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| The Last Farewell in the Presence of the One Hundred and Fifty Bishops.
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Oration XLII.
The Last Farewell in the Presence of
the One Hundred and Fifty Bishops.
ThisOration was
delivered during the Second Œcumenical Council, held at
Constantinople a.d. 381. Historical as
well as personal motives render the occasion of the deepest
interest. The audience consisted of the one hundred and fifty
Bishops of the Eastern Church who took part in the Council, and of the
speaker’s own flock, the orthodox Christians of
Constantinople. He had by his own exertions gathered that flock
together, after it had been ravaged by heretical teachers. He had
won the admiration and affection of its members, by his courageous
championship of the Faith, his lucid teaching, and his fatherly care
for their spiritual needs. He had been, against his will,
enthroned with acclamation in the highest ecclesiastical position in
the Eastern Church, and called to preside over the Synod of its
assembled Bishops. Finding himself unable to guide the
deliberations of the Council in regard to a question of the highest
importance, and perceiving that he himself and his position were made
by some of the Bishops a fresh cause of dissension, he felt bound to
resign his high office, and endeavour by this personal sacrifice to
restore peace to the Church. His language is worthy of the
occasion. Obliged to deal with the topics which had caused
dissension, he handles them with gentle and discriminating tact; he
speaks with great self-restraint in his own defence; he sets forth with
tenderest feeling the common experiences of himself and his
flock; he gives with dignity and clearness his last public
exposition of the Faith; and finally, in language of exquisite beauty,
spoken with the quivering tones of an aged man, he bids a tender
farewell to his flock, his cathedral, and his throne, with all their
affecting associations. It was an occasion whose pathos is
unsurpassed in history. Orator and audience were alike deeply
moved, and the emotion has been renewed in all those who have read his
words, and realised the scene of their delivery.
1. What think ye of
our affairs, dear shepherds and fellow-shepherds: whose feet are
beautiful, for you bring glad tidings of peace and of the good things4278
with which ye have come; beautiful again in
our eyes, to whom ye have come in season, not to convert a wandering
sheep,4279
but to converse
with a pilgrim shepherd? What think ye of this our
pilgrimage? And of its fruit, or rather of that of the
Spirit4280
within us,4281
by Whom we are ever moved,4282
and specially have now been moved, desiring
to have, and perhaps having, nothing of our own? Do you of
yourselves understand and perceive—and are you kindly critics of
our actions? Or must we, like those from whom a reckoning is
demanded as to their military command, or civil government, or
administration of the exchequer, publicly and in person submit to you
the accounts of our administration? Not indeed that we are
ashamed of being judged, for we are ourselves judges in turn, and both
with the same charity. But the law is an ancient one: for
even Paul communicated to the Apostles his Gospel:4283
not for the sake of ostentation, for
the Spirit is far removed from all ostentation, but in order to
establish his success and correct his failure, if indeed there were any
such in his words or actions, as he declares when writing of
himself. Since even the Spirits of the Prophets are subject to
the prophets,4284
according to the
order of the Spirit who regulates and divides all things well.
And do not wonder that, while he rendered his account privately and to
some, I do so publicly, and to all. For my need is greater than
his, of being aided by the freedom of my censors, if I am proved to
have failed in my duty, lest I should run, or have run, in
vain.4285
And the only possible mode of
self-defence is speech in the presence of men who know the
facts.
2. What then is my defence?4286
If it be false, you must convict me,
but if true, you on behalf of whom4287
| 4287 On behalf of,
i.e., the Christians of Constantinople, whose Pastor he had been, who
were present at the time in the church. | and in whose
presence I speak, must bear witness to it. For you are my
defence, my witnesses, and my crown of rejoicing,4288
if I also may venture to boast myself a
little in the Apostle’s language. This flock was, when it
was small and poor, as far as appearances went, nay, not even a flock,
but a slight trace and relic of a flock, without order, or shepherd, or
bounds, with neither right to pasturage, nor the defence of a fold,
wandering upon the mountains and in caves and dens of the
earth,4289
scattered and
dispersed hither and thither as each one could find shelter or pasture,
or could gratefully secure its own safety; like that flock which was
harassed by lions, dispersed by tempest, or scattered in darkness, the
lamentation of prophets who compared it to the misfortunes of
Israel,4290
given up to the
Gentiles; over which we also lamented, so long as our lot was worthy of
lamentation. For in very deed we also were thrust out and cast
off, and scattered upon every mountain and hill, from the need of a
shepherd:4291
and a
dreadful storm fell upon the Church, and fearful beasts assailed her,
who do not even now, after the calm, spare us, but without being
ashamed of themselves, wield a greater power than the time should
allow; while a gloomy darkness, far more oppressive than the ninth
plague of Egypt, the darkness which might be felt,4292
enveloped and concealed everything, so that
we could scarcely even see one another.
