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Homily VI.
This Homily is intended to shew that the fear of
Magistrates is beneficial. It also contains an account of what
occurred, during their journey, to those who were conveying the
tidings of the sedition to the Emperor. The case of Jonah is
further cited in illustration. The exhortation on the fear of death
is here continued; and it is shewn, that he who suffers unjustly,
and yet gives thanks to God, by whose permission it happens, is as
one suffering for God’s sake. Examples are again adduced from the
history of the Three Children, and the Babylonian furnace. The
Homily concludes with an address on the necessity of abstaining
from oaths.
1. We have spent many
days addressing words of comfort to your Charity. We would not,
however, on that account lay the subject aside; but as long as the
sore of despondency remains, we will apply to it the medicine of
consolation. For if in the case of bodily wounds, physicians do not
give over their fomentations, until they perceive that the pain has
subsided; much less ought this to be done in regard to the soul.
Despondency is a sore of the soul; and we must therefore foment it
continually with soothing words. For not so naturally is warm water
efficacious to soften a hard tumour of the flesh, as words of
comfort are powerful to allay the swelling passions of the soul.1277
| 1277 S. Ign. ad Pol. c. 2. | Here,
there is no need of the sponge as with physician, but instead of
this we employ the tongue. No need of fire here, that we may warm
the water; but instead of fire, we make use of the grace of the
Spirit. Suffer us then to do so to-day. For if we were not to
comfort you, where else could ye obtain consolation? The judges
affright; the priests therefore must console! The rulers threaten;
therefore must the Church give comfort! Thus it happens with
respect to little children. The teachers frighten them, and send
them away weeping to their mothers; but the mothers receiving them
back to their own bosoms, keep them there, embrace them, and kiss
them, while they wipe away their tears, and relieve their sorrowing
spirits; persuading them by what they say, that it is profitable
for them to fear their teachers. Since therefore the rulers also
make you afraid, and render you anxious, the Church, which is the
common mother of us all, opening her bosom, and cradling us in her
arms, administers daily consolation; telling us that the fear of
rulers is profitable, and profitable too the consolation that comes
from hence.1278
For the
fear of the former does not permit us to be relaxed by
listlessness, but the consolation of the latter does not allow us
to sink under the weight of sadness; and by both these means God
provides for our safety. He Himself hath armed magistrates with
power; that they may strike terror into the licentious; and hath
ordained His priests that they may administer consolation to those
that are in sorrow.
2. And both these things are taught us by the
Scripture, and by actual experience of recent events. For if,
whilst there are magistrates and soldiers living under arms, the
madness of a few individuals, a motley crew of adventurers, hath
kindled such a fire among us, in so short a moment1279
of time,
and raised such a tempest, and made us all to stand in fear of
shipwreck, suppose the fear of magistrates to be wholly taken away?
To what lengths would they not have gone in their madness? Would
they not have overthrown the city from its foundations, turning all
things upside down, and have taken our very lives? If you were to
abolish the public tribunals, you would abolish all order from our
life. And even as if you deprive the ship of its pilot, you sink
the vessel; or as, if you remove the general from the army, you
place the soldiers bound in the hands of the enemy; so if you
deprive the city of its rulers, we must lead a life less rational
than that of the brutes, biting and devouring one another; the rich
man, the poorer; the stronger man, the weaker; and the bolder man,
him who is more gentle. But now by the grace of God none of these
things happen. For they who live in a state of piety, require no
correction on the part of the magistrates; for “the law is not
made for a righteous man,”1280
saith one. But the more numerous
being viciously inclined, if they had no fear of these hanging over
them, would fill the cities with innumerable evils; which Paul
knowing, observed, “There is no power, but of God, the powers that be are
ordained of God.”1281
For what the tie-beams1282
| 1282 ἐν
ταῖς οἰκίαις τῶν ξύλων αἱ ἱμαντώσεις, literally,
“strappings of beams;” or “bondings of the timbers.” | are in
houses, that rulers are in cities; and in the same manner as if you
were to take away the former, the walls, being disunited, would
fall in upon one another of their own accord; so were you to
deprive the world of magistrates, and of the fear that comes of
them, houses at once, and cities, and nations, would fall on one
another in unrestrained confusion, there being no one to repress,
or repel, or persuade them to be peaceful, by the fear of
punishment!
3. Let us not then be grieved, beloved, by the
fear of our rulers, but let us give thanks to God that He hath
removed our listlessness, and rendered us more diligent. For tell
me, what harm hath arisen from this concern and anxiety? Is it that
we are become more grave, and gentle; more diligent, and attentive?
that we see no one intoxicated, and singing lascivious airs? Or is
it that there are continual supplications,1283
and prayers, and tears? that
unseasonable laughter, and impure words, and all dissoluteness is
banished; and that the city is now in all respects, like the
pattern of a modest and virtuous woman? Dost thou grieve, I ask,
for any of these reasons? For these things, assuredly, it were
right to rejoice, and to be thankful to God, that by the terror of
a few days He hath put an end to such stupidity!
“Very true,” saith some one, “if our danger
did not go beyond fear, we should have reaped a sufficient benefit;
but we are now in dread lest the mischief should proceed much
farther, and we should be all placed in the extremest peril.”
Nevertheless, I say, fear not. Paul comforteth
you, saying, “God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be
tempted above that ye are able, but will with the temptation also
make the way of escape, that ye may be able to bear it.”1284
He indeed
Himself hath said, “I will never leave thee, nor forsake
thee.”1285
For had He
resolved to punish us in deed, and in actual endurance, He would
not have given us over to terror during so many days. For when He
would not punish, He affrights; since if He were intending to
punish, fear would be superfluous, and threatening superfluous. But
now, we have sustained a life more grievous than countless deaths;
fearing and trembling during so many days, and being suspicious of
our very shadows; and paying the punishment of Cain; and in the
midst of our sleep, starting up, through constant agony of mind. So
that if we have kindled God’s wrath, we have appeased Him in the
endurance of such a punishment. For if we have not paid the
satisfaction due to our sins, yet it hath been enough to satisfy
the mercy of God.
