we succeed
against the will of God?); and there only remains for us the danger
arising from our inquiry. Now, though this be the case, whenever
any one authoritatively stops the search, into such fathomless
depths, he gets himself the reputation of being proud and ignorant;
so that at such times much tact is needed on the Bishop’s part,
so as to lead his people away from these unprofitable questions,
and himself escape the above-named censures. In short, to meet all
these difficulties, there is no help given but that of speech, and
if any be destitute of this power, the souls of those who are put
under his charge (I mean of the weaker and more meddlesome kind)
are no better off than ships continually storm-tossed. So that the
Priest should do all that in him lies, to gain this means of
strength.
6. Basil: “Why,
then, was not St. Paul ambitious of becoming perfect in this art?
He makes no secret of his poverty of speech, but distinctly
confesses himself to be unskilled, even telling the Corinthians
so,163
who were
admired for their eloquence, and prided themselves upon
it.”
Chrysostom: This is the
very thing which has ruined many and made them remiss in the study
of true doctrine. For while they failed to fathom the depths of the
apostle’s mind, and to understand the meaning of his words, they
passed all their time slumbering and yawning, and paying respect
not to that ignorance which St. Paul acknowledges, but to a kind
from which he was as free as any man ever was in the world.
But leaving this subject to await our consideration,
I say this much in the meantime. Granting that St. Paul was in this
respect as unskilled as they would have him to be, what has that to
do with the men of to-day? For he had a greater power by far than
power of speech, power which brought about greater results too;
which was that his bare presence, even though he was silent, was
terrible to the demons.
But the men of the present day, if they were all collected in one
place, would not be able, with infinite prayers and tears, to do
the wonders that once were done by the handkerchief of St. Paul. He
too by his prayers raised the dead,164
and wrought such other miracles,
that he was held to be a god by heathen;165
and before he was removed from this
life, he was thought worthy to be caught up as far as the third
heaven, and to share in such converse as it is not lawful for
mortal ears to hear.166
But the men of to-day—not that I
would say anything harsh or severe, for indeed I do not speak by
way of insult to them, but only in wonder—how is it that they do
not shudder when they measure themselves with so great a man as
this? For if we leave the miracles and turn to the life of this
blessed saint, and look into his angelic conversation, it is in
this rather than in his miracles that thou wilt find this Christian
athlete a conqueror. For how can one describe his zeal and
forbearance, his constant perils, his continual cares, and
incessant anxiety for the Churches; his sympathy with the weak, his
many afflictions, his unwonted persecutions, his deaths daily?
Where is the spot in the world, where is the continent or sea, that
is a stranger to the labours of this righteous man? Even the desert
has known his presence, for it often sheltered him in time of
danger. For he underwent every species of attack, and achieved
every kind of victory, and there was never any end to his contests
and his triumphs.
Yet, all unawares, I have been led to do this
man an injury. For his exploits are beyond all powers of
description, and beyond mine in particular, just as the masters of
eloquence surpass me. Nevertheless, since that holy apostle will
judge us, not by the issue, but by the motive, I shall not forbear
till I have stated one more circumstance which surpasses anything
yet mentioned, as much as he himself surpasses all his fellow men.
And what is this? After so many exploits, after such a multitude of
victories, he prayed that he might go into hell, and be handed over
to eternal punishment, if so be that those Jews, who had often
stoned him, and done what they could to make away with him, might
be saved, and come over to Christ.167
Now who so longed for Christ? If,
indeed, his feelings towards him ought not to be described as
something nobler than longing; shall we then any more compare
ourselves with this saint, after so great grace was imparted to him
from above, after so great virtue was manifested in himself? What
could be more presumptuous?
Now, that he was not so unskilled, as some
count him to be, I shall try to show in what follows. The unskilled
person in men’s estimation is not only one who is unpracticed in
the tricks of profane oratory,168
| 168 τερθρείαν, from
τ™ρθρον, literally, a
sail-rope. The man who condescends to catching the ear by mere
rhetorical artifice being like the mountebank on the trapeze,
fascinating the spectators in a circus by his performances. | but the man who is incapable of
contending for the defence of the right faith, and they are right.