3. To speak in a more feeling strain,
trusting in Him Who then forsook me, as in a Father, “Abraham has
been ignorant of us, Israel has acknowledged us not, but Thou art our
Father, and unto Thee do we look;4293
beside Thee we
know none else, we make mention of Thy name.”4294
Therefore, says Jeremiah, I will plead
with Thee, I will reason the cause with Thee.4295
We are become as at the beginning,
when Thou barest not rule4296
over us, and Thou
hast forgotten Thy holy covenant, and shut up Thy mercies from
us. Therefore we, the worshippers of the Trinity, the perfect
suppliants of the perfect Deity, became a reproach to Thy Beloved,
neither daring to bring down to our own level any of the things above
us, nor in such wise to rise up against the godless tongues which
fought against God, as to make His Majesty a fellow servant with
ourselves; but, as is plain, we were delivered up on account of our
other sins, and because our conduct had been unworthy of Thy
commandments, and we had walked after our own evil mind. For what
other reason can there be for our being delivered up to the most
unrighteous and wicked men of all the dwellers upon the earth?
First Nebuchadnezzar4297
| 4297 Nebuchadnezzar,
i.e., Julian. | afflicted
us,4298
possessed during the Christian era with an
anti-Christian rage, hating Christ just because he had through Him
gained salvation, and having bartered the sacred books for sacrifices
to those who are no gods. He devoured me, he tore me in pieces, a
slight darkness enveloped me,4299
if I may even in my
lamentation keep to
the language of Scripture. If the Lord had not helped
me,4300
and righteously delivered him to the hands
of the lawless, by casting him off (such are the judgments of God) to
the Persians, by whom his blood was righteously shed for his unholy
sheddings of blood, since in this case alone justice could not afford
even to be longsuffering, my soul had shortly dwelt in the
grave.4301
The
second4302
| 4302 The second,
i.e. Valens. | no more kindly, if
he were not even more grievous still, for while he bore the name of
Christ, he was a false Christ, and at once a burden and a reproach to
the Christians, for, while to obey him was ungodly, to suffer at his
hands was inglorious, since they did not even seem to be wronged, nor
to gain by their sufferings the glorious title of martyr, inasmuch as
the truth was in this case perverted, for while they suffered as
Christians, they were supposed to be punished as heretics. Alas!
how rich we were in misfortunes, for the fire consumed the beauties of
the world.4303
That which
the palmerworm left did the locust eat, and that which the locust left
did the caterpillar eat: then came the cankerworm,4304
then, what next I know not, one evil
springing up after another. But for what purpose should I give a
tragic description of the evils of the time, and of the penalty exacted
from us, or, if I must rather call it so, the testing and refining we
endured? At any rate, we went through fire and water,4305
and have attained a place of refreshment by
the good pleasure of God our Saviour.
4. To return to my original
startingpoint. This was my field, when it was small and poor,
unworthy not only of God, Who has been, and is cultivating the whole
world with the fair seeds and doctrines of piety, but, apparently, even
of any poor and needy man of slender means. Nay it did not
deserve to be called a field, requiring neither barn nor
threshing-floor, and not even worthy of the sickle; with neither heap
nor sheaves, or small and untimely sheaves, like those on the housetop,
which do not fill the hand of the reaper, nor call forth a blessing
from them which go by.4306
Such was my
field, such my harvest; great and well-eared and fat in the eyes of Him
Who beholdeth hidden things, and becoming such a husbandman, its
abundance springing from the valleys of souls well tilled with the
Word: unrecognized however in public, and not collected together,
but gathered in fragments, as an ear gleaned in the stubble,4307
as gleaning-grapes in the vintage, where
there is no cluster left. I think I may add, only too
appropriately, I found Israel like a figtree in the
wilderness,4308
and like one or two
ripe grapes in an unripe cluster, preserved as a blessing from the
Lord,4309
and a consecrated firstfruit, though small
as yet and scanty, and not filling the mouth of the eater: and as
an ensign on a hill,4310
and as a beacon on
a mountain, or any other solitary thing visible only to few. Such
was its former poverty and dejection.
5. But since God, Who maketh poor and maketh
rich, Who killeth and maketh alive;4311
Who maketh and
transformeth all things; Who turneth night into day,4312
winter into spring, storm into calm, drought
into abundance of rain; and often for the sake of the prayers4313
of one righteous man4314
sorely persecuted; Who lifteth up the meek on high, and bringeth the
ungodly down to the ground;4315
since God said to
Himself, I have surely seen the affliction of Israel;4316
and they shall no longer be further vexed
with clay and brick-making; and when He spake He visited, and in His
visitation He saved, and led forth His people with a mighty hand and
outstretched arm,4317
by the hand of
Moses and Aaron,4318
His
chosen—what is the result, and what wonders have been
wrought? Those which books and monuments contain. For
besides all the wonders by the way, and that mighty roar, to speak most
concisely, Joseph came into Egypt alone,4319
and soon after six hundred thousand depart from Egypt.4320
What more marvellous than this?
