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| Homily XVIII
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Homily XVIII.
The former subject of the Sedition continued;
also of fasting; and upon the Apostolic saying, “Rejoice in the
Lord always.”1732
1. I have observed
many persons rejoicing, and saying one to another, “We have
conquered; we have prevailed; the half of the fast is spent.” But
I exhort such persons not to rejoice on this account, that the half
of the fast is gone, but to consider whether the half of their sins
be gone; and if so, then to exult. For this is a fit subject of
gratification. This is what is to be sought after, and for which
all things are done, that we may correct our defects; and that we
may not quit the fast the same persons as we entered upon it, but
in a cleansed state; and
that having laid aside all that belongs to evil
habits, we may thus keep the sacred feast, since if the case be
otherwise, we shall be so far from obtaining any advantage, that
the completion of the fast will be the greatest injury to us. Let
us, therefore, not rejoice that we have gone through the length of
the fast, for this is nothing great; but let us rejoice, if we have
got through it with fresh attainments, so that when this is over,
the fruit of it may shine forth. For the gain of winter is more
especially manifested after the season is gone by. Then, the
flourishing corn, and the trees teeming with leaves and fruit,
proclaim, by their appearance, the benefit that has accrued to them
from the winter! Let the same thing also take place with us. For
during the winter, we have enjoyed divers and frequent showers,
having been during the fast partakers of a continued course of
instruction, and have received spiritual seeds, and cut away the
thorns of luxury.
2. Wherefore let us persevere, retaining with
all diligence what we have heard; that when the fast is over, the
fruit of the fast may abound, and that by the good things we
gathered from the fast, we may remember the fast itself.1733
If thus we
fashion ourselves, we shall, when the fast returns, welcome it
again with pleasure. For I see many who are so feeble-minded, that
at the present season they are anxious about the following Lent;
and I have heard many saying, that after their liberation from the
fast, they are insensible to any pleasure from this remission, on
account of their anxiety about the coming year. What can be more
feeble-minded than this? I ask; and what is the cause of this? It
is, that when the fast is arrived, we do not take pains that the
concerns of the soul may be well ordered, but we limit the fast
solely to an abstinence from food. Since, were we to reap the full
benefit of it in a reformation of conduct, we should wish the fast
to come round every day, receiving in very deed an experience of
its good effects; and we should never cast away the desire of it,
or be dejected and anxious whilst expecting it.
3. For there is nothing whatever that will be
able to afflict one who is well ordered in mind, and careful about
his own soul; but he will enjoy a pure and continued pleasure. And
that this is true ye have to-day heard from Paul, who exhorts us,
saying, “Rejoice in the Lord always, and again I say,
rejoice.”1734
I know
indeed that to many this saying seems impossible. “For how is it
possible,” says some one, “that he who is but a man, can
continually rejoice? To rejoice is no hard matter, but to rejoice
continually, this seems to me to be impossible.” For many are the
causes of sadness, which surround us on all sides. A man has lost
either a son, or a wife, or a beloved friend, more necessary to him
than all kindred; or he has to sustain the loss of wealth; or he
has fallen into sickness; or he has to bear some other change of
fortune; or to grieve for contemptuous treatment which he did not
deserve; or famine, or pestilence, or some intolerable exaction, or
circumstances in his family trouble him;—nay, there is no saying
how many circumstances of a public or private nature are accustomed
to occasion us grief. How then, he may say, is it possible to
“rejoice always?” Yea, O man! it is possible; and if it were
not so, Paul would not have given the exhortation; nor would a man
endowed with spiritual wisdom have offered such counsel; and for
this reason I have constantly said to you, and will not cease to
say, that what ye could no where have learnt from any other, that
wisdom ye may here meditate. For mankind are universally desirous
of pleasure,1735
| 1735 See Arist. Eth. 1, ch. 5, and Plat. Phileb., where
the general aim of human action is discussed. Speaking popularly,
St. Chrysostom does not enquire by what name it is most correct to
call the real object of our desires. He is satisfied with shewing
that the highest pleasure, satisfaction, joy, or whatever it may be
called, is found in God. And this is a better beginning, for
practical purposes, than a philosophical definition. But see
Hooker, b. i. c. vii. and Butler, ser. xi. xii. xiii. | and of
rejoicing; and for this, they do all, say all, and undertake all
things. Therefore it is, that the merchant goes on a voyage, in
order that he may amass wealth; and he amasses wealth, to the end
that he may rejoice over what he has treasured up. The soldier also
for this reason exercises his warfare, and the husbandman his
husbandry; for this each man plies his art. Those also who love
dominion, love it for this end, that they may obtain glory; and
they desire to obtain glory, that they may rejoice; and any one may
perceive that each of our undertakings is directed to this point,
and that every man looking to this makes haste to go towards it
through a variety of means.
