Sermons on Hannah

MONITUM.

As to the time when Chrysostom delivered these sermons, and in what order these discourses should be placed, he himself indicates this shortly after the beginning. "For perhaps," he says, "you have now forgotten (since the Greek is not to be reported here) our having delivered many sermons in the interim on other subjects." For, when our Father had returned from that long journey to the imperial court, it was necessary to recount all the things that had occurred, and then to dispute with the Gentiles, so that we might confirm with all our might those who had been recalled to a better life by the force of calamity, who, having abandoned the error of the Gentiles, had betaken themselves to us, and to teach them from what darkness they had been freed to arrive at such a great light of truth. After these, we again enjoyed the festivals of the martyrs for many days, nor would it have been appropriate to the season for us, who lived near the shrines of the martyrs, to depart lacking the praises that are owed to them. Following these, there succeeded an exhortation to abstain from oaths, for when we perceived the whole nation of rustics entering the city, we deemed it necessary that they should be sent away instructed by us in this provision for their journey.

Regarding his statement that Chrysostom first, after the return of Bishop Flavian, recounted all the things that had happened to him in the delegation—that is, in the Emperor's court—that, I say, refers to the 21st Homily on the Statues (Tom. II), which was delivered after the return of Flavian, which return took place at the end of Lent in the year 387. And this discourse was delivered on the very day of the Lord's Resurrection; for Chrysostom signifies this at the beginning when he says: "Blessed be God, who has deigned that we celebrate this holy solemnity with you today with great joy and gladness." Following this homily, he spoke to the Gentiles, to confirm some of them who had been brought in by the force of calamity and had embraced the Christian religion; but the discourse itself, or the most important chapters of it—if he delivered more than one on the same subject—he relates afterwards. It is clear, however, that they have either perished through the injury of time or lie hidden hitherto. The following days, because the festivals of the martyrs occurred, were spent in celebrating their praises, though Chrysostom was absent due to infirmity. "To these succeeded," he says, "an exhortation to abstain from oaths," made for the sake of the rustics, who had arrived in the city in great number. We can scarcely doubt that this exhortation is the one cited as the 19th among the Homilies to the People of Antioch (Tom. II). For in that one, he begins thus: "You have been feasted on the holy martyrs these past days," and afterwards he treats at length of the arrival of the rustics and weaves a sermon on avoiding oaths longer than in the other 20 Homilies to the people of Antioch, in almost every one of which something is argued against oaths.

All the marks, therefore, which are found in this first Sermon on Anna, are enumerated in that 19th Homily to the people of Antioch, such that the order of the discourses must have been thus: and the Homily on the return of Flavian, which is now the 21st to the people of Antioch, must be placed first; secondly, he delivered one or more discourses against the Gentiles; thirdly, the praises of the martyrs were celebrated for many days, *πολλὰς ἡμέρας*; fourthly, he spoke before the rustics against oaths; finally, he began these Sermons on Anna. The Homily on the return of Flavian, therefore, leads the procession. But regarding the last homily, on the Sunday *τῆς ἐπισωζομένης*, Leon Allatius says that this is the fifth Sunday after Easter, which precedes the Ascension of the Lord. Savile thinks it is Palm Sunday; Tillemont, however, opines that it is Passion Sunday; I have agreed with this latter in the Preface to Volume II. But now I fear whether these can be reconciled, and I would more willingly accede to Allatius, since the fifth discourse, which is the last on Anna, was delivered after Pentecost; for the word *μεσοπεντηκοστῆς*, which has crept into the text twice, is an error of the scribes, as we prove there from the Manuscripts. Everything having been weighed, the matter seems to be entirely established in this way, and in this manner the calculation is to be set.

SERMON I

^A That it is fitting to remember the fast both at Pentecost and always, and that not only the presence, but also the recollection of the fast is useful: and concerning the Providence of God, and that not the least part of it is, among other things, the love of parents towards their children: and that it is commanded, not only to fathers, but also to mothers, to shape the morals of their children, and finally concerning Anna.

If, after we have entertained some foreigner who has stayed with us for a few days, and have made him a participant in conversation and meal, we have sent him away; the day after his departure, a table having been set, we immediately recall him and the encounter of our words, and with much affection ^B long for him: this is also to be performed by us regarding the fast. For when it had stayed with us for forty days, we entertained it and sent it away with kindness: therefore, when for us the spiritual table is already to be set, let us remember it, and all the good things which it has brought to us. For not only the presence of the fast, but also the memory of the fast can be, in the highest degree, useful. And just as those whom we love, not only when they are present, but even when they come to our mind, fill us with much pleasure: so also the days of the fast, the assemblies, and the common gatherings, and other good things of which we were enjoying the benefit, delight us even by their mere memory, and if, having gathered all these, we remember—

we will gain great profit even at the present time. I say this, not to force you to fast, but to persuade you not to live in luxury, nor to conduct yourselves like the majority of men—if indeed those who are so pusillanimous ought to be called men—who, as if released from bonds and having escaped some grievous prison, say to one another: "At last, we have completed the painful sea of the fast." Others, being even weaker than these, are fearful of the coming Lenten season. This happens because they surrender themselves to luxury, debauchery, and every kind of drunkenness with excess throughout the entire remaining time. If we had trained ourselves to live modestly and temperately during the other days, we would have longed for the fast that has passed, and we would have welcomed the approaching season with great joy. For what is not good that comes to us from fasting? Everything is filled with peace and pure serenity. Are not even houses freed from disturbances, and running about, and every agitation? And before the houses, the mind of those who fast enjoys this quiet; the whole city imitates the good order in the mind and in the houses. For it is not possible to hear those singing in the evening, nor those shouting and getting drunk in the day, nor those brawling, but it is possible to see great quiet everywhere. ^A But it is not so now; rather, immediately at dawn there are cries, and tumults, and the rushing of cooks, and much smoke in the houses, and much in the reasonings, as the passions within us are smoldering, and the flame, which is in unseemly desires, is stirred up by luxury. For this reason we ask for the fast, even though it has passed; for it restrained all these things. And even if we have laid aside its labor, let us not destroy our longing for it, nor extinguish its memory; but whenever, after dining and sleeping, you cast yourself into the marketplace, and see the day already hastening toward evening, enter into this church, and having come beside this dais, remind yourself of the time of the fast, during which our church was filled with a multitude, and the eagerness for hearing was intense, and there was much delight, and everyone’s mind was enkindled. And collecting all these things, remember those longed-for days. And if you are about to set out a table, handle the food with this memory, and you will never be able to slip into drunkenness; but just as those who have an honorable, sober, and free-born wife, and are burning with great love for her, would not, even when she is away, desire a harlot and a corrupted woman, because the longing for her possesses the mind and does not allow another love to enter; so indeed it is in the case of the fast and drunkenness. If, therefore, we remember that free-born and sober woman, we will drive away this common harlot, the mother of all unseemliness—I mean drunkenness—with much eagerness, as the longing for the fast, more strongly than any hand, repels her shamelessness. For all these reasons, I pray, let us always keep those days in mind; and in order that I might contribute something toward that memory, I will attempt to bring into the middle again the same subject which I was preparing to stir up at that time, so that through the similarity in the teaching, there might be to us some memory of that time. ^B For you yourselves have perhaps forgotten, because many discussions have taken place among us in the interim, and regarding other matters. For when our father returned from his long absence, it was necessary to tell of everything that had happened at the military camp, and after that, to direct [our discourse] toward the Greeks, so that they, having become better through the calamity, and having defected to us from the Greek error, might be firmly rooted with accuracy, and taught from what darkness they were delivered, and to what light of truth they have run. After that, again, we enjoyed for many days the festival of the martyrs, and it was inopportune to depart from the graves of the martyrs bereft of the panegyrics fitting for the martyrs. These panegyrics were succeeded again by the exhortation concerning oaths; for since we saw the entire rustic population of the city having arrived, we wished to give them these provisions, and thus send them all away from us. For you, therefore, for these reasons, it would not be possible easily to recall the inquiry held by us at that time toward the Greeks; but I, having been always occupied in these things, and having this as my study, by saying a few of those things then spoken, I shall be able to remind you of the whole subject matter of the discourses. What then was our subject? We were inquiring how, from the beginning, God provided for our race, and how He taught what is beneficial, neither books nor Scriptures being given; and we were showing that through contemplation of the creation He guided [men] to the knowledge of Himself; when I also, taking hold of you, not by the hand but by the mind, led you around everywhere in the creation, showing the heaven, and the earth, and the sea, and lakes, and springs, and rivers, and vast oceans, and meadows, and paradises, and the crops flourishing, and the trees heavy with fruits, and seeing the summits covered by forests; when also, about seeds, and about herbs, and about flowers, and about plants both fruitful and unfruiteless, and about irrational creatures, both tame and wild, and those in the water and those on land, and the amphibious, about those that cut through the air, about those that creep on the ground, and about the very elements of the universe, I discoursed much, and about each one we all cried out together, our mind being weak toward the infinite wealth, and not being able to grasp the whole: "How were Thy works magnified, O Lord; in wisdom Thou hast made all things" (Ps. 103:24). ^C But not for the multitude only did we marvel at the wisdom of God, but also for both these things: that He made the creation both beautiful and great and wonderful, and that He again deposited many proofs of its own weakness in the things that are seen; the one, so that He might be marveled at for His wisdom, and might attract those who see it to His own worship; the other, so that those who see their beauty might not, having abandoned the Creator...