But St. Paul did not say that he was unskilled in both these
respects, but in one only; and in support of this he makes a
careful distinction, saying that he was “rude in speech, but not
in knowledge.”169
Now were I
to insist upon the polish of Isocrates, the weight of Demosthenes,
the dignity of Thucydides, and the sublimity of Plato, in any one
bishop, St. Paul would be a strong evidence against me. But I pass
by all such matters and the elaborate ornaments of profane oratory;
and I take no account of style or of delivery; yea let a man’s
diction be poor and his composition simple and unadorned, but let
him not be unskilled in the knowledge and accurate statement of
doctrine; nor in order to screen his own sloth, deprive that holy
apostle of the greatest of his gifts, and the sum of his
praises.
7. For how was it, tell me, that he confounded
the Jews which dwelt at Damascus,170
though he had not yet begun to work
miracles? How was it that he wrestled with the Grecians and threw
them?171
and why was
he sent to Tarsus? Was it not because he was so mighty and
victorious in the word, and brought his adversaries to such a pass
that they, unable to brook their defeat, were provoked to seek his
life? At that time, as I said, he had not begun to work miracles,
nor could any one say that the masses looked upon him with
astonishment on account of any glory belonging to his mighty works,
or that they who contended with him were overpowered by the force
of public opinion concerning him. For at this time he conquered by
dint of argument only. How was it, moreover, that he contended and
disputed successfully with those who tried to Judaize in Antioch?
and how was it that that Areopagite,172
an inhabitant of Athens, that most
devoted of all cities to the gods, followed the apostle, he and his
wife? was it not owing to the discourse which they heard? And when
Eutychus173
fell from
the lattice, was it not owing to his long attendance even until
midnight to St. Paul’s preaching? How do we find him employed at
Thessalonica and Corinth, in Ephesus and in Rome itself? Did he not
spend whole nights and days in interpreting the Scriptures in their
order? and why
should any one recount his disputes with the Epicureans and
Stoics.174
For were we
resolved to enter into every particular, our story would grow to an
unreasonable length.
When, therefore, both before working miracles,
and after, St. Paul appears to have made much use of argument, how
can any one dare to pronounce him unskillful whose sermons and
disputations were so exceedingly admired by all who heard them? Why
did the Lycaonians175
imagine that he was Hermes? The
opinion that he and Barnabas were gods indeed, arose out of the
sight of their miracles; but the notion that he was Hermes did not
arise from this, but was a consequence of his speech. In what else
did this blessed saint excel the rest of the apostles? and how
comes it that up and down the world he is so much on every one’s
tongue? How comes it that not merely among ourselves, but also
among Jews and Greeks, he is the wonder of wonders? Is it not from
the power of his epistles? whereby not only to the faithful of
to-day, but from his time to this, yea and up to the end, even the
appearing of Christ, he has been and will be profitable, and will
continue to be so as long as the human race shall last. For as a
wall built of adamant, so his writings fortify all the Churches of
the known world, and he as a most noble champion stands in the
midst, bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of
Christ, casting down imaginations, and every high thing which
exalts itself against the knowledge of God,176
and all this he does by those
epistles which he has left to us full of wonders and of Divine
wisdom. For his writings are not only useful to us, for the
overthrow of false doctrine and the confirmation of the true, but
they help not a little towards living a good life. For by the use
of these, the bishops of the present day fit and fashion the chaste
virgin, which St. Paul himself espoused to Christ,177
and conduct
her to the state of spiritual beauty; with these, too, they drive
away from her the noisome pestilences which beset her, and preserve
the good health thus obtained. Such are the medicines and such
their efficacy left us by this so-called unskillful man, and they
know them and their power best who constantly use them. From all
this it is evident that St. Paul had given himself to the study of
which we have been speaking with great diligence and
zeal.