4. For as I said, all love gladness, but all are not
able to attain it, since they know not the way which leads to it;
but many suppose that the source of it is in being rich. But if
this were its source, no one possessed of wealth would ever be sad.
But in fact many of the rich think life not worth living, and would
infinitely prefer death when they experience any hardship; and of
all men these are the most liable to excessive sadness. For you
should not look to their tables, or their flatterers, and
parasites, but to the trouble that comes of such things,
the insults, the calumnies, the dangers, and the distresses, and
what is far worse, that they meet these reverses unpractised, and
know not how to take them philosophically, or to bear with
fortitude what befalls them; whence it happens that calamities do
not appear to them such as they are in their own nature, but even
things which are really light come to seem intolerable; whereas,
with regard to the poor, the contrary takes place; things that are
irremediable seem easy to be borne, since they are familiar with
many such. For it is not so much the nature of the events as the
disposition of the sufferers, that makes the evils which come upon
us seem great or small. And that I may not go a long way off for
examples of both these facts, I will speak to you of what has
lately befallen ourselves. Behold then how all the poor escaped,
and the populace are delivered from the danger, and enjoy an entire
freedom! but those who manage the affairs of the city, the men who
keep their studs of horses, and preside over the public games, and
such as have borne other public charges,1736
they are now the inmates of the
prison, and fear the worst; and they alone pay the penalty of the
deeds that have been perpetrated by all, and are in a state of
constant terror; and they are now the most wretched of men, not
because of the greatness of the danger, but on account of the
luxury in which hitherto they have lived! Many, at least when
exhorted by us, and counselled to sustain these adverse affairs
with fortitude, said this, “We never practised any thing of the
kind, and do not know how to exercise such philosophy; this is why
we need so much consolation.”
5. Others again suppose, that to enjoy good health
is the source of pleasure. But it is not so. For many of those who
enjoy good health have a thousand times wished themselves dead, not
being able to bear the insults inflicted on them. Others again
affirm, that to enjoy glory, and to have attained to power, and to
administer the highest offices, and to be flattered by multitudes,
is productive of continual gladness. But neither is this the case.
And why do I speak of other offices of power? For although we were
to mount up in thought to royalty itself, and to him who lives in
that station, we should find it encompassed with a diversity of
troubles, and having so many necessary causes the more of sadness,
in proportion as it is surrounded with a greater weight of affairs.
And what need is there to speak of wars, and battles, and the
insurrections of barbarians? Oftentimes he has reason to fear those
by whom he is surrounded at home. For many of those monarchs who
have escaped from the hands of their enemies, have not escaped the
conspiracies of their own body-guards. And kings have of necessity
as many causes of sadness as there are waves on the ocean. But if
monarchy is unable to render life devoid of grief, then what else
can possibly achieve this? Nothing, indeed, of this life; but this
saying of Paul alone, brief and simple as it is, will of itself
open to us this treasure.
6. For many words are not needed, nor a long round
of argument, but if we only consider his expression, we shall find
the way that leads to it. He does not simply say, “Rejoice
always;” but he adds the cause of the continual pleasure, saying,
“Rejoice in the Lord always.” He who rejoices “in the
Lord,” can not be deprived of the pleasure by any thing that may
happen. For all other things in which we rejoice are mutable and
changeable, and subject to variation. And not only does this
grievous circumstance attend them, but moreover while they remain
they do not afford us a pleasure sufficient to repel and veil the
sadness that comes upon us from other quarters. But the fear of God
contains both these requisites. It is steadfast and immoveable, and
sheds so much gladness that we can admit no sense of other evils.