worship the things that appear ^A, since the weakness that appears in them can correct such an error. Also, how every creature is subject to corruption, and will be transformed to a better state, will enjoy greater glory, and when, and why, and for what reason it was brought forth subject to corruption; and all these things we were philosophizing among you at that time, and we were demonstrating the power of God from this, that He placed such beauty in corruptible bodies, which God also attributed to them from the beginning: the stars, the heaven, and the sun. For truly we can marvel at how, with so many years having passed, they have suffered nothing of the sort that our bodies suffer, nor have they been rendered weaker by old age, nor weakened by any disease or sickness, but they maintain their strength and beauty which, as I said before, God had attributed to them from the beginning; and neither has the sun's light been consumed, nor has the splendor of the stars been dimmed, nor has the radiance of the heaven flowed away, nor have the boundaries of the sea been moved, nor has the power of the earth to produce annual fruits been extinguished.

That all these things are subject to corruption we have demonstrated both from arguments and from the Holy Scriptures; but that they are beautiful and splendid and always preserve their own intact vigor is testified by the daily view of those who see them, in which God is most to be admired, who thus created them from the beginning. But since, while we were saying these things at that time, some were objecting, saying: "Therefore, of all things that fall under sight, man is the vilest, if indeed the body of the heaven, earth, sun, and all the stars has lasted for such a long time, while this one is dissolved and perishes after seventy years," we shall say first of all that the whole living being is not dissolved, but the principal and more necessary part remains forever, the immortal soul, which is subject to no such diseases, and the lesser part is subject to corruption; and secondly, that this very fact yields us greater honor. For it is not rashly or without cause, but justly and for our own benefit, that we endure both old age and diseases: justly, as we fell into sin; but for our benefit, so that we may curb the pride produced in us from laziness through these defects and diseases. God did not, therefore, allow this to happen so that He might afflict us with disgrace. For if He had wished to afflict us with disgrace, He would not have allowed our soul to be immortal. But neither did He make our body such because He was impotent. For if it were weak, it could never have lasted so long in the nature of things—the heaven, the stars, and the body of the earth—but He did so to render us better and more moderate and more obedient, as He bestows upon us the occasion for all salvation. Therefore, He did not bring it about that either the heaven should be caught by old age or by other such diseases. For since it is devoid of free will and soul, it is able neither to sin nor to do right: whence it has no need of such correction; but to us, who are adorned with reason and soul, it was necessary that modesty and humility be generated ^B through these weaknesses and diseases, inasmuch as from the beginning, before all others, the first man was lifted up into pride. Otherwise, if the heaven had been constituted just like our bodies and subject to old age, many would have accused the Creator of weakness, as one who could not preserve one body for the cycle of many years; but to them this occasion has now been cut off, since His works remain for so long a time.

Chapter 3.

The power of free will is greater than that of nature; evil sons are disowned by parents. These things were not said by us without cause, but so that you may know that the power of free will is greater than that of nature, and that parents are accustomed to make fathers rather than nature. For truly this was the work of divine providence, that it should neither leave children destitute of natural affection, nor again commit everything to it. For if they were moved by no impulse whatever…

^A of affection, you would have seen many removed from their fathers' houses on account of their own carelessness, and our race falling into ruin. Again, if He had committed the whole matter to the tyranny of nature, and had not allowed even the wicked to be hated, but fathers, even when abused and suffering ten thousand terrible things at the hands of their children, were compelled by the necessity of nature to continue to serve them even while they were abusing and acting insolently toward them, our species would have slid into the utmost depths of wickedness. For if now, when children cannot entirely rely on nature, but knowing that many who have become worthless have fallen away from both the home and the paternal estate, they nevertheless in many places, relying on the affection of their parents, act insolently toward those who begat them; if God had not permitted them to be angry, and to go to law, and to cast out children when they become evil, where would they have stopped in their wickedness? For these reasons, God entrusted the affection of parents both to the necessity of nature and to the character of the children, so that they might forgive their children in proportion when they sin, the nature of things encouraging them to do so, and not, when they become wicked and suffer from incurable diseases, continue to train them in vice—nature again here reproving and having the power to compel them, even when the children have become worthless, to take care of them. What great providence this is, tell me, both to command them to love, and to set a measure to that affection, and again to define a reward for good child-rearing! For that a reward is set, and not only for men, but also for women, hear how in many places Scripture discourses both to them and concerning them, and no less to them than to the men. For having said, Paul says, "The woman being deceived was in the transgression," he added, "But she shall be saved through child-bearing" (1 Tim. 2:14-15). What he says is this: You are in pain, he says, because the first woman cast you into pangs and labors and long pregnancy? But do not be distressed; for you have not been so much harmed by the pangs and the labors, as you gain—if you wish—an opportunity for virtue from child-rearing. For the children who are born, if they enjoy the proper care and are guided toward virtue by your providence, become for you a cause and opportunity for much salvation; and besides your own good deeds, you shall receive a large reward for the care you took in these matters.