What greater proof of the generosity of God, when from men without
means He wills to supply the means for public affairs? And the
land of promise is distributed through one who was hated, and he who
was sold4321
dispossesses
nations, and is himself made a great nation, and that small offshoot
becomes a luxuriant vine,4322
so great that it
reaches to the river, and is stretched out to the sea,4323
and spreads from border to border, and hides
the mountains with the height of its glory and is exalted above the
cedars, even the cedars of God, whatever we are to take these mountains
and cedars to be.
6. Such then was once this flock, and such it is
now, so healthy and well grown, and if it be not yet in perfection, it
is advancing towards it by constant increase, and I prophesy that it will advance. This is
foretold me by the Holy Spirit, if I have any prophetic instinct and
insight into the future. And from what has preceded I am able to
be confident, and recognize this by reasoning, being the nursling of
reason. For it was much more improbable that, from that
condition, it should reach its present development, than that, as it
now is, it should attain to the height of renown. For ever since
it began to be gathered together, by Him Who quickeneth the
dead,4324
bone to its bone, joint to joint, and the
Spirit of life and regeneration was given to it in their
dryness,4325
its entire
resurrection has been, I know well, sure to be fulfilled: so that
the rebellious should not exalt themselves,4326
and that those who grasp at a shadow, or at a dream when one
awaketh,4327
or at the
dispersing breezes, or at the traces of a ship in the water,4328
should not think that they have
anything. Howl, firtree, for the cedar is fallen!4329
Let them be instructed by the
misfortunes of others, and learn that the poor shall not alway be
forgotten,4330
and that the Deity
will not refrain, as Habakkuk says, from striking through the heads of
the mighty ones4331
in His
fury—the Deity, Who has been struck through and impiously divided
into Ruler and Ruled, in order to insult the Deity in the highest
degree by degrading It, and oppress a creature by equality with
Deity.
7. I seem indeed to hear that voice, from
Him Who gathers together those who are broken, and welcomes the
oppressed: Enlarge thy cords, break forth on the right hand and
on the left, drive in thy stakes, spare not thy curtains.4332
I have given thee up, and I will help
thee. In a little wrath I smote thee, but with everlasting mercy
I will glorify thee.4333
The measure
of His kindness exceeds the measure of His discipline. The former
things were owing to our wickedness, the present things to the adorable
Trinity: the former for our cleansing, the present for My glory,
Who will glorify them that glorify Me,4334
and I will move to jealousy them that move Me to jealousy. Behold
this is sealed up with Me,4335
and this is the
indissoluble law of recompense. But thou didst surround thyself
with walls and tablets and richly set stones, and long porticos and
galleries, and didst shine and sparkle with gold, which thou didst, in
part pour forth like water, in part treasure up like sand; not knowing
that better is faith, with no other roof but the sky to cover it, than
impiety rolling in wealth, and that three gathered together in the Name
of the Lord4336
count for more with
God than tens of thousands of those who deny the Godhead. Would
you prefer the whole of the Canaanites to Abraham alone?4337
or the men of Sodom to Lot?4338
or the Midianites to Moses,4339
when each of these was a pilgrim and a
stranger? How do the three hundred men with Gideon, who bravely
lapped,4340
compare with the
thousands who were put to flight? Or the servants of Abraham, who
scarcely exceeded them in number, with the many kings and the army of
tens of thousands whom, few as they were, they overtook and
defeated?4341
Or how do you
understand the passage that though the number of the children of Israel
be as the sand of the sea, a remnant shall be saved?4342
And again, I have left me seven
thousand men, who have not bowed the knee to Baal?4343
This is not the case; it is not?
God has not taken pleasure in numbers.
8. Thou countest tens of thousands, God
counts those who are in a state of salvation; thou countest the dust
which is without number, I the vessels of election. For nothing
is so magnificent in God’s sight as pure doctrine, and a soul
perfect in all the dogmas of the truth.—For there is nothing
worthy of Him Who made all things, of Him by Whom are all things, and
for Whom are all things,4344
so that it can be
given or offered to God: not merely the handiwork or means of any
individual, but even if we wished to honour Him, by uniting together
all the property and handiwork of all mankind. Do not I fill
heaven and earth?4345
saith the Lord! and
what house will ye build Me? or what is the place of My rest?4346
But, since man must needs fall short
of what is worthy, I ask of you, as approaching it most nearly, piety,
the wealth which is common to all and equal in My eyes, wherein the
poorest may, if he be nobleminded, surpass the most illustrious.
For this kind of glory depends upon purpose, not upon affluence.
These things be well assured, I will accept at your hands.4347
To tread4348
| 4348 To tread,
etc. The Arians for a time had been in possession of the churches
of Constantinople. | My
courts ye shall not proceed, but the feet of the meek4349
shall tread them, who have duly and
sincerely acknowledged Me, and My only-begotten Word, and the Holy
Spirit. How long will ye inherit My holy Mountain?4350
How long shall My ark be among the
heathen?4351
Now for a
little longer ye indulge yourselves in that which belongs to others,
and gratify your desires. For as ye have devised to reject Me, so
will I also reject you,4352
saith the Lord
Almighty.