4. But not this, but many other grounds for
confidence ought we to have. For God hath already given us not a
few pledges for favourable hopes. And first of all, those who
carried the evil tidings departing hence with the speed of wings,
supposing they should long ere this have reached the camp,1286
| 1286 τὸ στρατόπεδον.
The common Lexicons quote only Can. 7, of Sardica for the use of
this word, to signify the court of an Emperor. Due Cange, Gloss.
Med. Gr., shews it to be common, quoting St. Basil, Ep. 127,
al. 59, &c.; St. Athanasius, Apol. ad Constantium, c. 4,
St. Macar. Hom. XV. p. 213 (1st ed.) sec. 30, and other passages.
The term is accounted for by the acknowledged dependence of the
Emperors on the army, and their constantly having a strong guard
about them. Compare our expression, “head-quarters” to denote
the seat of government. Theodosius was now at
Constantinople. | are yet
delayed in the midst of their journey. So many hindrances and
impediments have arisen; and they have left their horses, and are
now proceeding in vehicles; whence their arrival must of necessity
be retarded. For since God here stirred up our priest, and common
father, and persuaded him to go forth, and undertake this embassy,
he detained the messengers for a while, when they were but half way
on their road, lest arriving before him they might kindle the fire,
and make our teacher’s efforts to mend matters useless, when the
royal ears had become inflamed. For that this hindrance on the
road, was not without God’s interposition is evident from this.
Men who had been familiar with such journeys all their lives, and
whose constant business it was to ride on horseback, now broke down
through the fatigue of this very riding; so that what hath now
happened is the reverse of what took place in the case of Jonah.
For God hastened him when unwilling, to go on his mission. But
these, who were desirous to go, He hindered. O strange and
wonderful event! He wished not to preach of an overthrow; and God
forced him to go1287
against his will. These men with
much haste set forward to be the bearers of a message of overthrow,
and against their will again He has hindered them! For what reason
think you? Why, because in this case the haste was an injury; but
in the other case, haste brought gain. On this account, He hastened
him forward by means of the whale; and detained these by means of
their horses. Seest thou the wisdom of God? Through the very means
by which each party hoped to accomplish their object, through these
each received an hindrance. Jonah expected to escape by the ship, and the ship
became his chain. These couriers, by means of their horses,
expected the more quickly to see the Emperor; and the horses became
the obstacles; or rather, neither the horses in one case, nor the
ship in the other, but the Providence of God everywhere directing
all things according to its own wisdom!
5. Consider also His care over us, and how He both
affrighted and consoled us. For after permitting them to set out on
the very day when all these outrages were committed, as if they
would report all that had taken place to the Emperor; He alarmed us
all at their sudden departure. But when they were gone, and two or
three days had elapsed, and we thought the journey of our Priest
would now be useless, as he would arrive when it was too late, He
delivered us from this fear, and comforted us by detaining them, as
I observed, midway; and by providing persons coming to us from
thence by the same road, to announce to us all the difficulties
they had met with on their journey, that we might thus take a
little breath, as indeed we did, and were relieved of a great part
of our anxiety. Having heard of this, we adored God who had done
it, who hath even now more tenderly than any father disposed all
things for us, delaying by some invisible power those evil
messengers, and all but saying to them, “Why do ye hasten? Why do
ye press on, when ye are going to overwhelm so great a city? For
are ye the bearers of a good message to the Emperor? Wait there
till I have made ready my servant, as an excellent physician, to
come up with you and anticipate you in your course.” But if there
was so much of providential care in the first breaking out of this
wound of iniquity, much more shall we obtain a greater freedom from
anxiety, after conversion, after repentance, after so much fear,
after tears and prayers. For Jonah was very properly constrained,
in order that he might be forcibly brought to repentance; but ye
have already given striking evidences of repentance, and
conversion. Therefore, it is necessary that you should receive
consolation, instead of a threatening messenger. For this reason
also hath He sent our common father hence, notwithstanding the many
things to hinder it. But if He had not been tender of our safety,
He would not have persuaded him to this, but would have hindered
him, however disposed he might be to undertake the journey.
6. There is a third reason by which I may
possibly persuade you to have confidence; I mean, the present
sacred season,1288
| 1288 Tillemont, Theodos. art. vi.,
mentions a law of his against holding criminal processes in Lent,
and one deferring all executions thirty days. The massacre of
Thessalonica, for which St. Ambrose caused him to do penance,
occurred after the date of these Homilies, and that event forms a
striking comment on Hom. III. 6. St. Ambrose then required him to
renew the last-mentioned law. | which
almost all, even unbelievers, respect; but to which this our
divinely-favoured Emperor has shewn such reverence and honour, as
to surpass all the Emperors who have reigned with a regard for
religion before him. As a proof of this, by sending a letter on
these days in honour of the feast, he liberated nearly all those
who were lodged in prison; and this letter our Priest when he
arrives will read to him; and remind him of his own laws, and will
say to him, “Do thou exhort thyself, and remember thine own
deeds! Thou hast an example for thy philanthropy at home! Thou
didst choose to forbear from executing a justifiable slaughter, and
wilt thou endure to perpetrate one that is unjust. Reverencing the
feast, thou didst discharge those who had been convicted and
condemned; and wilt thou, I ask, condemn the innocent, and those
who have not committed any violence, and this when the sacred
season is present? That be far from thee, O Emperor! Thou, speaking
by this Epistle to all the cities, didst say, ‘Would it were
possible for me to raise even the dead.’ This philanthropy and
these words we now stand in need of. To conquer enemies, doth not
render kings so illustrious, as to conquer wrath and anger; for in
the former case, the success is due to arms and soldiers; but here
the trophy is simply thine own, and thou hast no one to divide with
thee the glory of thy moral wisdom. Thou hast overcome barbarian
war, overcome also Imperial wrath! Let all unbelievers learn that
the fear of Christ is able to bridle every kind of authority.