^B 4. And that you may learn that it is not the act of giving birth that makes a mother, nor is the reward set for this, ^C even elsewhere, when speaking to the widow, Paul said thus: "If she has brought up children" (1 Tim. 5:10); and he did not say, "If she has given birth to children," but, "If she has brought up children." For the one belongs to nature, the other to choice. And for this reason, even here, having said, "She shall be saved through child-bearing," he did not stop at that point, but, wishing to show that it is not the giving birth to children, but the rearing of children well, that brings us this reward, he added: "If they continue in faith, and love, and holiness with sobriety." What he says is this: Then you shall receive a large reward, if the born children continue in faith and love and holiness. If, therefore, you urge them toward these things, if you exhort, if you teach, if you advise them, a great reward for this diligence shall be laid up for you by God. Do not, therefore, let women think it is outside their sphere of duty to care for both daughters and sons. For he did not distinguish the sex here, but also there he said simply, "If she has brought up children," and here, "If they continue in faith, and love, and holiness." So we must take care of children of both sexes, and especially the women, inasmuch as they sit at home for the most part. For men are often dragged away by travels, and the cares of the marketplace, and the business of the city; but the woman, having exemption from every such care, can more easily care for the children born to her, enjoying much leisure. This is how the women of old used to act; for this duty is necessary not only for men but also for women—I mean, to provide for their own children and to lead them toward philosophy. And that this is true, I will narrate to you an ancient history. There was a woman among the Jews named Anna. This Anna suffered a long time from childlessness; and what was more grievous, her rival was a mother of many children. You know how, by nature and in itself, the matter is unbearable to women; but when a rival is added, having children, it becomes much more grievous. For in the success of that other woman, she perceives her own misfortune more accurately; just as those who live in extreme poverty are more grieved when they think of those who are wealthy. And this was not the only misfortune, that this one had no children and the other did, but that she was a rival, and not only that she was a rival, but that she provoked her because she despised her. But God, seeing all these things, endured it, and He says, "The Lord had not given her a child according to her affliction, and according to the despondency of her soul" (1 Reg. 1:6). What is "according to her affliction"? He means, she cannot say that because she watched her bearing the misfortune gently, He withheld her offspring; but although he saw her being torn apart, pained, and afflicted, He did not resolve the despondency, ^D planning something else far greater. Let us not hear these things cursorily, but from this let us learn a very great philosophy; and whenever we fall into some terrible thing, even if we are in pain, even if we lament, even if the evil seems to us to be unbearable, let us not rush, nor be distraught, but let us await the providence of God. For He knows clearly when it is necessary to resolve that which causes despondency for us; which is exactly what happened in her case. For it was not because God hated her or turned away from her that He closed her womb, but in order that He might open to us the doors of the philosophy that is in the woman, and that we might behold the wealth of her faith, and know that He was making her more brilliant as a result of this. Hear also what follows. "And so she did," he says, "year by year from the sufficient time, when she went up to the house of the Lord" (1 Reg. 1:7). "And she was despondent, and wept, and did not eat." The pain was intensified, the…

Intense sorrow, a long-standing affliction; not two or three days, nor twenty, nor a hundred, nor a thousand, nor twice as many. For many years the woman suffered and was tortured; for this is what is meant by "A long time." Nevertheless, she did not bear it impatiently, nor did the length of time overcome her philosophy, nor the reproaches and insults of her rival, but she prayed and supplicated unceasingly. ^A And what is greater than all things, and most indicates her love toward God, she did not desire to obtain this child simply, but to dedicate the fruit to God and to offer up the first-fruits of her own womb, and to receive the reward of this noble promise. ^B Whence is this evident? From the words that follow. You all know that for women, on account of their husbands, barrenness is unbearable. For many men are so irrational that they blame women if they happen not to bear children, not knowing that this gift of child-bearing derives its origin from above and from divine providence, and that neither the nature of a woman, nor their union, nor anything else is sufficient for this by itself. Nevertheless, although they know they blame them unjustly, they often reproach and turn away from them, and do not treat them with pleasure.

5. Let us see, then, if this happened to this woman. For if you see her indeed despised, held in contempt, and abused, and having no influence with her husband, nor being treated with any benevolence by him, you might conjecture that she desired a child for this reason, so that she might enjoy great confidence and freedom, and become more pleasing to her husband. But if you discover the opposite, ^C and that she was more beloved than the one who had children, because her husband embraced her with greater benevolence, from this it is apparent that she did not desire children on account of some human affection, nor to reconcile her husband to herself more, but for the reason we mentioned. Whence, therefore, is this clear? Hear the author saying this. For he did not write this at random, but that you might recognize the woman’s virtue. What therefore does he say? "Elkanah loved Hannah more than Peninnah" (I Reg. I, 5). Then, when he saw her not eating, but weeping, he said: "What is the matter with you, that you weep? And why do you not eat? And why does your heart grieve you? Am I not better to you than ten sons?" (Ibid. v. 8). Do you see how attached he was to her? And that he grieved rather on her account, not because she lacked children, but because he saw her sorrowful and consumed by grief? ^D Yet he did not persuade her to cast off her sadness. For she was not seeking a child for his sake, but to exhibit some fruit to God. "And she arose," he says, "after they had eaten and drunk in Shiloh, and she stood before the Lord" (Ibid. v. 9). This too was not said without cause: "After they had eaten and drunk," but that you might understand that while others spend their time in pleasures and leisure, she spent hers in prayers and tears, because she was most sober and vigilant. "And she stood before the Lord: and Eli the priest," he says, "was sitting upon a seat by the doorposts of the temple of the Lord." Not even this was stated at random, for Eli the priest to be sitting by the doorposts of the temple of the Lord; but that the woman’s fervor might be shown. For just as often a widow, a woman destitute of aid and deserted, affected by insults and various injuries, when perhaps the Emperor’s arrival is imminent, with his satellites, heavy-armed soldiers, horsemen, and other large retinue preceding him, is not in the least terrified, nor does she need a patron, but breaking through them all, she speaks to the Emperor with great confidence and deplores her calamity, led to his address by necessity itself: so indeed this woman was not ashamed, nor did she feel embarrassed, with the priest sitting there, to pray by herself and to approach the Emperor with great confidence, but urged by desire and with her mind turned to heaven, as if she were beholding God Himself, so she addressed Him with the highest fervor. ^A What then does she say? Nay, rather, she does not utter a word at first, but sets forth the prelude of her weeping, and pours out warm streams of tears. And just as, when rains descend, the earth that was previously hard is irrigated and softened, and more easily stirs itself to produce crops, so also it happened in the case of this woman. For her womb, having been softened as if by certain rains of tears and warmed by grief, began to be excited to this noble procreation of children. Let us hear, however, her very words and that beautiful supplication. ^B Weeping, he says, she wept, and vowed a vow to the Lord, saying: "Adonai Lord Eloi Sabaoth" (I Reg. I, 10, 11). Tremendous words, and full of horror; and the writer did well not to translate them into our language: for he could not have brought them into the Greek tongue while retaining their proper power. Nor did the woman call upon Him with one name, but with many that are attributed to Him, so that she might show her love and burning affection toward Him. And just as those who write supplicatory petitions to be offered to the Emperor do not insert one name, but add "Triumpher, Augustus, Emperor," and many other titles more sublime than these, and then at last offer their prayers: so she, when offering a certain supplicatory petition to God, placed many names at the start of her supplication, both to indicate, as I said before, her own affection, and to show the honor with which she pursues Him whom she supplicates. ^C Enimvero, the prayers themselves were dictated by grief; for which reason she was heard straightway, because she had composed them very prudently. For such indeed are the prayers that are poured forth from the sorrow of the soul. For her mind acted as paper, her tongue as a pen, her tears as ink; for which cause her supplication has remained to this very day. For such letters are indelible, as have been dipped in that ink. And the beginning of the supplicatory petition was such; but what are the things that follow? "If," she says, "looking you look upon the humiliation of your handmaid" (I Reg. I, 11). She had not yet received anything, and she took the prologue of her prayer from her promise. She rewards God, while she holds nothing yet in her hands. ^D So she burned, and aimed at this rather than that, and therefore prayed for a son to be given to her. "If looking you look upon the humiliation of your handmaid." I rely, she says, on a double right—that of servitude and of calamity. "And give my handmaid the seed of a man; I will give him before you as an offering." What is, "Before you as an offering?" Ready and whole...

as a gift to you? A surrendered and entirely dedicated servant. I stand aside from all authority. For I desire to be a mother only so far as to be the one through whom the child takes his beginning, and henceforth I withdraw and yield.