9. This I seemed to hear Him say, and to see
Him do, and besides, to hear Him shouting to His people, which once
were few and scattered and miserable, and have now become many, and
compact enough and enviable, Go through4353
| 4353 Go
through, etc. This passage refers to the restoration of
the churches to the orthodox by Theodosius, Jan. 10, a.d. 381. | My
gates4354
and be ye enlarged. Must you always be
in trouble and dwell in tents, while those who vex you rejoice
exceedingly? And to the presiding Angels, for I believe, as John
teaches me in his Revelation, that each Church has its
guardian,4355
Prepare ye the way
of My people, and cast away the stones from the way,4356
that there may be no stumblingblock or
hindrance for the people4357
in the divine road
and entrance, now, to the temples made with hands,4358
but soon after, to Jerusalem above,4359
and the Holy of holies there,4360
which will, I know, be the end of suffering
and struggle to those who here bravely travel on the way. Among
whom are ye also called to be Saints,4361
a
people of possession, a royal priesthood,4362
the most excellent portion of the Lord, a whole river from a drop, a
heavenly lamp from a spark, a tree from a grain of mustard
seed,4363
on which the birds come and
lodge.
10. These we present to you, dear shepherds,
these we offer to you, with these we welcome our friends, and guests,
and fellow pilgrims. We have nothing fairer or more splendid to
offer to you, for we have selected the greatest of all our possessions,
that you may see that, strangers as we are, we are not in want, but
though poor are making many rich.4364
If these
things are small and unworthy of notice, I would fain learn what is
greater and of more account. For, if it be no great thing to have
established and strengthened with wholesome doctrines a city which is
the eye of the universe, in its exceeding strength by sea and land,
which is, as it were, the link between the Eastern and Western shores,
in which the extremities of the world from every side meet together,
and from which, as the common mart of the faith, they take their rise,
a city borne hither and thither on the eddying currents of so many
tongues, it will be long ere anything be considered great or worthy of
esteem. But if it be indeed a subject for praise, allow to us
some glory on this account, since we have contributed in some portion
to these results which ye see.
11. Lift up thine eyes round about, and
see,4365
thou critic of my words! See the crown
which has been platted in return for the hirelings of Ephraim4366
and the crown of insolence; see the assembly
of the presbyters, honoured for years and wisdom, the fair order of the
deacons, who are not far from the same Spirit, the good conduct of the
readers, the people’s eagerness for teaching, both of men and
women, who are equally renowned for virtue: the men, whether
philosophers or simple folk, being alike wise in divine things, whether
rulers or ruled, being all in this respect duly under rule; whether
soldiers or nobles, students or men of letters, being all
soldiers4367
of God, though in
all other respects meek, ready to fight for the Spirit, all reverencing
the assembly above, to which we obtain an entrance, not by the mere
letter, but by the quickening Spirit, all in very deed being men of
reason, and worshippers of Him Who is in truth the Word: the
women, if married, being united by a Divine rather than by a carnal
bond; if unwedded and free, being entirely dedicated to God; whether
young or old, some honourably advancing towards old age, others eagerly
striving to remain immortal, being renewed by the best of
hopes.
12. To those who platted this
crown—that which I speak, I speak it not after the Lord,4368
nevertheless I will say it—I also have
given assistance. Some of them are the result of my words, not of
those which we have uttered at random, but of those which we have
loved—nor again of those which are meretricious, though the
language and manners of the harlot have been slanderously attributed to
me, but of those which are most grave. Some of them are the
offspring and fruit of my Spirit, as the Spirit can beget those who
rise superior to the body. To this I have no doubt that those who
are kindly among you, nay all of you, will testify, since I have been
the husbandman of all: and my sole reward is your
confession. For we neither have, nor have had, any other
object. For virtue, that it may remain virtue, is without reward,
its eyes fixed alone on that which is good.
13. Would you have me say something still more
venturesome? Do you see the tongues of the enemy made gentle, and
those who made war upon the
Godhead against me tranquillised? This also is the result of our
Spirit, of our husbandry. For we are not undisciplined in our
exercise of discipline, nor do we hurl insults, as many do, who assail
not the argument but the speaker, and sometimes strive by their
invective to hide the weakness of their reasoning; as the cuttlefish
are said to cast forth ink before them, in order to escape from their
pursuers, or themselves to hunt others when unperceived. But we
show that our warfare is in behalf of Christ by fighting as Christ, the
peaceable and meek,4369
Who has borne our
infirmities, fought.4370
Though
peaceable, we do not injure the word of truth, by yielding a jot, to
gain a reputation for reasonableness; for we do not pursue that which
is good by means of ill: and we are peaceable by the legitimate
character of our warfare, confined as it is to our own limits, and the
rules of the Spirit. Upon these points, this is my decision, and
I lay down the law for all stewards of souls and dispensers of the
Word: neither to exasperate others by their harshness, nor to
render them arrogant by submissiveness: but to be of good words
in treating of the Word, and in neither direction to overstep the
mean.