Glorify thy Lord by forgiving the trespasses of thy
fellow-servants; that He also may glorify thee the more; that at
the Day of Judgment, He may bend on thee an Eye merciful and
serene, being mindful of this thy lovingkindness!” This, and much
more, he will say, and will assuredly rescue us from the
Emperor’s wrath. And not only will this fast be of the greatest
assistance to us in influencing the Emperor in our favour, but also
towards enduring what befalls us with fortitude; for we reap no
small consolation from this season. For our very meeting together
daily as we do, and having the benefit of hearing the divine
Scriptures; and beholding each other; and weeping with each other;
and praying, and receiving Benedictions,1289
| 1289 εὐλογίας. This
word, rendered benedictionem by the Latin translator, meant
according to Bingham the very same as the Eucharist in the more
ancient writers, and is always so applied by Cyril of Alexandria,
and Chrysostom. In after times, he further observes, that this term
was applied to portions of bread blessed, but distinct from the
Eucharist (being the residue of that brought for consecration),
which was given to those who were not prepared to communicate, b.
xv., c. iv., sec. 3, vol. v., p. 155, new Ed. The term was
evidently derived from the Apostolic phraseology, τὸ ποτήριον τῆς εὐλογίας, 1 Cor. x. 16. It
is used in the plural, for portions of the consecrated bread, both
at communion, and when reserved to be sent to the sick, or to other
churches. | and so
departing home, takes off the chief part of our
distress.
7. Let us, therefore, not despond, nor give
ourselves up by reason of our distress; but let us wait, expecting
a favourable issue; and let us give heed to the things that are now
about to be spoken. For it is my purpose to discourse to you again
to day respecting contempt for death. I said to you, yesterday,
that we are afraid of death, not because he is really formidable;
but because the love of the kingdom hath not kindled us, nor the
fear of hell laid hold of us; and because besides this we have not
a good conscience. Are you desirous that I should speak of a fourth
reason for this unseasonable distress, one which is not less,1290
| 1290 M. (and Ben. and Bas. Tr. apparently) read οὐκ žλαττον τῶν προτ™ρων ‡ληθεστ™ραν;
“not less the true one than those aforesaid.” This use of the
comparative, however, seems unusual. | and truer
than the rest? We do not live with the austerity that becometh
Christians. On the contrary, we love to follow this voluptuous and
dissolute and indolent life; therefore also it is but natural that
we cleave to present things; since if we spent this life in
fastings, vigils, and poverty of diet, cutting off all our
extravagant desires; setting a restraint upon our pleasures;
undergoing the toils of virtue; keeping the body under1291
| 1291 ὑπωπι€ζων, the same word as used by St. Paul,
1 Cor. ix. 27, which alludes to the bruising
of the face, or the parts under the eye, in the Greek games of
boxing. Some read ὑποπι™ζων, “pressing down,” as indeed
do some copies of the text and commentators, and among them St.
Chrysostom ad loc., but this has less authority in its
favor. | like Paul,
and bringing it into subjection; not “making provision for the
lusts of the flesh;”1292
and pursuing the strait and narrow
way, we should soon be earnestly desirous of future things, and
eager to be delivered from our present labours. And to prove that
what I say is not untrue, ascend to the tops of the mountains, and
observe the monks who are there; some in sackcloth; some in bonds;
some in fastings; some shut up1293
| 1293 This word may perhaps belong to the whole series
of penances. St. Chrysostom is not recommending such austerities at
all, but urging them to imitate in some measure a life which they
already honored and esteemed holy. See on Rom. xiv. 23, Hom. XXVI.
fin., where he accuses them of leaving religion to monks and
hermits. Also on Rom. viii. 11, Hom. XIII. Mor. Tr. p. 229. | in darkness. Thou wilt then
perceive, that all these are earnestly desiring death, and calling
it rest. For even as the pugilist is eager to leave the stadium, in
order that he may be freed from wounds; and the wrestler longs for
the theatre to break up, that he may be released from his toils; so
also he who by the aid of virtue leads a life of austerity, and
mortification, earnestly longs for death in order that he may be
freed from his present labours, and may be able to have full
assurance in regard to the crowns laid up in store, by arriving in
the still harbour, and migrating to the place where there is no
further apprehension of shipwreck. Therefore, also, hath God
provided for us a life that is naturally laborious and troublesome;
to the end that being here urged by tribulation, we may conceive an
eager longing for future blessings; for if now, whilst there are so
many sorrows, and dangers, and fears, and anxieties, surrounding us
on all sides, we thus cling to the present life; when should we
ever be desirous of the life to come, if our present existence were
altogether void of grief and misery?
8. Thus also God acted towards the Jews. For
wishing to infuse into them a desire of returning (to Canaan), and
to persuade them to hate Egypt, He permitted them to be distressed
by working in clay, and brick-making, that being oppressed by that
weight of toil and affliction, they might cry unto God respecting
their return. For if, indeed when they departed after these things
had happened, they did again remember Egypt, with their hard
slavery, and were urgent to turn back to that former tyranny; what
if they had received no such treatment from these barbarians? when
would they have ever wished to leave that strange land?1294
To the
end, therefore, that we may not be too closely attached to the
earth, and grow wretched whilst gaping after present things, and
become unmindful of futurity, God hath made our lives here full of
labour. Let us not then cherish the love of the present life beyond
what is necessary. For what doth it profit us? or what is the
advantage of being closely rivetted to the desire of this present
state? Art thou willing to learn in what respect this life is
advantageous? It is so, inasmuch as it is the ground-work and
starting point of the life to come; the wrestling-school and the
arena for crowns of victory hereafter! so that if it does not
provide these for us, it is worse than a thousand deaths. For if we
do not wish to live so as to please God, it is better to die. For
what is the gain? What have we the more? Do we not every day see
the same sun, and the same moon, the same winter, the same summer,
the same course of things? “The thing that hath been, shall be;
and that which is done, is that which shall be done.”1295
Let us not
then at once pronounce those happy, who are alive, and bewail the dead, but let us
weep for those who are in their sins, whether they be dead or
alive. And on the other hand, let us call those happy in whatsoever
condition they be, who are in a state of righteousness. Thou,
forsooth, fearest and lamentest “one” death; but Paul, who was
dying daily,1296
was so far
from shedding a tear on that account, that he rejoiced and
exulted!