^B 6. And observe the reverence of the woman. She did not say, "If you give me three, I give you two; and if two, I give you one," but, "If you give but one, I dedicate the entire fruit to you. And he shall drink neither wine nor strong drink." She had not yet received the child, and already she was fashioning a prophet, and was discoursing concerning his upbringing, and was making a covenant with God. O the boldness of this woman! Because she could not yet make payment, as she had not yet received him, she pays the price from what is to come. And just as many of the farmers, living in extreme poverty and having no money to purchase a calf or a sheep, receive them from their masters on the condition of half-shares, promising to pay the price from the future produce; so did she, or rather, she did much more. For she does not receive her son from God on a half-share basis, but so as to return him entirely to Him again, and to reap the reward of his upbringing. For she considered it reward enough to have labored for the priest of God. ^C "And wine and strong drink he shall not drink," she says. She did not reflect within herself, saying, "But what if, being delicate, he is ruined by the water-drinking? What if he falls into sickness? What if he dies, given over to some grievous malady?" But reflecting that He who gave him would also be able to provide for his health, she brought him to holiness from his very swaddling clothes and birth pangs, casting all upon God. Long before the birth pangs, her womb was sanctified, possessing a prophet and yielding a priest and bringing forth an offering—a living offering. For these causes, God was held by her despondency; for this reason, He gave slowly, so that He might make her more illustrious by the manner of the childbirth, that He might demonstrate her philosophy. For even when she had entered into her prayer, she did not remember her rival; she did not speak of her taunts, she did not bring her reproaches into the midst, she did not say: "Avenge me of that vile and wicked woman"—as many women do. But, without even mentioning those insults, she prayed only for things profitable to herself. ^D Do this also, O man, and whenever you see an enemy causing you pain, do not cast any bitter word against him, nor pray against him since he is hostile to you; but having gone inside, and having bent your knees, and having shed tears, entreat God to loosen your despondency, to extinguish your grief; which is exactly what she also did, and she reaped the greatest benefits from the hostile woman. For that woman worked together toward the place of the child. And how, I shall say. Since she had insulted, afflicted, and caused greater pain, from that very pain the prayer became more attentive, the prayer drew God to her, and caused Him to bow His head; and thus Samuel was born. So that, if we be sober, our enemies will not only be unable to harm us in anything, but will even benefit us the most, by making us more zealous towards everything, provided that we do not lead ourselves toward insults and abuses, but toward prayers, from the despondency arising in us from them.

Having brought forth the child, she called him Samuel, which means, "He shall hear of God." For because it was from her request and from prayer that she received him, and not from nature, she henceforth deposited the memory of that labor, as if on a bronze stele, in the name of the child. And she did not say, "Let us call him by the name of his father, or of his uncle, or of his grandfather, or of his great-grandfather," but, "He who gave him, let Him also be honored by the name of the child," she says. Emulate this, women; let us imitate this, men; and let us exercise such great care concerning children, and let us educate those who are born in this way, in all other things, and in the matter of temperance. For there is nothing one should be so anxious and concerned about for the young as for the sake of temperance and modesty. For this is the passion that most troubles those ages. And that which we do in the case of lamps, this we must also guard in the case of children. Often, at any rate, we command a maidservant who is lighting a lamp not to bring the lamp where there might be straw, or grass, or anything of that sort, lest, without our knowing it, some spark might fall out and, catching hold of that material, might burn down the whole house; let us have this same concern for children, and let us not bring their eyes where there are lewd maidservants, where there are dissolute girls, where there are profligate slaves, but let us command and enjoin [that we should have such a maidservant, or even a neighbor, or simply anyone else of such character, that they come neither into sight nor into speech with the young]* so that no spark falling from there might kindle the child’s soul entirely, and the calamity become irreparable. Let us lead them away not only from spectacles, but also from soft and effeminate listening, so that their soul may not be bewitched by these things, nor let us lead them to theaters, nor to banquets and drunken revels, but let the young be guarded by us more than secluded virgins for no other reason than this. For nothing is better suited to adorn that age than the crown of temperance, and reaching marriage while pure of all lewdness. Thus also might women become desirable to them, when the soul has not rehearsed whoredom and is not corrupted, when the young man knows that woman only who has been joined to him in marriage. Thus also loves become warmer, and affection more genuine, and friendship more accurate, when the young go to their marriages with such guardianship. As for what is done now, it is not marriage, but simply a trade of money and huckstering. For when the young man has been corrupted even before the marriage, and after the marriage looks again toward another woman, what profit is there in marriages, tell me? Greater, indeed, is the punishment and the sin is inexcusable when, with a wife inside, he shames himself with harlots and commits adultery. For after a wife, even if she be a harlot who is corrupted by the married man, the thing is adultery. And these things happen…

*(Note: The bracketed text in the 2nd paragraph of this translation represents a brief clarification added to bridge the ellipsis found in the source text's logic.)*

for they have not learned to maintain chastity before marriage. Hence arise fights, insults, the destruction of homes, and daily wars. Hence the love one has for his wife grows weak and withers, as it is dissolved by frequenting brothels. But if he learns to maintain chastity, he will esteem his wife above all others; he will look upon her with great benevolence, and he will maintain great harmony with her. If there is peace and harmony, all good things will enter that home. In order, therefore, that the affairs of this life may be rightly ordered by us, and that with them we may obtain the kingdom of heaven, let us, for the sake of this command especially, take care of ourselves and our children, so that we may not enter into that spiritual marriage clothed in filthy garments, but may with confidence enjoy the honor reserved for those who are worthy there. May we all obtain this, through the grace and kindness of our Lord Jesus Christ, with whom, to the Father, be glory, honor, and power, together with the Holy Spirit, now and always, and for ages of ages. Amen.

SERMON II. Regarding the faith of Anna, and her philosophy—that is, her moderation of mind and modesty—and regarding the honoring of priests; and how one ought to pray at both the beginning and the end of a meal; and how she was both mother and father.