14. But you are perhaps longing for me to give an
exposition of the faith, in so far as I am able. For I shall
myself be sanctified by the effort of memory, and the people also will
be benefited, by its special delight in such discussions, and you will
fully acknowledge it—unless we are the objects of groundless
envy, as the rivals, in the manifestation of the truth, of those whom
we do not excel. For as, of deep waters, some in the depths are
utterly hidden, some foam against any obstruction, and hesitate a while
before breaking (as they promise to our ears), some do actually break;
so also, of those who are professors of the Divine
philosophy—setting aside the utterly misguided—some keep
their piety entirely secret and hidden within themselves, some are not
far from the birth pangs, avoiding impiety, yet not speaking out their
piety, either from cautious reserve in their teaching, or under
pressure of fear, being themselves sound, as they say, in mind, but not
making sound their people, as if they had been entrusted with the
government of their own souls, but not of those of others; while there
are some who make public their treasure, unable to restrain themselves
from giving birth to their piety, and not considering that to be
salvation which saves themselves alone, without bestowing upon others
the overflow of their blessings. Among these would I range
myself, and all who by my side have nobly dared to confess the
truth.
15. One concise proclamation of our teaching, an
inscription intelligible to all, is this people, which so sincerely
worships the Trinity, that it would sooner sever anyone from this life,
than sever one of the three from the Godhead: of one mind, of
equal zeal, and united to one another, to us and to the Trinity by
unity of doctrine. Briefly to run over its details: That
which is without beginning, and is the beginning, and is with the
beginning, is one God. For the nature of that which is without
beginning does not consist in being without beginning or being
unbegotten, for the nature of anything lies, not in what it is not but
in what it is. It is the assertion of what is, not the denial of
what is not. And the Beginning is not, because it is a beginning,
separated from that which has no beginning. For its beginning is
not its nature, any more than the being without beginning is the nature
of the other. For these are the accompaniments of the nature, not
the nature itself. That again which is with that which has no
beginning, and with the beginning, is not anything else than what they
are. Now, the name of that which has no beginning is the Father,
and of the Beginning the Son, and of that which is with the Beginning,
the Holy Ghost, and the three have one Nature—God. And the
union is the Father from Whom and to Whom the order of Persons runs its
course, not so as to be confounded, but so as to be possessed, without
distinction of time, of will, or of power. For these things in
our case produce a plurality of individuals, since each of them is
separate both from every other quality, and from every other individual
possession of the same quality. But to Those who have a simple
nature, and whose essence is the same, the term One belongs in its
highest sense.
16. Let us then bid farewell to all contentious
shiftings and balancings of the truth on either side, neither, like the
Sabellians, assailing the Trinity in the interest of the Unity, and so
destroying the distinction by a wicked confusion; nor, like the Arians,
assailing the Unity in the interest of the Trinity, and by an impious
distinction overthrowing the Oneness. For our object is not to
exchange one evil for another, but to ensure our attainment of that
which is good. These are the playthings of the Wicked One,
who is ever swaying our
fortunes towards the evil. But we, walking along the royal road
which lies between the two extremes, which is the seat of the virtues,
as the authorities say, believe in the Father, the Son and the Holy
Ghost, of one Substance and glory; in Whom also baptism has its
perfection, both nominally and really (thou knowest who hast been
initiated!); being a denial of atheism and a confession of Godhead; and
thus we are regenerated, acknowledging the Unity in the Essence and in
the undivided worship, and the Trinity in the Hypostases or Persons
(which term some prefer.) And let not those who are contentious
on these points utter their scandalous taunts, as if our faith depended
on terms and not on realities. For what do you mean who assert
the three Hypostases? Do you imply three Essences by the
term? I am assured that you would loudly shout against those who
do so. For you teach that the Essence of the Three is One and the
same. What do you mean, who assert the Three Persons? Do
you imagine a single compound sort of being, with three faces,4371
| 4371 With three
faces (or masks). A play upon the word πρόσωπον which is
used in theology in the sense of Person. | or of an entirely human form? Perish
the thought! You too will loudly reply that he who thinks thus,
will never see the face of God, whatever it may be. What is the
meaning of the Hypostases of the one party, of the Persons of the
other, to ask this further question? That They are three, Who are
distinguished not by natures, but by properties.4372
| 4372
Properties. Cf. xliii. 30, note. | Excellent. How could men agree
and harmonize better than you do, even if there be a difference between
the syllables you use? You see what a reconciler I am, bringing
you back from the letter to the sense, as we do with the Old and New
Testaments.