9. “O that I did endure the peril for
God,” saith some one, “then I should have no anxiety!” But do
not even now sink into despondency; for not only indeed is he well
approved, who suffers in the cause of God: but he who is suffering
any thing unjustly:1297
| 1297 1 Pet.
xi. 19, 20:
“for it” in this text is not in the original, as
is marked by the italics in our version. | and bearing it nobly, and giving
thanks to God who permits it, is not inferior to him who sustains
these trials for God’s sake. The blessed Job is a proof of this,
who received so many intolerable wounds through the devil’s
plotting against him uselessly, vainly, and without cause. Yet,
nevertheless, because he bore them courageously, and gave thanks to
God who permitted them, he was invested with a perfect1298
crown. Be
not sad then on account of death; for it is natural to die: but
grieve for sin; because it is a fault of the will. But if thou
grievest for the dead, mourn also for those who are born into the
world; for as the one thing is of nature, so is the other too of
nature. Should any one, therefore, threaten thee with death, say to
him, “I am instructed by Christ not to ‘fear them which kill
the body, but are not able to kill the soul.’”1299
Or should
he threaten thee with the confiscation of thy goods, say to him,
“Naked came I out of my mother’s womb, and naked shall I return
thither. We brought nothing into this world, and it is certain we
can carry nothing out.”1300
“And though thou take me not,
death will come and take me; and though thou slay me not, yet the
law of nature will presently interfere and bring the end.”
Therefore we should fear none of these things which are brought on
us by the order of nature, but those which are engendered by our
own evil will; for these bring forth our penalty. But let us
continually consider this, that as regards the events which come
upon us unexpectedly we shall not mend them by grieving, and so we
shall cease to grieve.
10. And moreover we should think of this
again, that if we suffer any evil unjustly, during the present
life, we discharge a multitude of sins. Therefore it is a great
advantage to have out the chastisement of our sins here, and not
there; for the rich man received no evil here, and therefore he was
scorched in the flames there; and that this was the reason why he
did not enjoy any consolation,1301
| 1301 παραμυθίας. See Hom. II.
19; also Hom. IV. (2). | hear in proof what Abraham saith,
“Son, thou hast received thy good things; therefore thou art
tormented.” But that to the good things bestowed on Lazarus, not
only his virtue, but his having here suffered a thousand ills,
contributed, learn also from the patriarch’s words. For having
said to the rich man, “Thou hast received1302
| 1302 ‡π™λαβες. See Hom. I. 22. | thy good things,” he goes on to
say, “and Lazarus evil things, and for this reason he is
comforted.”1303
For as
they who live virtuously, and are afflicted, receive a double
reward from God, so he who liveth in wickedness, and fares
sumptuously, shall have a double punishment. Again, I declare this
not for the purpose of accusing those who have taken flight, for it
is said, “Add not more trouble to a heart that is vexed;”1304
nor do I
say it because I wish to rebuke; (for the sick man stands in need
of consolation); but for the purpose of endeavouring to promote an
amendment. Let us not entrust our safety to flight, but flee from
sins, and depart from our evil way. If we escape from these things,
although we be in the midst of ten thousand soldiers; not one of
them will be able to smite us; but not flying from these, though we
ascend to the very summit of the mountains, we shall there find
innumerable enemies! Let us again call to mind those three
children, who were in the midst of the furnace, yet suffered no
evil, and those who cast them into it, how they that sat around
were all consumed. What is more wonderful than this? The fire freed
those it held possession of, and violently seized those whom it did
not hold, to teach thee, that not the habitation, but the habit of
life, bringeth safety or punishment. Those within the furnace
escaped, but those without were consumed. To each alike were the
same bodies, but not the same dispositions.1305
For this reason neither were the
effects on them the same; for hay, although it lie without the
flame, is quickly kindled; but gold, although it remain within,
becomes the more resplendent!
11. Where now are those who said, “Let the Emperor
take all, and grant us our bodies free?” Let such go and learn
what is a free body. It is not immunity from
punishment that makes the body free, but
perseverance in a life of righteousness. The bodies of these
youths, for instance, were free, though they were given over to the
furnace, because they had before put off the slavery of sin. For
this alone is liberty; and not an immunity from punishment, or from
suffering anything fearful. But having heard of the furnace, call
thou to mind the “rivers of fire,”1306
| 1306 Dan.
viii. 10. The
rivers (or as some read river) of fire. This
expression is taken from Dan. viii. 10, as appears by the
coincidence of œλκεται, Hom. V. on Rom. ii. 16, and εἵλκεν in LXX. In Hom. de Perf.
Car. near the end, Ben. vi. 298, E., he speaks of the fabled
rivers of the heathen as a shadow of truth. So Greg. Naz. in
Jul, inv. ii., Or. v. 38, Ben. (iv. 46, p. 132,
Col.). | which there shall be in that
fearful day. For as on the above occasion, the fire seized upon
some, but reverenced others, so also shall it be with those rivers.