^A Nothing is equal to prayer, beloved, nor is anything more powerful than faith. Anna recently demonstrated both of these to us; for, approaching God with these gifts, she accomplished all that she desired. She corrected a sterile nature, opened a womb that had been closed, removed her disgrace, dissolved the insults of her rival, and restored herself to great confidence, when from a barren rock she reaped a grain. All of you heard how she wept, how she prayed, how she entreated and prevailed; she conceived, gave birth, raised, and consecrated Samuel. And so, he would not be mistaken who called this woman the mother and father of the child alike. For although the husband had provided the seed, her prayer granted power and efficacy to that seed, and caused Samuel to be born from more honorable beginnings. For the origin of this birth was not, as it is with other men, merely the sleep and union of parents, but prayers, tears, and faith; and for this reason the prophet had a more illustrious birth, being born on account of his mother's faith. Therefore, one might justly say of this woman: "They who sow in tears shall reap in joy" (Ps. 125, 5). Let us men emulate her, let women imitate her; for this woman is a teacher for both sexes. Let those who are sterile not despair; let those who are mothers raise their children thus; but let us all together imitate the philosophy of this woman, which she possessed before the birth, the faith she had at the birth, and the zeal she had after the birth. For what could be more philosophical than that woman, who bore so intolerable a calamity calmly and bravely, and did not cease until she had dispelled that distress and found an end to the evil—an end both wonderful and incredible, with no helper or ally summoned from earthly things? ^B She knew the kindness of the Lord, and for that reason she alone approached Him, and she obtained whatever she desired. For the correction of that sorrow required not human assistance, but divine grace: for it was not born from the loss of money, so that one might wash away the anguish with gold brought in; nor from infirmity of the body, so that she could drive away the disease by summoning physicians. Nature was in a bad state, desiring a heavenly hand. And so, having truly abandoned all earthly things, she fled to the Lord of nature, nor did she cease until she entreated Him to remove the childlessness, to open her womb, and from a sterile woman to make a mother. And so she is blessed for this very reason: not that she became a mother, but that, being none, she became one. For the former is common to nature, but the latter was an exceptional merit of the woman. Indeed, she is blessed because of those birth pangs, yet nonetheless blessed because of all those things that preceded the birth. For you all surely know, whether women or men, that nothing more grievous or more intolerable can befall a woman than to be deprived of children; to such an extent that if she otherwise enjoys a thousand prosperities, she can never expel from her soul the pain born of this wound. But if this is so intolerable even now, when we have been called to a greater philosophy, and when there is no regard for present things for those who are tending toward heaven, but we are being adorned for another life, and when virginity is praised with many praises: ^C think how great a misery that situation appeared to be then, when there was no hope of future things, nor even consideration of them among those ancients, but everything was done for the sake of present things: when at that time to be a sterile and childless woman carried the brand of condemnation. No one can utter, nor can any speech reach, the magnitude of the pain coming from this wound. The women themselves are witnesses, who, although they displayed every philosophy in other matters, did not bear this unhappiness with an even mind; but some vented their anger against their husbands, others judged life to be unpleasant for themselves. But this woman was besieged not only by the anxiety arising from sterility, but also by another evil: namely, anger on account of the insults of her rival. And just as when winds clash against each other from opposite directions, grasping the middle of a skiff while they fight, and with many waves rising partly from the prow and partly from the stern, the helmsman sitting at the tiller saves the ship, driving away the incursions of the waves with his skill in steering: so also this woman, when anger and grief like winds made an attack upon her soul, disturbing her reason and exciting many waves, not for two or three days, or twenty days, but for whole years (for this, as the Scripture says, was done over a long time [1 Kings 1, 7]), ^D she bravely endured the tempest, and did not suffer her reason to be submerged. For the fear of God, as a pilot sitting at the helm, persuaded her that the tempest was to be endured with a great heart; nor did it cease to steer her mind until it brought the ship, full of its cargo, into a tranquil harbor—that is, the womb laden with a precious treasure. For it did not carry gold or silver, but was carrying a prophet and priest and

the sanctification of her womb was twofold, both because the child she was carrying was such, and because she received the beginning of the conception through prayer and grace from above.

^B 2. But not only was the burden strange and wonderful, but the manner of the transaction also became even stranger; for she did not sell him to men, nor to some merchants or tradesmen, but straightway, having cast him out of the ship, she sold him to God; and she carried out such a transaction as it was natural for one in communion with God to carry out. For after she had received him, He gave her another child in return; or rather, not one, nor two, nor three, and four only, but even many more, *For the barren*, he says, *has borne seven*, (1 Kings 2:5), and the interest exceeded the principal. For such is business with God: He gives back not a fraction of the principal, but many times the amount. And He gave not only female children, but brought her interest from both genders; so that her joy was made complete. I say these things, not that you may only praise, but that you may also emulate the faith and the long-suffering of the woman, which you heard of in part even before; but so that I may provide the rest, grant me to tell you a little about the words uttered after the first prayer, to the priest and to the son of the priest, so that you may learn the gentle and mild disposition of the woman. *And it came to pass*, he says, *as she multiplied praying before the Lord, and Eli the priest was keeping watch over her mouth.* (Ibid. 1. 12).

Here the writer confirms a twofold virtue in the woman, both the perseverance in prayers, and the watchfulness of her mind; the former by saying, *Multiplied*, the latter by adding, *Before the Lord*: for we all indeed pray, but not all before God. For when the body is lying on the ground, and the mouth is babbling pointlessly, but the mind is wandering everywhere, to the house and to the marketplace, how shall such a one be able to say that he prayed before God? For he prays before the Lord who collects his soul from everywhere, and having nothing in common with the earth, but having, as it were, ^C migrated to heaven itself, and having cast all human reasoning out of his soul; just as this woman did then; for having gathered herself together entirely, and having strained her mind, she called upon God with a soul in pain. But how does he say that she even *multiplied* the prayer? Although the measure of the woman's prayer was short. For she did not stretch out long speeches, nor did she extend the petition to length, but said a few and simple words: *Adonai Lord Eloi Sabaoth, if looking on, thou shalt look upon the humiliation of thy handmaid, and remember me, do not forget thy handmaid, and give to thy handmaid seed of men, I will give him before thee a gift until the day of his death. And wine and strong drink he shall not drink, and iron shall not come up upon his head.* (1 Reg. 1. 11). What is this multitude of words? What then did he hint at by saying, *Multiplied*? She was speaking the same things continuously, and did not leave off, spending much time through the same words. Thus, indeed, in the Gospels also, Christ commanded us to pray. For having said to the disciples not to pray like the heathens, and not to use vain repetition, He taught us a measure of prayer, showing that being heard does not lie in the multitude of words, but in the sobriety of the mind. How then, one might say, if one must pray little, did He propose to them the parable about the need to pray always, that a certain widow, by the persistence of her petition, bent a judge, both inhuman and neither fearing God nor regarding man, by the frequency of her approach? And how does Paul also exhort, saying, *Continuing steadfastly in prayer* (Rom. 12:12), and again, *Pray without ceasing* (1 Thess. 5:17)? For if one must not extend long speeches, and must pray continuously, this is contrary to that. But it is not contrary, may it never be, but it is rather very much in agreement. For both Christ and Paul commanded prayers to be made short and frequent, with small intervals. For if you extend the speech to length, often having become negligent, you have given much opportunity to the devil to approach, and to trip you up, and to lead the mind away from what is being said; but if you make the prayers continuous and frequent, occupying all the time with this frequency, you will be able to be sober easily, and to pray the prayers themselves with great watchfulness. Which is what she also was doing, not extending long speeches, but approaching God frequently and more often. Then, since the priest had stopped her mouth—for this is, *He was keeping watch over her mouth*, and her lips were moving, but her voice was not heard—she was compelled both to obey the priest and to cease from the prayer. Her voice was stopped, therefore, but her boldness was not stopped, ^D but rather her heart inside cried out more vehemently. For this is prayer in the highest degree, when the cries are carried up from within: this is most characteristic of a soul in pain, not to show the prayer by the tone of the voice, but by the fervor of the mind.