17. But, to resume: let us speak of the
Unbegotten, the Begotten, and the Proceeding, if anyone likes to create
names: for we shall have no fear of bodily conceptions attaching
to Those who are not embodied, as the calumniators of the Godhead
think. For the creature must be called God’s, and this is
for us a great thing, but God never. Otherwise I shall admit that
God is a creature, if I become God, in the strict sense of the
term. For this is the truth. If God, He is not a creature;
for the creature ranks with us who are not Gods. And if a
creature, he is not God, for he had a beginning in time. And
there was a time when he who had a beginning was not. And that of
which non-existence was its prior condition, has not being in the
strict sense of the term. And how can that, which strictly has
not being, be God? Not one single one, then, of the Three is a
creature, nor, what is worse, came into being for my sake; for in that
case he would be not only a creature, but inferior in honour to
us. For, if I am for the glory of God, and he is for my sake, as
the tongs for the waggon, the saw for the door, I am his superior in
causality. For in whatever degree God is superior to creatures,
in the same degree is he, who came into being for my sake, inferior to
me who exist for God’s sake.
18. Moreover, the Moabites and Ammonites
must not even be allowed to enter4373
into the
Church of God, I mean those sophistical, mischievous arguments which
enquire curiously into the generation and inexpressible procession of
God, and rashly set themselves in array against the Godhead: as
if it were necessary that those things which it is beyond the power of
language to set forth, must either be accessible to them alone, or else
have no existence because they have not comprehended them. We
however, following the Divine Scriptures, and removing out of the way
of the blind the stumbling blocks contained in them, will cling to
salvation, daring any and every thing rather than arrogance against
God. As for the evidences, we leave them to others, since they
have been set forth by many, and by ourselves also with no little
care. And indeed, it would be a very shameful thing for me at
this time to be gathering together proofs for what has all along been
believed. For it is not the best order of things, first to teach
and then to learn, even in matters which are small and of no
consequence, and much more in those which are Divine and of such great
importance. Nor, again, is it proper to the present occasion to
explain and disentangle the difficulties of Scripture, a task requiring
fuller and more careful consideration than our present purpose will
allow. Such then, to sum up, is our teaching. I have
entered into these details, with no intention of contending against the
adversaries: for I have already often, even if it be imperfectly,
fought out the question with them: but in order that I might
exhibit to you the character of my teaching, that you might see whether
I have not a share in the defence of your own, and do not take my stand
on the same side, and opposed to the same enemies as
yourselves.
19. You
have now, my friends, heard the defence of my presence here: if
it be deserving of praise, thanks are due for it to God, and to you who
called me; if it has fallen below your expectation, I give thanks even
on this behalf. For I am assured that it has not been altogether
deserving of censure, and am confident that you also admit this.
Have we at all made a gain4374
of this
people? Have we consulted at all our own interests, as I see is
most often the case? Have we caused any vexation to the
Church? To others possibly, with whose idea that they had gained
judgment against us by default, we have joined issue in our argument;
but in no wise, as far as I am aware, to you. I have taken no ox
of yours,4375
says the great
Samuel, in his contention against Israel on the subject of the king,
nor any propitiation for your souls, the Lord is witness among you, nor
this, nor that, proceeding at greater length, that I may not count up
every particular; but I have kept the priesthood pure and
unalloyed. And if I have loved power, or the height of a throne,
or to tread Kings’ courts, may I never possess any distinction,
or if I gain it, may I be hurled from it.
20. What then do I mean? I am no proficient
in virtue without reward, having not attained to so high a degree of
virtue. Give me the reward of my labours. What
reward? Not that which some, prone to any suspicion would
suppose, but that which it is safe for me to seek. Give me a
respite from my long labours; give honour to my foreign service; elect
another in my place, the one who is being eagerly sought on your
behalf, someone who is clean of hands, someone who is not unskilled in
voice, someone who is able to gratify you on all points, and share with
you the ecclesiastical cares; for this is especially the time for
such. But behold, I pray you, the condition of this body, so
drained by time, by disease, by toil. What need have you of a
timid and unmanly old man, who is, so to speak, dying day by day, not
only in body, but even in powers of mind, who finds it difficult to
enter into these details before you? Disobey not the voice of
your teacher: for indeed you have never yet disobeyed it. I
am weary of being charged with my gentleness. I am weary of being
assailed in words and in envy by enemies, and by our own. Some
aim at my breast, and are less successful in their effort, for an open
enemy can be guarded against. Others lie in wait for my back, and
give greater pain, for the unsuspected blow is the more fatal. If
again I have been a pilot, I have been one of the most skilful; the sea
has been boisterous around us, boiling about the ship, and there has
been considerable uproar among the passengers, who have always been
fighting about something or another, and roaring against one another
and the waves. What a struggle I have had, seated at the helm,
contending alike with the sea and the passengers, to bring the vessel
safe to land through this double storm? Had they in every way
supported me, safety would have been hardly won, and when they were
opposed to me, how has it been possible to avoid making shipwreck?