If any one should then have hay, wood, stubble, he increases1307
the fire;
but if he has gold and silver, he1308
becomes the brighter. Let us
therefore get together this kind of material, and let us bear the
present state of things nobly; knowing that this tribulation will
both bring us deliverance from that punishment if we understand how
to practise true wisdom,1309
| 1309 φιλοσοφεῖν, which is a
favorite word of St. Chrysostom, and which he seems to use in a
variety of passages to express the nobler emotions of the mind. | and will also make us better here;
and not only us, but often those too, who throw us into trouble, if
we be vigilant; so abundant is the force of this spiritual wisdom;
which was the case then even with the tyrant. For when he knew that
they had suffered no harm, hear how he changed his language. “Ye
servants of the most high God, come forth, and come hither.”1310
Didst not
thou say, a little before “Who is that God that shall deliver you
out of my hands?”1311
What hath happened? Whence this
change? Thou sawest those without destroyed, and dost thou call on
those within? Whence hath it come to pass that thou art grown wise
in such matters. Thou seest how great a change took place in the
monarch! Whilst he had not yet exercised his power over them, he
blasphemed, but as soon as he had cast them into fire, he began to
shew moral wisdom. For this reason also God permitted all to take
place, whatsoever the tyrant wished, in order that He might make it
manifest, that none will be able to injure those who are kept by
Him. And what He did towards Job, He performed here. For on that
occasion also, He permitted the devil to manifest all his power;
and not till he had exhausted all his darts, and no further mode of
plotting against him remained, was the combatant led out of the
field, that the victory might be brilliant and indubitable. So here
too He did the very same thing. He willed to overthrow their city,
and God stayed him not: he willed to carry them away captive, and
He hindered him not: he willed to bind them, and He permitted; to
cast them into the furnace, and He allowed it: to heat the flame
beyond its measure, and this too He suffered; and when there was
nothing further left for the tyrant to do, and he had exhausted all
his strength, then God manifested His own power, and the patience
of the youths. Seest thou how God permitted these tribulations even
to the end, that He might shew the assailants the spiritual wisdom
of those whom they assailed, as well as His own providence. Both of
which circumstances also that man then discerned, and cried out,
“Ye servants of the most high God, come forth, and come
hither.”
12. But consider thou with me the magnanimity
of the youths; for they neither sprang out before the call, lest
some should suppose they feared the fire; nor when they were called
did they remain within, lest any one should think that they were
ambitious and contentious. “As soon,” say they, “as thou hast
learnt whose servants we are, as soon as thou hast acknowledged our
Lord, we come forth to be heralds to all who are present of the
power of God.” Or rather, not only they themselves, but even the
enemy with his own voice, yea, both orally, and by his epistle,
proclaimed to all men both the constancy of the combatants, and the
strength of Him who presided over the contest. And even as the
heralds, when they proclaim the names of the victorious combatants
in the midst of the theatre, mention also the cities to which they
belong; “such an one, of such a city!” So he too, instead of
their city, proclaimed their Lord, by saying, “Shadrach, Meshach,
and Abednego, ye servants of the most high God, come forth, and
come hither.” What is come to pass, that thou callest them the
servants of God? Were they not thy servants? “Yea,” saith he,
“but they have overthrown1312
my sovereignty; they have trampled
under foot my pride. They have shown by deeds, that He is their
true Lord. If they were the servants of men, the fire would not
have feared them; the flame would not have made way for them; for
the creation knows nothing of reverencing or honoring the servants
of men.” Therefore again he saith, “Blessed be the God of
Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego.”
13.
Contemplate with me also, how first he proclaims the Arbiter of the
contest. “Blessed be God, who hath sent His angel and delivered
His servants.”1313
This of the power of God. He
speaks also of the virtue of the combatants. “Because they
trusted in Him, and have changed the king’s word, and have
yielded their bodies, that they might not worship any god except
their own God.” Could anything equal the virtue of this? Before
this, when they said, “We will not serve thy gods,” he was
inflamed more fiercely than the very furnace; but now, when by
their deeds they had taught him this, he was so far from being
indignant, that he praised and admired them, for not having obeyed
him! So good a thing is virtue, that it has even its enemies
themselves to applaud and admire it! These had fought and
conquered, but the vanquished party gave thanks, that the sight of
the fire had not terrified them, but that the hope in their Lord
had comforted them. And He names the God of the whole world after
the three youths, not at all circumscribing His sovereignty, but
inasmuch as these three youths were equivalent to the whole
world.1314
For this
reason he both applauds those who had despised him, and passing by
so many governors, kings, and princes, those who had obeyed him, he
stands in admiration of the three captives and slaves, who derided
his tyranny! For they did these things, not for the sake of
contention, but for the love of wisdom; not of defiance, but of
devotion; not as being puffed up with pride, but fired with zeal.
For great indeed is the blessing of a hope in God; which then also
the barbarian learned, and making it manifest that it was from that
source they had escaped the impending peril, he exclaimed aloud:
“Because they trusted in Him!”1315
14. But I say all this now, and select all the
histories that contain trials and tribulations, and the wrath of
kings, and their evil designs, in order that we may fear nothing,
save only offending God. For then also was there a furnace burning;
yet they derided it, but feared sin. For they knew that if they
were consumed in the fire, they should suffer nothing that was to
be dreaded; but that if they were guilty of impiety, they should
undergo the extremes of misery. It is the greatest punishment to
commit sin, though we may remain unpunished; as on the other hand,
it is the greatest honour and repose to live virtuously, though we
may be punished. For sins separate us from God; as He Himself
speaks; “Have not your sins separated between you and Me?”1316
But
punishments lead us back to God. As one saith, “Give peace; for
Thou hast recompensed us for all things.”1317
| 1317 Isaiah
xxvi. 12, LXX., the
Eng. V. is, “Thou hast wrought all our works in us.”
Compare, however,
Dan. ix. 12, 16; Lev. xxvi. 34; 2 Chron. xxxvi. 21" id="xix.viii-p59.2" parsed="|Isa|1|5|0|0;|Isa|40|2|0|0;|Isa|54|8|0|0;|Dan|9|12|0|0;|Dan|9|16|0|0;|Lev|26|34|0|0;|2Chr|36|21|0|0" osisRef="Bible:Isa.1.5 Bible:Isa.40.2 Bible:Isa.54.8 Bible:Dan.9.12 Bible:Dan.9.16 Bible:Lev.26.34 Bible:2Chr.36.21">Isa. i. 5, xl. 2, liv. 8; Dan. ix. 12, 16;
Lev. xxvi. 34; 2 Chron. xxxvi. 21. | Suppose any one hath a wound;
which is the most deserving of fear, gangrene, or the surgeon’s
knife? the steel, or the devouring progress of the ulcer? Sin is a
gangrene, punishment is the surgeon’s knife. As then, he who hath
a gangrene, although he is not lanced, hath to sustain the malady,
and is then in the worse condition, when he is not lanced; so also
the sinner, though he be not punished, is the most wretched of men;
and is then especially wretched, when he hath no punishment, and is
suffering no distress. And as those who have a disease of the
spleen, or a dropsy, when they enjoy a plentiful table, and cool
drinks, and a variety of delicacies, and condiments, are then
especially in a most pitiable state, increasing as they do their
disease by luxury; but should they rigorously subject themselves to
hunger and thirst, according to medical laws, they might have some
hope of recovery; so also those who live in iniquity, if they are
punished, may have favourable hopes; but if, together with their
wickedness, they enjoy security and luxury, they become more
wretched than those who cram their bellies, though they are in a
state of dropsy; and so much the more, as the soul is better than
the body. If then thou seest any who are in the same sins, and some
of them struggling continually with hunger, and a thousand ills;
while others are drinking their fill, and living sumptuously, and
gormandizing; think those the better off, who endure sufferings.