3. Thus also Moses prayed; wherefore, even when he said nothing aloud, God says to him, *Why do you cry to me?* (Exod. 14:15). For men indeed hear only this voice, but God hears those who cry from within before this. It is possible, therefore, even without crying aloud to be heard, and while walking in the marketplace to pray in one's mind with great precision, and while sitting with friends, and doing anything whatsoever, to call upon God with a vehement cry—I mean the one from within—and to make this clear to no one of those present. Which is just what this woman also did then. For her voice was not heard, he says; and God heard her. Such was her cry from within. And Eli’s child said to her: *How long wilt thou be drunk? Put away thy wine from thee, depart from the presence of the Lord.* (1 Reg. 1. 14). Here it is most of all possible to see the philosophy of the woman. In the house the rival was reproaching; she came to the temple, and the priest's child insulted her, and the priest

she is reproached as drunken; she comes into the temple, and the priest's son [servant] afflicts her with insults, and the priest himself rebukes her. She had fled from the house. ^A She fled the winter, only to find the sea—she came to the port and encountered waves again; she came to receive a remedy, but was given the laceration of a reproach, so that the wound might increase rather than be healed. For you know how ^B souls that are pained are disposed toward insults and invective. Just as the more severe wounds cannot bear the touch of a hand, so too a troubled and morose soul is indignant at everything and is bitten by even a slight word. Yet this did not happen to this woman, not even when she was insulted by the boy. For if it had been the priest who insulted her, her tolerance would not have been so admirable—for the magnitude of his office and the gravity of his authority would have compelled her to be modest, even against her will. But now, she was not even indignant at the priest's boy; and for this very reason, she gained God’s favor all the more. Thus, whenever we are affected by a thousand evils and insults, ^C if we bear the insults with a generous spirit, we gain greater benevolence for ourselves from God.

The tolerance of insults is an opportunity for merit; David.

are not permitted to pass judgment upon one another's lives, much less are we permitted to pass judgment upon our fathers. But, as I was saying—for it is necessary to return again to this woman—because bearing insults with nobility becomes for us the cause of many blessings, this same thing also occurred in the case of Job. I do not admire him so much before the admonition of his wife as I do after that catastrophic counsel. And let no one think what is said is paradoxical. Often, indeed, those whom the nature of things did not cause to stumble, a word and corrupted counsel have overthrown. And the devil, knowing this, after the blow from experience, brings on the assault through words; which is what he also did in the case of David. For when he saw him having borne with nobility the insurrection of his son and that lawless tyranny, desiring to cause his mind to stumble and to persuade him to fall into anger, he brought down that Semei against him, having prepared him to bite his soul with bitter words. This is what he also contrived against Job. For when he saw that he too had laughed his shafts to scorn, and stood bravely like an adamantine tower against everything, he armed the woman against him, so that the counsel might be unsuspected, and concealed the poison in her words, and rendered the calamity more tragic. What, then, does that noble man say? "Why hast thou spoken as one of the foolish women? If we have received good from the hand of the Lord, shall we not sustain the evil?" (Job 2.10). What he says here has this meaning: If he were not the Master, and did not so far exceed us, but were some fellow-equal friend, what apology would we have, having been so benefited by him, and yet repaying him with the opposite? You see a God-loving mind, and how he is not arrogant, nor does he grow haughty at having borne with nobility those sufferings beyond nature, nor does he judge such patience to be a matter of wisdom and greatness of soul, but, as if paying off a necessary debt, and having suffered nothing unusual, he thus silenced the woman from his abundance. This also happened in the case of this woman. For when he saw her bearing her childlessness with nobility, and falling down before God, he brought down the priest's son, so as to exacerbate her more. But the woman suffered none of these things; but having practiced to bear insults in her home, and having been exercised by the reproaches of her rival, she henceforth fearlessly stripped herself for such assaults. Wherefore, in the temple also, she displayed much gentleness, bearing the mocking with great courage and greatness of soul—the mocking regarding drunkenness and revelry. There is nothing like hearing the very words themselves. For when the young man had said, "Take away thy wine from thee, and depart from the presence of the Lord," Anna answered and said, "Not so, sir." She called the one who had insulted her "master." And she did not say what many people would say: "Tell me, does the priest speak these things to me? Does the one who teaches others mock at drunkenness and revelry?" But she looked only to how she might repel the suspicion, even though it was not true.

5. How insults are to be borne. Prayer after eating.

and sink into dejection, let us nonetheless pray, and not break off the habit. For if you prayed in this manner on the previous day, on the second day you shall correct the disgrace that occurred on the first. Whenever, then, we dine, let us remember this woman, and those tears of hers, and also that noble drunkenness of hers. For the woman was drunk, not from wine, but from an abundance of piety. For if she was such after a meal, what was she at dawn? If she prayed so intensely after eating and drinking, what was she like while fasting?

^B Reverting, then, let us return to her words, which are full of much philosophy and gentleness. For when she said, "No, sir," she added, "I am a woman in a hard day, and I have not drunk wine or any intoxicating thing" (1 Kings 1:15). Observe how she does not here mention the insults of her rival, nor does she betray her malice, nor does she exaggerate the domestic calamity by spreading it about, but she reveals her own anxiety only so far as to clear herself before the priest. "I am a woman in a hard day," she says, "and I have not drunk wine or any intoxicating thing, but I pour out my soul before the Lord." She does not say, "I beseech the Lord, I supplicate the Lord," but, "I pour out my soul before the Lord"; that is, I have turned my whole self toward the Lord, I have emptied my mind before Him, with my whole soul and with my whole strength I have performed my prayer, I have told God of my calamity, I have shown him the wound; He can provide the remedy. "Do not count your handmaid as a daughter of pestilence" (1 Kings 1:16). Again she calls herself a handmaid, taking great care lest she receive an evil reputation from the priest; nor did she say to herself, "What care I for the accusation of this man? He accuses me ignorantly and rashly, and suspects where there was no need; let my conscience be pure, and let everyone traduce me." But she fulfilled that apostolic law which commands us to provide for good things not only before the Lord, but also before men (Rom. 12:17). And in every way she warded off the suspicion, saying, "Do not count your handmaid before your face as a daughter of pestilence." And what is "before your face"? Do not think me brazen and impudent. This boldness is of anguish, not of drunkenness; it is of sorrow, not of intoxication. What, then, did the priest do? Consider also his prudence. He did not inquire curiously about the nature of the calamity, he did not scrutinize more exactly the cause of her anguish; but what does he say? "Go in peace; may the Lord God of Israel grant you every petition which you have asked of him" (1 Kings 1:17). How good a thing is humanity and gentleness. For an insult, she received substantial provisions as she departed, and she obtained a defender and intercessor, whom she had previously had as a judge. And not even then did she desist, but again she says, "Let your handmaid find grace in your eyes" (ibid. v. 18): that is, would that you might learn from the outcome and the end of things that I made this prayer and supplication not out of intoxication, but out of anguish. And when she departed, it is said, she was no longer dejected. Do you see the faith of the woman? Before she received what she had asked for, she was as confident as if she had already received it. The cause was that she prayed with much fervor and much zeal, without any hesitation. For this reason she went away as if she had obtained everything. Nay, moreover, God had already cast all anxiety out of her mind, being about to give the gift she was seeking.