21. What more need be said? But how
can I bear this holy war? For there has been said to be a holy,
as well as a Persian, war.4376
How shall I
unite and join together the hostile occupants of sees, and hostile
pastors, and the people broken up along with, and opposed to them, as
if by some chasms caused by earthquakes between neighbouring and
adjoining places; or as, in pestilential diseases, befalls servants and
members of the family, when the sickness readily attacks in succession
one after another; and besides the very quarters of the globe are
affected by the spirit of faction, so that East and West are arrayed on
opposite sides, and bid fair to be severed in opinion no less than in
position. How long are parties to be mine and yours, the old and
the new, the more rational and the more spiritual, the more noble and
the more ignoble, the more and the less numerous? I am ashamed of
my old age, when, after being saved by Christ, I am called by the name
of others.
22.4377
| 4377 § 22 is a
comparison of Ecclesiastical partisanship to the emulation and party
spirit connected with the horse races in the amphitheatre. | I cannot bear
your horse races and theatres, and this rage for rivalry in expense and
party spirit. We unharness, and harness ourselves on the other
side, we neigh against each other, we almost beat the air, as they do,
and fling the dust towards heaven, like those which are excited; and
under other masks satisfy our own rivalry, and become evil arbiters of
emulation, and senseless judges of affairs. To-day sharing the
same thrones and opinions, if our leaders thus carry us along;
to-morrow hostile alike in position and opinion, if the wind blows in
the contrary direction. Amid the variations of friendship and
hatred, our names also vary: and what is most terrible, we are not ashamed to set forth
contrary doctrines to the same audience; nor are we constant to the
same objects, being rendered different at different times by our
contentiousness. They are like the ebb and flow of some narrow
strait.4378
| 4378 Narrow strait,
lit. Euripus. | For as when
the children are at play in the midst of the market place, it would be
most disgraceful and unbecoming for us to leave our household business,
and join them; for children’s toys are not becoming for old
age: so, when others are contending, even if I am better informed
than the majority, I could not allow myself to be one of them, rather
than, as I now do, enjoy the freedom of obscurity. For, besides
all this, my feeling is that I do not, on most points, agree with the
majority, and cannot bear to walk in the same way. Rash and
stupid though it may be, such is my feeling. That which is
pleasant to others causes pain to me, and I am pleased with what is
painful to others. So that I should not be surprised if I were
even imprisoned as a disagreeable man, and thought by most men to be
out of my senses, as is said to have been the case with one of the
Greek philosophers, whose moderation exposed him to the charge of
madness, because he laughed at everything, since he saw that the
objects of the eager pursuit of the majority were ridiculous; or even
be thought full of new wine as were in later days the disciples of
Christ, because they spoke with tongues,4379
since men knew not that it was the power of the Spirit, and not a
distraction of mind.
23. Now, consider the charges laid against
us. You have been ruler of the church, it is said, for so long,
and favoured by the course of time, and the influence of the sovereign,
a most important matter. What change have we been able to
notice? How many men have in days gone by used us
outrageously? What sufferings have we failed to undergo?
Ill-usage? Threats? Banishment? Plunder?
Confiscation? The burning4380
| 4380 The burning,
etc., cf. This was by order of Valens. | of priests at
sea? The desecration of temples by the blood of the saints, till,
instead of temples, they became charnel-houses? The public
slaughter of aged Bishops, to speak more accurately, of
Patriarchs? The denial of access to every place in the case of
the godly alone? In fact any kind of suffering which could be
mentioned? And for which of these have we requited the
wrongdoers? For the wheel of fortune gave us the power of rightly
treating those who so treated us, and our persecutors ought to have
received a lesson. Apart from all other things, speaking only of
our experiences, not to mention your own, have we not been persecuted,
maltreated, driven from churches, houses, and, most terrible of all,
even from the deserts? Have we not had to endure an enraged
people, insolent governors, the disregard of Emperors and their
decrees? What was the result? We became stronger, and our
persecutors took to flight. That was actually the case. The
power to requite them seemed to me a sufficient vengeance on those who
had wronged us. These men thought otherwise; for they are
exceedingly exact and just in requiting: and accordingly they
demand4381
| 4381 Demand.
After all these persecutions, some thought S. Gregory ought to have
used his influence with Theodosius to requite or punish the former
persecutors of the orthodox. | what the state of
things permits. What governor, they say, has been fined?
What populace chastised? What ringleaders of the populace?
What fear of ourselves have we been able to inspire for the
future?
24. Perhaps4382
| 4382 Perhaps, an
ironical passage. | we
may be reproached, as we have been before, with the exquisite character
of our table, the splendour of our apparel, the officers who precede
us, our haughtiness to those who meet us. I was not aware that we
ought to rival the consuls, the governors, the most illustrious
generals, who have no opportunity of lavishing their incomes; or that
our belly ought to hunger for the enjoyment of the goods of the poor,
and to expend their necessaries on superfluities, and belch forth over
the altars. I did not know that we ought to ride on splendid
horses, and drive in magnificent carriages, and be preceded by a
procession and surrounded by applause, and have everyone make way for
us, as if we were wild beasts, and open out a passage so that our
approach might be seen afar. If these sufferings have been
endured, they have now passed away: Forgive me this
wrong.4383
Elect another
who will please the majority: and give me my desert, my country
life, and my God, Whom alone I may have to please, and shall please by
my simple life. It is a painful thing to be deprived of speeches
and conferences, and public gatherings, and applause like that which
now lends wings to my thoughts, and relatives, and friends and honours,
and the beauty and grandeur of the city, and its brilliancy which
dazzles those who look at the surface without investigating the inner
nature of things; but yet not so painful as being clamoured against and
besmirched amid public disturbances and agitations, which trim their
sails to the popular breeze. For they seek not for priests, but
for orators, not for
stewards of souls, but for treasurers of money, not for pure offerers
of the sacrifice, but for powerful patrons. I will say a word in
their defence: we have thus trained them, by becoming all things
to all men,4384
whether to save or
destroy all, I know not.