For not only is the flame of voluptuousness cut off by these
misfortunes, but they also depart to the future Judgment, and that
dread tribunal,1318
| 1318 It was the common opinion of the Greek
Fathers, that the fire of the day of judgment would cause severe
suffering to some of those who would be finally saved, and that
this might be mitigated by a severe repentance, and in some degree
by suffering here, and by the prayers of others. St. Chrys. on
Phil. i. 24; Hom. III. Mor. Orig. on Ps. xxxvi. (al. xxxvii.) v. 8;
Ben. ii. 661, D.; St. Cyr. Catech. xv. (9); Greg. Nyss.
Or. de Mort. ed. 1638, t. iii. 634, d. speaks of a cleansing
fire. But in Or. de fun. Pulcheriæ, p. 460, he says,
“Such a soul, having nothing for which to be judged, fears not
Hell, dreads not Judgment. It abides free from fear
and astonishment, no evil conscience causing a fear of
Judgment.” However, St. Chrys. on 1 Cor. iii. 15, Hom. IX.
explains the being saved as by fire of remaining undestroyed
in eternal torment. This last exposition is attributed to “the
Greeks” by Bellarmine, de Purg. lib. i. c. 5, having been
defended by them in the discussion on Purgatory preliminary to the
Council of Florence. Labbe, t. xiii. p. 26–30. It is also held by
Photius, Œcum. ad loc. Theodoret, on 1 Cor. iii., takes the
passage in general to refer to teachers and their work as such, but
explains the words cited of a fiery trial of the teacher’s own
life. Euseb. (quoted as Emisen. really a Gall. Bp. of later date),
Bibl. Pat. Col. iii. 549, speaks of rivers of fire (see p.
126); Hom. III. de Epiph., Œcumenius on 1 Cor. iii.
(doubtfully). Also the Commentary on Isaiah, attributed to St.
Basil, on c. ix. 19; Ben. t. i. p. 554 (cited as his by Photius),
speak of a cleansing by the Judgment fire. Origen, on Ps. xxxvi.
(37) 14, Hom. III. 1, says, “And, as I think, we must all come to
that fire. Though one be Paul or Peter, yet he comes to that
fire.” So St. Ambr. on verse 15, sec. 26, of Ezekiel and Daniel,
and St. Hil. on Ps. cxviii. (119) 20, of the Blessed Virgin
herself, so applying Luc. ii. 35. See Cat. Aur. on St. Matt.
iii. 11, 12, Tr. p. 104, note e. St. Greg. Naz. Or. xxxix.
c. 19, speaks of Novatians, as “perhaps to be baptized in the
fire of the other world, in that last Baptism, which is longer and
more painful.” There is no minutely defined and universal
doctrine on the subject. See on Fleury, b. 19, c. 31. | with no
small relief; and go hence,
having discharged here the penalty of the greater
part of their sins by the ills they have suffered.
15. But enough of consolation. It is time for
us now, at last, to proceed to the exhortation on the subject of
avoiding oaths, and to remove that seeming palliation on behalf of
those who swear, which is but futile,1319
| 1319 ψυχρὰν, somewhat
as we say, “cold comfort.” See Herod. v. i. 108, and note of
Baehr., also Dem. de Fals. Leg. 207. | and useless. For when we bring an
accusation against them, they allege the case of others who do the
very same thing; and they say, “such and such persons swear.”
Let us then say to these, Nevertheless; such a man does not swear:
and God will give His judgment concerning thee, from those who do
good works; for sinners do not profit sinners by fellowship in
transgressions; but they who perform what is right condemn
sinners.1320
For they
who gave not Christ food, or drink, were many; but they rendered no
aid to each other.1321
Similar also was the case of the
five virgins, who found no pardon from companionship,1322
but being
condemned by a comparison with those who had acted wisely, both
these and the former were alike punished.
16. Dismissing then this argument of frigid
self-deception, let us not look at the case of those who fall, but
at those who fashion their conduct rightly; and let us endeavour to
carry along with us a memento of the present fast when it is over.
And as it often happens when we have purchased a vestment, or a
slave, or a precious vase, we recall again the time when we did so,
and say to each other, “That slave I purchased at such a
festival; that garment I bought at such a time;” so, in like
manner, if we now reduce to practice this law, we shall say, I
reformed the practice of swearing during that Lent; for till then I
was a swearer; but from barely hearing an admonition, I have
abstained from the sin.
But “the custom,” it may be objected,
“is a hard thing to be reformed.” I know it is; and therefore
am urgent to throw you into another custom, which is good and
profitable. For when you say, it is difficult for me to abstain
from what is habitual; for that very reason, I say, you should make
haste to abstain, knowing for certain, that if you once1323
| 1323 Implied in the aorist,
ποιήσῃς. | make
another custom for yourself of not swearing, you will want no
labour afterwards. Which is the more difficult thing; not to swear,
or to remain the whole day without food; and to shrivel up1324
| 1324 ταριχεύεσθαι, Dem. adv.