^C A moral epilogue. Let us imitate this woman, and in all afflictions let us flee to God. And if we have no children, let us ask them of Him; and if we receive them, let us educate them with great care, withdrawing the adolescents from every vice, but especially from lasciviousness, because this is a difficult battle, and no other matter is more troublesome to that age than this plague. Let us, therefore, fortify them on all sides with counsels, admonitions, fears, and threats. If they overcome this desire, they will not easily be conquered by others, but they will be superior to money, and they will overcome drunkenness and vinolency, and they will, with all zeal, avoid wicked associations, and they will be more lovable to their parents and more respected by all men. For who would not respect a youth who lives chastely and soberly? Who would not embrace and kiss him who has put a bridle upon his desires? Who, even among the very wealthy, would not with much pleasure wish to betroth his daughter to him, even if he were the poorest of all? Just as, on the contrary, no one is so miserable or of such abject fortune that he would wish to take to himself as a son-in-law one who lives luxuriously, even if he were the most affluent of all; conversely, no one is so foolish as to reject a sober and chaste man and treat him with disgrace. In order, therefore, that our sons may become respected by men and lovable to God, let us adorn their souls, and lead them to marriage with chastity. For thus, as if from a fountain, all things will flow to them, and they will have God as propitious, and they will enjoy the glory of the present and the future life; which may it be our lot to attain, by the grace and goodness of our Lord Jesus Christ, with whom to the Father be glory, honor, and dominion, together with the Holy Spirit, now and always, and unto the ages of ages. Amen.

SERMON III. On Anna, and concerning the education of Samuel, and that slowness in childbearing is useful, and that it is dangerous to have children while being negligent.

a. If I do not seem to some to be tiresome and a burden, I wish to touch again upon the same subject that I discoursed to you about previously, and to lead you to Anna, and to introduce the discourse into the meadow of her virtues; a meadow, I say, not one that bears rose gardens or flowers that wither, but one that bears prayer and faith and great tolerance. For these are far superior to the vernal flowers in fragrance, as they are not watered by springs of water, but by a shower of tears. For indeed, the springs of rivers do not render gardens as flourishing as the springs of tears irrigate the plant of prayer, leading it to the greatest height; which was what happened to this woman. For as soon as she spoke, her supplication flew up into heaven, and she expelled her dejection, being about to receive the gift, and brought the fruit of her prayer. Res spirituales can be adorned by various forms without ceasing. Anna is a guide in the education of children.

(This is the first page of the chain)

^A we shall say, but other new and recent things. For even at a sensory table, one could prepare many dishes from a single food item. And we see goldsmiths, from a single mass of gold, making 722 bracelets, and necklaces, and many other gold objects. For even if the material is of a single kind, the art is manifold and not constrained by the uniformity of the underlying substance, since it is resourceful and clever. If things here are such, much more so is the grace of the Spirit. For that the table of this grace is manifold, and varied, and diverse, hear Paul saying: *To one is given through the Spirit the word of wisdom, to another the word of knowledge, to another faith, to another gifts of healing, helps, governments, kinds of tongues. But all these works one and the same Spirit, distributing to each one individually as He wills.* (1 Cor. 12:8-11). Do you see how manifold it is? The rivers are many, he says, but the source is one; the dishes are different, but the host is one. Since, therefore, the grace of the Spirit is so great, let us not tire. We have seen her barren, we have seen her become a mother; we have seen her weeping, we have seen her rejoicing; we suffered with her then, let us rejoice with her today. Thus also Paul commanded: *Rejoice with those who rejoice, and weep with those who weep* (Rom. 12:15). And this one must do not only regarding the people who have lived in our own time, but also regarding those who were born long ago. And let no one say to me: "Yes, what gain will there be for me from Anna and her narratives?" For the barren will be able to learn how they might become mothers, and mothers will know, in turn, what is the best way of child-rearing. And not only women, but even men will reap the greatest benefits from this history, having been taught to be gentle toward their wives, even if they suffer from childlessness, just as Elkanah was disposed toward Anna. And not only this, but they will gain something even greater, learning that all parents must raise their children in the Lord. Let us not, therefore, because it is not possible to receive money and silver from the narrative, think that our listening is useless, but rather, for this very reason, it is profitable and beneficial, because it is not gold and silver, but something much greater than these—it shows us the reverence of the soul and the treasures in heaven, and teaches how we might ward off every danger. For to provide money is easy even for men; but to correct nature, and to dissolve such despondency, and to remove pain, and to raise up a soul that is about to fall, is possible for no man, ^B but for the Master of nature alone. But you, if you had an incurable disease, and after wandering through the whole city, and spending money, and using many physicians, and finding no comfort, you encountered a woman who suffered the same illness and had been delivered, you would never cease beseeching, exhorting, and begging her, so as to persuade her to show the one who delivered her. But now, seeing Anna standing in the midst, and explaining her suffering, and stating the medicine, and pointing out the Physician 725 without supplication, without entreaty, will you not approach and take the medicine, nor listen to the history with all accuracy? And what good will you ever be able to attain? Other people, indeed, have often crossed long seas ^C and have undertaken distant travel, and have spent money, and have endured hardship to see the physician heralded in a foreign land, and this without being very confident that they will certainly be delivered from the disease. But you, O woman, not being about to embark on an overseas journey, nor to migrate abroad, nor to endure any such hardship—and why do I speak of being abroad?—not even being forced to step outside your own house, but being able to converse with the Physician in the very bedchamber itself, and without any mediator to speak to Him about all that you might desire (For God, he says, *am I a God who is near, and not a God from afar* [Jer. 23:23]), do you delay and hesitate? And what apology will you have? What forgiveness will you enjoy when, being able to find an easy and everywhere convenient deliverance from the evils that press upon you, you are slothful and betray your own salvation? For this Physician is able to heal not only barrenness, but any disease whatsoever of soul and body, if only He wills it. And this is not the only thing that is wonderful, that it is without hardship, and travel, and expense, and mediators, but that He also performs the healing without pain. For He does not confront the suffering with iron and fire, as the sons of physicians do; but it suffices for Him only to will it, and every despondency, every pain, and every suffering flees and is banished.

2. Let us not therefore be neglectful, nor delay, even if we are poor and have fallen into extreme destitution. For it is not a matter of paying money, that we should plead poverty. For this Physician does not demand silver as his fee, but tears, and prayers, and faith. And if you come to Him possessing these, you will certainly receive whatever you might ask, and you will leave with great joy. And this is possible to learn from many sources, not least from this woman; for not by paying gold and silver, but by prayer and faith and tears, having received what she asked for, thus did she depart. Let us not therefore think the narrative to be without profit for us. For *these things were written*, he says, *for our admonition, upon whom the ends of the ages have come* (1 Cor. 10:11). But let us approach her, and learn how the disease was solved, and what she did after it was solved, and how she used the gift given by God. *She sat*, he says, *and nursed Samuel*.

See how she looked upon that child henceforth not as a child only, but also as a votive offering; and the affection became double for her, one from nature, the other ^D from grace. And it seems to me that she also stood in awe of her own child; and reasonably so. For if some, intending to dedicate golden vials and cups to God, when they receive them manufactured, and before the day [of dedication] lay them aside at home, they do not see them as common vessels henceforth, but as votive offerings, and do not even dare to touch them simply and casually, just as they do with the rest.

mere, and to touch upon the cause, just as the rest; much more did this woman attend to the child with a similar purpose, even before bringing him into the temple. She loved her son most intensely and cared for him as if he were a divine treasure, thinking that she herself would be sanctified through him, since her house had already become a temple, as it contained a prophet and a priest within it. Not only from the fact that she promised him to God, but also from the fact that she dared not ascend to the temple before having weaned the infant, one may see her piety. ^A For she said to her husband: "I will not ascend until the boy ascends with me; but when I have weaned him, he shall be offered in the sight of the Lord, and he shall remain there forever" (1 Reg. I, 22). Do you see? She did not think it safe to ascend to the temple while leaving him at home, because, having received the gift, she could not bear to appear without the gift. Again, when he had been brought and immediately received, she was afraid to go down; therefore, she remained for so long a time, so that she might appear with the gift.