For the man who fears God as he ought, and trusts in Him, gathers
from the very root of pleasure, and has possession of the whole
fountain of cheerfulness. And as a spark falling upon a wide ocean
quickly disappears, so whatever events happen to the man who fears
God, these, falling as it were upon an immense ocean of joy, are
quenched and destroyed! This indeed is most to be wondered at, that
whilst things which minister sadness are present, the man should
remain joyful. For if there was nothing to produce grief, it would
be no great matter to him that he was able continually to rejoice.
But that at a time when he is urged to sadness by the pressure of
many things, he is superior to all these, and is blithe in the
midst of sorrow, this is truly a matter for astonishment! And as no
one would have wondered that the three Children were not burnt, if
they had remained far off from the furnace of Babylon! (for the
circumstance that astonished all was, that having been so long in
such close contact with the fire, they left it more free from hurt
than those who had not been in contact with it); so also we are
able to say of the saints, that if no temptation had fastened
itself upon them, we should not
have wondered at their continual rejoicing. But the point worthy of
admiration, and that which surpasses human nature, is this, that
being encircled on all sides with innumerable waves, their
condition is easier than that of those who enjoy an entire
calm!
7. From what has been said, it is evident that
amongst those who are outside the church it is impossible to find
any situation in life, encircled with continual gladness from the
things without. But that the believer cannot possibly be deprived
of the enjoyment of a continued pleasure is what I will now proceed
to prove, to the end that ye may not only learn, but also emulate
this painless condition of life. For suppose a man having nothing
for which to condemn himself, but cherishing a good conscience, and
yearning after the future state, and the fulfilment of those good
hopes; what, I ask, will be able to throw such a person into
sadness? Does not death seem the most insupportable of all things?
Yet the expectation of this is so far from grieving him, that it
makes him the more joyful; for he knows that the arrival of death
is a release from labour, and a speeding toward the crowns and
rewards laid up for those who have contended in the race of piety
and virtue. But is it the untimely end of his children? Nay, he
will also bear this nobly, and will take up the words of Job,
“The Lord gave, the Lord hath taken away; as it seemed good unto
the Lord, so is it come to pass. Blessed be the name of the Lord
for ever.”1737
But if
death and loss of children cannot grieve, much less can the loss of
money, or dishonour, or reproaches, or false accusations, at any
time affect a soul so great and noble; no, nor anguish of body,
since the Apostles were scourged, yet they were not made sad. This,
indeed, was a great thing; but what is much more, instead of being
made sad, they considered their very scourgings, as a ground of
additional pleasure. “And they departed from the presence of the
council, rejoicing that they were counted worthy to suffer shame
for the name of Christ.”1738
Did any person insult and revile
such a one? Well, he was taught by Christ to rejoice in these
revilings. “Rejoice,”1739
| 1739 Sav. Blessed are ye, &c. as in
text. | saith He, “and be exceeding
glad, when they shall say all manner of evil against you falsely
for my sake; for great is your reward in heaven.”1740
But
suppose a man hath fallen into disease? Well, he hath heard another
admonishing, and saying, “In disease and poverty trust thou in
Him; for as gold is tried in the fire, so are acceptable men in the
furnace of humiliation.”1741
Since, therefore, neither death,
nor loss of money, nor bodily disease, nor dishonour, nor reproach,
nor any other thing of that nature, will be able to grieve him, but
makes him even the more joyful, what foundation for sadness will he
have at any time?
8. “What then,” says some one, “used not
the Saint to be in sadness? Do you not hear Paul saying, “I have
great heaviness, and continual sorrow in my heart?”1742
This,
indeed, is the thing to wonder at, that sorrow brought a gain, and
a pleasure that resulted from the gain; for as the scourge did not
procure them anguish, but gladness; so also again the sorrow
procured them those great crowns. And this is the paradox; that not
only the sadness of the world, but also its joy, contains extreme
loss; but in the case of spiritual things, it is exactly the
reverse; and not the joy only, but the sadness too contains a rich
treasure of good things! But how, I proceed to explain. In the
world, a person often rejoices, on beholding an enemy in trouble;
and by this joy he draws on himself a great punishment. Again,
another person mourns, on seeing a brother fall; and because of
this sadness he will procure for himself much favour with God.