Aristogit. i. 72, of the effect of long imprisonment, lit. “to be
dried like a mummy.” | on
water-drinking, and meagre diet? It is evident that the latter
surpasses the former; yet, notwithstanding, custom has made this
matter so possible and easy of execution, that when the fast comes
round, although any one should exhort a thousand times, or as
frequently constrain and compel one to partake of wine, or taste of
any other of those things which are forbidden during fasts, yet a
man would prefer to suffer anything, rather than touch the
prohibited article of food;1325
| 1325 That this strictness was not quite universal
appears from Hom. IX. 1. The feeling there referred to may have
been partly occasioned by this passage. | and that not for want of relish
for the table, nevertheless, we bear it all with fortitude, from
the habit of our conscience. And the case will be the same in
regard to oaths; and just as if now, any one were to impose ever so
great necessity, you would remain immovable, holding fast the
habit;1326
so also in
that case, if any one should urge you ten thousand times, you would
not depart from your custom.
18. When you go home, therefore, discourse of
all these things with those who are in your house; and as many
persons often do, when they come back from a meadow, having plucked
there a rose, or a violet, or some flower of that kind, they return
twisting1327
| 1327 Sav. περιστρ™φοντες.
Ben. περιφ™ροντες. Thus St. Francis de
Sales recommends “culling flowers” for the day from morning
devotions. | it about
with their fingers; and as some, again, when they quit the gardens
to go home, take with them branches of trees, with their fruit upon
them; and as others, moreover, from sumptuous feasts, carry away
leavings of the entertainment for their dependents; so indeed do
thou, departing from hence, take an exhortation home to thy wife,
thy children, and all thine household. For this admonition is more
profitable than the meadow, the garden, or the banquetting table.
These roses never wither; these fruits never drop off; these
dainties never corrupt. The former yield a temporary delight; but
the latter a lasting advantage, not only after this reformation has
taken place, but in the very act of reforming. For think what a
good practice this would be, having dismissed all other matters
public or private, to discourse1328
only of the divine laws continually, at the
table, in the forum, and in your other meetings. Would we give our
attention to these things, we should say nothing of a dangerous or
injurious nature, nor should we sin unwittingly. Giving our leisure
to discourse respecting these things, we should be able to withdraw
our soul even from this despondency that hangs over us, instead of
looking with so much anxiety as we do, whilst we say one to
another, “Hath the Emperor heard what hath happened? Is he
incensed? What sentence hath he pronounced?1329
Hath any one petitioned him? What?
Will he himself endure to destroy utterly a city so great and
populous?” Casting these and all such cares upon God, let us be
anxious only as to what He hath commanded! Thus shall we rid
ourselves of all these sorrows; and although ten only among us
should succeed, the ten would quickly become twenty; the twenty
fifty; the fifty a hundred; the hundred a thousand; the thousand
all the city. And just as when ten lamps are lighted, one may
easily fill the whole house with light, so also with respect to
right actions; should only ten act rightly, we shall light up a
general flame throughout the city, to shine forth, and to procure
us safety. For not so naturally does the fire, when it falls upon a
forest, kindle the neighbouring trees successively, as will the
emulation for virtue, when it seizes upon a few minds, be mighty in
its progress to diffuse itself through the whole
community.
19. Give me cause, then, to exult over you
both in the present life, and at that future Day, when those to
whom talents have been entrusted, shall be summoned! Your good
reputation is a sufficient reward for my labours; and if I see you
living in piety, I have all I wish. Do, then, what yesterday I
recommended, and to-day will repeat, and will not cease to say it.
Fix a penalty for those who swear; a penalty which is a gain, and
not a loss; and prepare yourselves henceforth so as you may give us
a proof of success. For I shall endeavour to hold a long
conversation with each of you, when this assembly is dismissed; in
order that in the continuance of discourse I may discover the
persons who have been acting rightly, and those who have not.1330
| 1330 Sav. adds, “and those who have not.” | And if I
find any one still swearing, I shall make him manifest to all who
are amended, that by reproving, rebuking, and correcting, we may
quickly deliver him from this evil habit. For better it is that he
should amend through being reproached here, than that he should be
put to shame, and punished, in the presence of the whole assembled
universe, on that Day, when our sins shall be revealed to the eyes
of all men! But God forbid that any in this fair assembly should
appear there suffering such things! but by the prayers of the holy
fathers,1331
| 1331 εὐχαῖς τῶν ƒγίων
πατ™ρων. See on Rom. xvi. 24, Hom. XXXII., where the
translation perhaps ought to be, “These imitators of Paul. Only
let us yield ourselves worthy of such intercession.” This
rendering is confirmed by its agreement with Hom. XLIV. on Gen.
xix. 29; Ben. iv. 448, 449. But there is a difficulty in it owing
to the reference to St. Paul’s departure. This may be
explained as a turn of rhetoric. The passage on Gen. xix. does not
define whether saints on earth or above are spoken of; but from
others it is probable he means the latter. The close of the Homily
on St. Meletius, Ben. ii. 522, A. speaks of such intercession, and
that of Hom. in SS. Bernicen and Prosd. Ben. ii. 645, D. of
invoking it. The Homily quoted above, on the intercession of
Abraham, warns men against trusting to prayers of saints so as to
neglect their own life. An expression like that in the text occurs
in a Homily de Sp. Sancto, attributed to St. Chrys. by
Photius, Ben. iii. 799, C.; Origen on Cant. ii. 5, asserts the
intercession of the saints, proving it from 2 Mac. xv. 14, and on Numb. xxxii.,
Hom. XXVI. 6, he asks, who doubts it? Hom. I. 7, on Ezekiel, he
invokes an angel, as holding that angels are present, though in a
rhetorical way. Lib. 2, in Job (fin.) sometimes cited as his, is
spurious, and the Com. on Lament. doubtful, and the manner of
invocation looks as if of later date. St. Cyprian, Ep. 57,
ad Cornel. fin. desires that whoever dies first may pray for
the other; and de Hab. Virg. fin. makes a similar request:
and so Theodosia in Euseb. de Mart. Pal. c. 7.