25. What say you? Are you persuaded,
have you been overcome by my words? Or must I use stronger terms
in order to persuade you? Yea by the Trinity Itself, Whom you and
I alike worship, by our common hope, and for the sake of the unity of
this people, grant me this favour; dismiss me with your prayers; let
this be the proclamation of my contest; give me my certificate of
retirement, as sovereigns do to their soldiers; and, if you will, with
a favourable testimony, that I may enjoy the honour of it; if not, just
as you please; this will make no difference to me, until God sees what
my case really is. What successor then shall we elect? God
will provide Himself4385
a shepherd for the
office, as He once provided a lamb for a burnt-offering. I only
make this further request,—let him be one who is the object of
envy, not the object of pity; not one who yields everything to all, but
one who can on some points offer resistance for the sake of what is
best: for though the one is most pleasant, the other is most
profitable. So do you prepare for me your addresses of
dismissal: I will now bid you farewell.
26. Farewell my Anastasia,4386
| 4386
Anastasia. The little church “of the
Resurrection” in which the orthodox Christians worshipped with S.
Gregory at first on his arrival, while the churches of the city were
held by the heretics. | whose name is redolent of piety: for
thou hast raised up for us the doctrine which was in contempt:
farewell, scene of our common victory, modern Shiloh,4387
where the tabernacle was first fixed, after
being carried about in its wanderings for forty years in the
wilderness. Farewell likewise, grand and renowned temple, our new
inheritance, whose greatness is now due to the Word, which once wast a
Jebus,4388
and hast now been
made by us a Jerusalem. Farewell, all ye others, inferior only to
this in beauty, scattered through the various parts of the city, like
so many links, uniting together each your own neighbourhood, which have
been filled with worshippers of whose existence we had despaired, not
by me, in my weakness, but by the grace which was with me.4389
Farewell, ye Apostles,4390
noble settlers here, my masters in the
strife; if I have not often kept festival with you, it has been
possibly due to the Satan4391
which I, like S.
Paul,4392
who was one of you, carry about in my body
for my own profit, and which is the cause of my now leaving you.
Farewell, my throne, envied and perilous height; farewell assembly of
high priests, honoured by the dignity and age of its priests, and all
ye others ministers of God round the holy table, drawing nigh to the
God Who draws nigh to you.4393
Farewell,
choirs of Nazarites, harmonies of the Psalter, night-long stations,
venerable virgins, decorous matrons, gatherings of widows and orphans,
and ye eyes of the poor, turned towards God and towards me.
Farewell, hospitable and Christ-loved dwellings, helpers of my
infirmity. Farewell, ye lovers of my discourses, in your
eagerness and concourse, ye pencils seen and unseen, and thou
balustrade, pressed upon by those who thrust themselves forward to hear
the word. Farewell, Emperors, and palace, and ministers and
household of the Emperor, whether faithful or not to him, I know not,
but for the most part, unfaithful to God. Clap your hands, shout
aloud, extol your orator to the skies. This pestilent and
garrulous tongue has ceased to speak to you. Though it will not
utterly cease to speak: for it will fight with hand and
ink: but for the present we have ceased to speak.
27. Farewell, mighty Christ-loving
city. I will testify to the truth, though thy zeal be not
according to knowledge.4394
Our
separation renders us more kindly. Approach the truth: be
converted at this late hour. Honour God more than you have been
wont to do. It is no disgrace to change, while it is fatal to
cling to evil. Farewell, East and West, for whom and against whom
I have had to fight; He is witness, Who will give you peace, if but a
few would imitate my retirement. For those who resign their
thrones will not also lose God, but will have the seat on high, which
is far more exalted and secure. Last of all, and most of all, I
will cry,—farewell ye Angels, guardians of this church, and of my
presence and pilgrimage, since our affairs are in the hands of
God. Farewell, O Trinity, my meditation, and my glory.
Mayest Thou be preserved by those who are here, and preserve them, my
people: for they are mine, even if I have my place assigned
elsewhere; and may I learn that Thou art ever extolled and glorified in
word and conduct. My children, keep, I pray you, that which
is committed to your trust.4395
Remember my
stonings.4396
The grace of
our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all. Amen.E.C.F. INDEX & SEARCH
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