Seest thou how godly sorrow is better and more profitable than the
joy of the world? Thus also Paul sorrowed for sinners, and for
those who disbelieved in God; and this sorrow was the means of
laying up a great reward for him. But that I may make what I say
more clear, and that ye may know that although what I assert is
very strange, it is nevertheless true, viz. that grief is often
capable of refreshing distressed souls, and of rendering a burdened
conscience light: consider how often women, when they have lost
their most beloved children, break their hearts, and perish, if
they are forbidden to mourn, and to shed tears. But if they do all
which those who are sad, are wont to do, they are relieved, and
receive consolation. And what wonder that this should be the case
with women, when you may even see a prophet affected in a similar
manner? Therefore he was continually saying, “Suffer me—I will
weep bitterly—labour not to comfort me, because of the spoiling
of the daughter of my people.”1743
So that, oftentimes, sadness is
the bearer of consolation; and if it is so with regard to this
world. much more with regard to spiritual things. Therefore he says, “Godly
sorrow worketh repentance unto salvation, not to be repented
of.”1744
This
indeed seems to be obscure; but what he says is to this effect:
“If thou grievest over wealth, thou art nothing profited. If for
sickness, thou hast gained nothing, but hast increased thy
affliction.”
9. And I have heard many, after such
experience, blame themselves, and say, What advantage is it that I
have grieved? I have not recovered my money, and I have injured
myself. But if thou hast grieved on account of sin, thou hast
blotted it out, and hast reaped the greatest pleasure. If thou hast
grieved for thy brethren who have fallen, thou hast both encouraged
and comforted thyself, and hast also restored them; and even if
thou wert not to profit them, thou hast an abundant recompense. And
that thou mayest learn that this grieving for those who have
fallen, though we should not at all benefit them, still brings us a
large reward, hear what Ezekiel says; or rather, what God Himself
speaks through him. For when He had sent certain messengers to
overturn the city, and to consume all the dwellings with sword and
fire, along with their inhabitants, He thus charges one of them:
“Set a mark upon the forehead of the men that groan, and are in
anguish.” And after charging the others, and saying, “Begin ye
from mine holy ones,” He goes on to add, “But upon whomsoever
the sign is, touch them not.”1745
For what reason, tell me? Because
although they avail nothing, they nevertheless lament the things
which are done, and deplore them. And again, He accuses others,
saying, That in their luxury, and gluttony, and enjoyment of great
security, when they beheld the Jews carried away into captivity,
they did not grieve, nor partake of their sadness. And hear what He
says, reproaching them: “They suffered nothing in the affliction
of Joseph:”1746
meaning by
Joseph the whole people. And again: “The inhabitants of Ænan
went not forth to bewail the house next unto them.”1747
For
although they are justly punished, God willeth that we should
condole with them, and not rejoice or insult. “For if I that
punish,” saith He, “do not this rejoicingly; nor take pleasure
in their punishment; for “I do not at all will the death of the
sinner;”1748
it is
right that thou shouldest imitate thy Lord; and shouldest mourn for
this very thing, that the sinner hath provided matter and occasion
for a just punishment.” So that if any one entertains a godly
sorrow, he will thence reap a great advantage.
10. Since therefore those who are scourged are
more blessed than the scourgers, and those in tribulation among us
than those who are free from it outside the Christian pale; and
those who are sad are more blessed than those in pleasure; what
further source of tribulation shall we have? On this account we
should call no man happy, save him only who lives according to God.
These only the Scripture terms blessed. For “blessed,” it is
said, “is the man who hath not walked in the counsel of the
ungodly. Blessed is he whom Thou chastenest, and teachest him out
of Thy law. Blessed are the undefiled in the way. Blessed are all
they who trust in Him. Blessed is the people whose God is the Lord.