8. Hear also what he says in his charge to his
disciple:178
“Give heed
to reading, to exhortation, to teaching,” and he goes on to show
the usefulness of this by adding, “For in doing this thou shalt
save both thyself and them that hear thee.”179
And again he says, “The Lord’s
servant must not strive, but be gentle towards all, apt to teach,
forbearing;”180
and he
proceeds to say, “But abide thou in the things which thou hast
learned, and hast been assured of, knowing of whom thou hast
learned them, and that from a babe thou hast known the sacred
writings which are able to make thee wise unto salvation,”181
and again,
“Every Scripture is inspired of God, and also profitable for
teaching, for reproof, for correction, for instruction which is in
righteousness, that the man of God may be complete.”182
| 182 2 Tim.
iii. 16, 17, or “every
Scripture inspired of God is also profitable,” etc., so rendered
in the Revised Version. | Hear what he
adds further in his directions to Titus about the appointment of
bishops. “The bishop,” he says, “must be holding to the
faithful word which is according to the teaching, that he may be
able to convict the gainsayers.”183
But how shall any one who is
unskillful as these men pretend, be able to convict the gainsayers
and stop their mouths? or what need is there to give attention to
reading and to the Holy Scriptures, if such a state of
unskillfulness is to be welcome among us? Such arguments are mere
makeshifts and pretexts, the marks of idleness and sloth. But some
one will say, “it is to the priests that these charges are
given:”—certainly, for they are the subjects of our discourse.
But that the apostle gives the same charge to the laity, hear what
he says in another epistle to other than the priesthood: “Let the
word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom,”184
and again,
“Let your speech be always with grace seasoned with salt, that ye
may know how ye ought to answer each one,”185
and there is a general charge to
all that they “be ready to”186
render an account of their faith,
and to the Thessalonians, he gives the following command: “Build
each other up, even as also ye do.”187
But when he speaks of priests he
says, “Let the elders that rule well be counted worthy of double
honor, especially those who labor in the word, and in
teaching.”188
For this is
the perfection of teaching when the teachers both by what they do,
and by what they say as well, bring their disciples to that blessed
state of life which Christ appointed for them. For example alone is
not enough to instruct others. Nor do I say this of myself; it is
our Saviour’s own word. “For whosoever shall do and teach them,
he shall be called great.189
Now if doing were the same as
teaching, the second word here would be superfluous; and it had
been enough to have said “whosoever shall do” simply. But now by
distinguishing the two, he shows that practice is one thing, and
doctrine another, and that each needs the help of the others in
order to complete edification. Thou hearest too what the chosen
vessel of Christ says to the Ephesian elders: “Wherefore watch
ye, remembering that for the space of three years, I ceased not to
admonish every one, night and day, with tears.”190
But what need was there for his
tears or for admonition by word of mouth, while his life as an
apostle was so illustrious? His holy life might be a great
inducement to men to keep the commandments, yet I dare not say that
it alone could accomplish everything.
9. But when a dispute arises concerning matters of
doctrine, and all take their weapons from the same Scriptures, of
what weight will any one’s life be able to prove? What then will
be the good of his many austerities, when after such painful
exercises, any one from the Priest’s great unskillfulness in
argument fall into heresy, and be cut off from the body of the
Church, a misfortune which I have myself seen many suffering. Of
what profit then will his patience be to him? None; no more than
there will be in a sound faith if the life is corrupt. Wherefore,
for this reason more than for all others, it concerns him whose
office it is to teach others, to be experienced in disputations of
this kind. For though he himself stands safely, and is unhurt by
the gainsayers, yet the simple multitude under his direction, when
they see their leader defeated, and without any answer for the
gainsayers, will be apt to lay the blame of his discomfiture not on
his own weakness, but on the doctrines themselves, as though they
were faulty; and so by reason of the inexperience of one, great
numbers are brought to extreme ruin; for though they do not
entirely go over to the adversary, yet they are forced to doubt
about matters in which formerly they firmly believed, and those
whom they used to approach with unswerving confidence, they are
unable to hold to any longer steadfastly, but in consequence of
their leader’s defeat, so great a storm settles down upon their
souls, that the mischief ends in their shipwreck altogether. But
how dire is the destruction, and how terrible the fire which such a
leader brings upon his own wretched head for every soul which is
thus lost, thou wilt not need to learn from me, as thou knowest all
this perfectly. Is this then pride, is this vainglory in me, to be
unwilling to be the cause of the destruction of so many souls? and
of procuring for myself greater punishment in the world to come,
than that which now awaits me there? Who would say so? surely no
one, unless he should wish to find fault where there is none, and
to moralize over other men’s calamities. E.C.F. INDEX & SEARCH
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