In the fourth century, the
invocation of departed saints, or prayer to God for their prayers,
becomes common. So Eusebius, on Ps. lxxviii. (79) takes verse 11,
Preserve Thou the sons of the slain (Heb. of death),
i.e., of the martyrs. At the close of his Com. on Isaiah, he
prays just as St. Chrys. in the text. St. Athanas. ad
Marcellin. 31, t. i. p. 1001, says we should sing the Psalms
exactly, “that the inspired writers may know their own words, and
pray with us, or rather, that the Holy Spirit who spoke in them,
hearing the words He dictated to them, may take our part”
(συναντιλ€βηται, Comp. Rom.
viii. 26). A direct address to the Blessed Virgin.....“Queen, and
Mother of God, intercede for us!” is quoted as his (Serm. in
Annunt. t. ii. p. 401), but is spurious, as is there
stated.
St. James, of Nisibis, Ser. 4,
p. 72, seems to speak of an angel presenting our prayers, which his
editor connects with Tertullian’s Angelus Orationis, de
Or. xii. and
Tob. xii. 12. St. Hilary, on Ps.
cxxiv. (125) 2, takes the hills (as others constantly
elsewhere), for the saints and angels. On Matt. xxv. p. 736, he
says, “none shall be helped by another’s works and merits,
because every one must buy oil for his own lamp.” This seems to
imply the existence of the same tendency which St. Chrysostom
reproves, as quoted above on Gen. xix. The Martyr Justina, early in
this century, is said by St. Greg. Naz. Or. xviii. p. 279
(Ben. Or. xxiv. 11, p. 443 d.), to have implored the aid of the
Virgin Mary.
In the latter part of the
century, instances are more frequent. St. Cyril of Jerusalem,
Cat. Myst. v. (6), says, “Then we commemorate also those who
have fallen asleep before us, first, patriachs, prophets, apostles,
martyrs, that at their prayers and intervention God would receive
our petition.” St. Basil, Hom. on the Forty Martyrs, c. 8, t. 2,
p. 155, speaks strongly of the value of their intercession, and
recommends asking it. “Here is found a pious woman praying for
her children, the return of her husband, his recovery when sick:
let your prayers be made with the martyrs!” To Julian the
Apostate, Ep. 360, al. 205, Ben. iii. 462. “I also receive the
holy apostles, prophets, and martyrs, and call on them to
supplication unto God, that through them, that is, through their
mediation, the merciful God may become propitious to me, and a
ransom of my sins may be made and granted.” To St. Ambrose, Ep.
197, al. 55, Ben. iii. 288, he speaks of the relics of a martyr as
protection to those who kept them. St. Ephraim, in Martyres,
t. iii. Gr. Lat. p. 251, has, “Victorious Martyrs, willing
sufferers for the love of your God and Saviour, ye that have
boldness of speech toward the Lord Himself; intreat, holy as ye
are, for us that are worthless, and sinners, and full of
listlessness, that the grace of Christ may come upon us.” Some
prayers to the Blessed Virgin, calling her the only hope of
sinners, and giving her the titles of our Lord, are ascribed to
him. Such would stand alone in this age, and long after. But one
which has been long known in Latin (ed. Voss, p. 543), has been
generally thought spurious. The last Roman Edition contains more,
but even the mss. from which they are
taken seem to ascribe them but doubtfully to him (“Prayers
collected from Holy Scripture, but most of them from St.
Ephraim,” &c.), especially as others precede these. He,
however, used invocation freely, though some allowance must be made
for his rich imagination, and his fondness for apostrophe. Thus he
apostrophises Faith, adv. Scrut. Ser. vi. Gr. Lat. iii. 160,
161. “O Faith! I pray Thee adapt Thy vastness to our littleness!
for while we may not see and measure thee, love can neither rest
nor be silent!” “Come hither, O Faith, Gift of God to the Holy
Church, and rest in this bosom!” Several spurious passages, as
from the Christus Patiens attributed to St. Greg. Naz. l. 2582 (but
rejected and objected to by the Ben. editor), are examined by Mr.
Palmer, Letter v. to Dr. Wiseman. The real practice of St. Greg.
Naz. appears in his funeral oration on St. Basil, Or. xx.
fin. p. 373 (Ben. xliii. 82, p. 831). “But do thou, O divine and
sacred head, look on us from above, and either remove by the
intercessions the thorn in the flesh that chastises us, or persuade
us to bear it with fortitude,” &c. Or. vi. ad Greg.
Nyss. p. 140 (Ben. xi. 5, p. 245), he says, that martyrs are
“Mediators for attaining a divine state” (θ™ωσις). St. Chrysostom is of the same
date. St. Greg. Nyss. on St. Theodorus, speaks repeatedly of asking
his intercession. “To touch his relics, if any chance give one
the opportunity…Then, shedding on them the tear of piety and
affection, as though to the martyr, appearing in full presence,
they present their entreaty for intercession; beseeching him, as an
attendant* upon God, and invoking him as one who obtains favors at
will,” t. iii. p. 580, and so in other parts of the oration; and
in p. 586, he begs him, if need be, to call his brother-martyrs to
his aid. And in the close of his life of St. Ephraim, he both
invokes him, “Remember us all, asking remission for our sins;”
and speaks of a person having invoked his help, in circumstances of
danger, with success. St. Ambrose, de Vid. c. 9, says,
“The angels are to be entreated for us, who are given us for our
guard; the martyrs are to be entreated, whose patronage we may in a
manner claim by the pledge of their bodies. They can pray for our
sins, who have washed in their own blood their own sins, if such
they had.” These are most of the authors alleged down to the end
of the fourth century, but in most of the later of them other
passages of the same kind appear. Thus the practice of direct
invocation seems to have come in by degrees, and that chiefly in
the course of this century. Some passages relating merely to the
intercession of the saints have been passed over, as they would
rather confuse the view of the subject of seeking it.
Bellarmine, De Sanctis, l. i. c. 19, and Coccius,
Thesaur. l. v., art. 4, give collections of passages. See on
Fleury, Book 19, c. 31, Tr. p. 202, note k.
*δορυφόρῳ.
A term which shows that an allusion to an earthly court is
intended. | correcting
all our offences, and having shown forth the abundant fruit of
virtue, may we depart hence with much confidence, through the grace
and lovingkindness of our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom, and with
whom, be glory to the Father together with the Holy Spirit, for
ever and ever. Amen.E.C.F. INDEX & SEARCH
|