Blessed is he whom his soul condemneth not. Blessed is the man that
feareth the Lord.”1749
| 1749 Bible:Ps.33.12 Bible:Sir.14.2 Bible:Ps.12.1">Ps. i. 1,
xciv. 12, cxix. 1, ii. 13, xxxiii. 12; Ecclus. xiv. 2; Ps. cxii.
1. | And again, Christ speaks thus:
“Blessed are they that mourn; blessed are the humble; blessed are
the meek; blessed are the peacemakers; blessed are they who are
persecuted for righteousness’ sake.”1750
Seest thou how the divine laws
everywhere pronounce blessed none of the rich, or of the well-born,
or of the possessors of glory, but the man who has gotten hold of
virtue. For what is required of us is, that in every thing we do or
suffer, the fear of God should be the foundation; and if you
implant this as the root, not merely will ease, and honour, and
glory, and attention, produce fruits that shall be pleasurable to
thee; but hostilities also, and calumnies, and contempt, and
disgrace, and torments, and all things without exception. And just
as the roots of trees are bitter in themselves, and yet produce our
sweetest fruits, so, verily, godly sorrow will bring us an abundant
pleasure. They know, who have often prayed with anguish, and shed
tears, what gladness they have reaped; how they purged the
conscience; how they rose up with favourable hopes! For as I am
always saying, it is not the nature of the things, but our
disposition, which is wont to make us sad or joyful. If then we can
render the latter such as it ought to be, we shall have a pledge
for all gladness. And just as, with the body, it is not so much the
nature of the air, or the things it meets from without, as its own
internal condition, that either injures or assists it, so also it
is in the case of the soul; and much more so; for in the one case,
there is the necessity of nature; in the other, the whole is seated
in the power of choice. Therefore Paul, when he had endured
innumerable evils—shipwrecks, wars, persecutions, plots, the
assaults of robbers, and things too numerous to be recounted, dying also daily
deaths—was so far from grieving or being discontented, that he
gloried, and rejoiced, and said, “I now rejoice in my sufferings,
and fill up that which is behind of the afflictions of Christ in my
flesh.”1751
And again:
“And not only so, but we glory in tribulations.”1752
Now,
glorying signifies an extension of pleasure.
11. If then thou desirest joy, seek not after
riches, nor bodily health, nor glory, nor power, nor luxury, nor
sumptuous tables, nor vestures of silk, nor costly lands, nor
houses splendid and conspicuous, nor any thing else of that kind;
but pursue that spiritual wisdom which is according to God, and
take hold of virtue; and then nought of the things which are
present, or which are expected, will be able to sadden thee. Why do
I say to sadden? Verily, the things that make others sad, will
prove to thee an accession of pleasure. For scourges, and death,
and losses, and slanders, and the being evil entreated, and all
such things, when they are brought upon us for God’s sake, and
spring from this root, will bring into our souls much pleasure. For
no one will be able to make us miserable, if we do not make
ourselves such; nor, on the other hand, blessed, if we do not make
ourselves such, following up the grace of God.
12. And that ye may learn that he only is blessed,
who feareth the Lord, I will now demonstrate this to you, not by
what has happened in past times, but by what has befallen
ourselves. Our city was in danger of being utterly effaced; and no
man among the rich, or eminent, or illustrious, dared to appear in
public, but all fled, and hurried out of the way. But they who
feared God, the men who passed their time in monasteries, hastened
down with much boldness, and set all free from this terror; and the
terrible events that had taken place, and the threats which had
been expected to be put into execution, were so far from causing
them to fear, or from throwing them into anxiety, that although
they were placed far off from the calamity, and had no share in it,
they cast themselves willingly into the midst of the fire, and
rescued all; and as for death, which seems universally terrible and
awful, they awaited it with the utmost readiness, and ran to meet
it with more pleasure than others do towards principalities and
honours. And why, but because they knew, that this is the greatest
principality and honour? And they shewed in very deed that he only
is blessed who lays hold of the wisdom which is from above, that he
undergoes no change and sustains no adversity, but enjoys a
continued tranquillity, and laughs to scorn all things which seem
to be sorrowful. At the present time at least, those who were once
in power are oppressed by much sadness, inhabiting the prison, and
loaded with chains, and daily expecting to be put to death. But
these men on the contrary enjoy the purest pleasure; and if it be
their lot to suffer anything terrible, this, and the very things
which seem formidable to others, are welcome to them, for they know
well towards what point they are running, and what lot will await
them when they depart hence. But whilst they live with so much
exactness, and smile at death, they nevertheless grieve for others,
and reap therefrom, in turn, the greatest advantage. Let us then be
in earnest to take care of our souls, and nothing which may come
unlooked for can make us sad. And on behalf of those who are in
prison, let us beseech God that He will deliver them from their
present calamity. For it was in God’s power at once to release us
from this dire evil, and not to suffer even the smallest part of it
to remain; but in order that we may not again go back to our former
negligence, He hath provided that the torrent of these evils should
subside gently and by little and little, holding us fast to the
same pious resolutions.
13. And that this is true, and that many would
have gone back to their former supineness, if we had been released
from the whole difficulty at once, is manifest from this
circumstance; that whilst yet the remnants of the calamity are
left, whilst the sentence of the Emperor is yet doubtful, and those
who conducted the affairs of the city are all in prison,1753
| 1753 See Libanius ad Helleb. | many of
our fellow inhabitants, through their inordinate desire of bathing,
run to the river, there making endless merriment, behaving
wantonly, leaping, dancing, and dragging women after them. What
pardon can such be worthy of? What kind of excuse can they offer?
Or rather, what kind of punishment and vengeance do they not
deserve? The head of the city is in the public prison; our members
are in exile; the sentence concerning them is doubtful; and dost
thou, I ask, dance, sport, and laugh? “Why, we could not
endure,” says some one, “to remain without the bath?” O
shameless disposition, sordid and perverted! How many months, I
ask, how many years, have past? Thou hast not been as yet shut out
from the bath for twenty days; and thou art as much distressed and
discontented, as if thou hadst continued without washing for
a whole year! Tell
me, was this thy state, when thou wert expecting an attack from the
military, when thou wert daily anticipating bring put to death,
when thou fleddest to the deserts, and wast hurrying to the
mountain tops? If any one had then proposed to thee to remain “a
year” without the bath, so that thou mightest be rescued from the
impending distress, wouldest thou not readily have accepted the
proposal, and submitted to it? When, therefore, it were becoming
that thou shouldest give thanks to God, Who hath freed thee from
all these things without any loss, dost thou again grow wanton and
contemptuous; and when the fear has passed away, turn back afresh
to a worse state of negligence? Have these dire events really
touched thee, and yet art thou so desirous of the baths? Why, if
the bath had been permitted, would not the calamity of those who
are yet in confinement have been sufficient to persuade those who
are not in the same grievous condition to be forgetful of every
luxury? Life itself is at stake, and dost thou remember the baths,
and desire to be luxurious? Dost thou despise the danger because
thou hast now escaped it? Take heed lest thou entangle thyself in
the necessity of a greater punishment, and call back in larger
measure the wrath which is removed, and experience the very thing
which Christ declared concerning the devils. For He says, that
“when the unclean spirit is gone out, and afterwards findeth the
house void and swept, he taketh seven other spirits more wicked
than himself, and entereth into the soul, and the last state of
that man is worse than the first.”1754
Therefore let us also fear, lest
now we are liberated from our former evils, we afterwards by our
listlessness draw upon us those which are greater! I know that ye
yourselves1755
| 1755 That is, those present. | are free
from this folly; but ye should restrain, punish, and sober those
who walk disorderly, that ye may always rejoice even as Paul
commanded, that both for our own good works, and for our
forethought for others, we may enjoy both here and in the life to
come an abundant recompense; through the grace and lovingkindness
of our Lord Jesus Christ, by Whom, and with Whom, to the Father,
with the Holy Ghost, be glory, honour, and adoration, now and ever,
and world without end. Amen.E.C.F. INDEX & SEARCH
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