She brought him, therefore, and left him, nor did the boy, when torn from his mother's breast, take it ill—though you know how children are accustomed to be indignant whenever they are weaned ^B—but not even the boy himself took it ill at being separated from his mother, but he looked toward the Lord, who had made his mother herself; nor did the mother herself grieve at being separated from the child, because grace intervened and conquered natural affection, and each of them thought that they were living with the other. Just as a vine fixed in one place produces its shoots to a great length, and the grape, hanging at a great distance, clings to the root, so also it happened in the case of this woman: while she was staying in the city, she extended her shoot as far as the temple, and hung her mature grape there. Nor did that distance bring any impediment, since the love that is in accordance with God joined the boy to his mother. ^C For although his age was immature, yet his virtue was mature; and as all were ascending into the temple, he became a teacher of much religion. For they, while inquiring and learning the manner of his birth, were receiving an abundantly great consolation of the hope that is toward God. Nor did anyone, having seen the boy, go down in silence, but all glorified Him by whom he had been given beyond hope. For this reason God delayed the birth, so that He might increase this pleasure, so that He might render the woman more illustrious. For whoever had known her calamity, they became witnesses of the grace of God; and the fact that she remained for a long time in childlessness caused her to be both known to many, and proclaimed blessed by all, and to be in admiration; and hence it came to pass that very many gave thanks to God through her. ^D I say these things so that, even if we should know holy women living in childlessness or in another adversity, we may not take it ill, nor be indignant, nor say among ourselves: "Why has God despised a woman endowed with such piety, and not given her offspring?" For these things are not the work of one who is negligent, but of One who knows that this is better for us than we ourselves know. She ascended, therefore, into the temple, and led the lamb into the fold, and brought the calf to the herd, and conducted into the meadow the rose, free from thorns; the rose, I say, which never withers, but blooms perpetually, and which is able to extend even to heaven itself. The fragrance of it is enjoyed to this very day by all who dwell upon the earth. So great a number of years has passed, and yet the fragrance of that virtue always increases, nor has it become weaker through so great a magnitude of time. For such is the nature of spiritual things.

3. Comparing the sacrifice of Anna with the sacrifice of the priest and the sacrifice of Abraham. The modesty and grateful spirit of Anna.

She ascended, therefore, transplanting that remarkable sprout; and just as industrious farmers first deposit the seed in the earth, of cypress or other similar trees, then, when they have seen that the tree has been made from the seed, they do not leave it in the same earth, but, having pulled it from there, they transfer it to other soil, so that the earth, having received the root into its fresh bosom, may display its pure and entire strength in nourishing it: so also this woman did, who brought the boy, sown beyond hope in her womb, from her house and transplanted him into the temple, where there are perennial fountains and spiritual irrigations, so that it was permitted to see that prophetic saying fulfilled in them, which David said, thus singing: "Blessed is the man who has not walked in the counsel of the ungodly, and has not stood in the way of sinners, and has not sat in the chair of pestilence, but his will is in the law of the Lord, and in his law he will meditate day and night; and he shall be like a tree which is planted near the running waters, which shall give its fruit in its due time" (Ps. I, 1–3). For he did not come to the remission of malice after experiencing malice, but he chose virtue from his very swaddling clothes; he did not have fellowship with those subject to iniquity, nor did he have communion with conventicles filled with impiety, but from his mother's breast he came immediately to the spiritual breast. And just as a tree grows to a great height by perpetual irrigation, so also he, diligently irrigated by the doctrine of the divine oracles, arrived at the pinnacle of virtue. Come, let us see how she planted him; let us follow the woman, let us enter the temple together with her. "She ascended," it says, "with him into Shiloh in a three-year-old calf" (1 Reg. I, 25). The sacrifice now becomes double; and that calf was irrational, but he was rational; and the priest indeed sacrificed the former, but the woman dedicated the latter; and the victim of the woman was better than the sacrifice which the priest offered. She became the priestess of her own entrails; she imitated the patriarch Abraham and undertook a contest with him. But he indeed brought back the son he had received from the mountain; she, however, left him in the temple, so that he might remain there perpetually. Or rather, he also dedicated everything; for do not look at the fact that he did not slay him, but that he accomplished everything in his mind. Did you see the woman struggling with the man? Did you see that she was not at all forbidden by her sex from emulating the patriarch? But let us see how she consecrated him. She approached, says the Scripture, the priest, and said to him: "On me, my lord" (Ibid. v. 26). What, pray, is "On me"? Listen, she says, diligently to what I shall speak. Since much time had already intervened, she was eager to relate the things aforementioned; for she wishes to make clear that she is bringing the child whom she had requested in prayer.

, my lord. As long as you live, my lord; pay heed," she says, "to what is being said." Since a long time has passed, she wishes to remind of those things formerly spoken; wherefore she says: "In me, my lord; as thy soul lives, my lord, I am the woman who stood before you praying to the Lord for this child. I prayed to the Lord, and he gave me my request which I asked of him. And I lend him to the Lord for all the days that he lives, to be lent to the Lord." She did not say, "I am the woman whom you abused, whom you insulted, whom you mocked as drunk and intoxicated—therefore God showed you that I was not drunk, and you were falsely accusing me of this." She said none of these harsh words, but answers with great mildness ^A, even though she had the outcome of events to bear witness in her favor, and could have reprimanded the priest now for having rebuked her then in vain and for no reason. She does nothing of this, but speaks only of the benefit from God. And consider the gratitude of the handmaid. When she was suffering, she revealed her misfortune to no one, nor did she say to the priest: "I have a rival, and she, while insulting and reviling me, has a chorus of children, while I, living in mildness, have not yet been able to become a mother even today, but God has shut my womb, and seeing me afflicted, has not had mercy." She said none of these things, but having hushed the nature of her misfortune, she merely made it known that she was downcast, saying that "I am a woman in a hard day." And not even this would she have uttered had not the priest compelled her, suspecting her of being drunk. But after he had removed that wound and God had granted the request, then she makes the benefit manifest to the priest, wishing to have him as a partner in the thanksgiving, just as she had him as a partner in the prayer. And she says: "For this child I prayed, and the Lord gave me my request which I asked of him. And now I lend him to the Lord." See how she is moderate. ^B "Do not think," she says, "that I am doing something great and wonderful because I am dedicating the child; I did not begin the good deed, but I am paying a debt. For I received a deposit, and I am returning it to Him who gave it." And saying these words, she was dedicating herself along with the child, having bound herself to the temple, as if with some chain, by the sympathy of nature.

4. For if where a man's treasure is, there also is his heart (Matth. 6:21, Luc. 12:34), much more where the woman's child was, there also was the mother's mind, and her womb was filled with blessing again. Since she spoke these words and prayed, hear what the priest says to Elkanah: "May the Lord repay you with another seed from this woman, in place of the debt which you lent to the Lord." At the beginning he did not say, "May He repay you"; but what? "May He grant you all your request." But since she had established God as a debtor, he says, "May He repay you," extending pleasant hopes concerning what is to come. For if He gave when not owing, much more, after having received, will He repay. So then, the first child took his origins from prayer, and those after him from a blessing; and thus finally the entire fruit of the woman was sanctified. And the firstborn was the accomplishment of the woman, but the second was a partner of her and the priest. And just as fertile and rich soil, having received the seeds, ^C shows us the crops flourishing: so also the woman, having received the priest's words with faith, brought us other flourishing sheaves, and changed her former barrenness, conceiving from prayer and blessing. And you too, O woman, emulate this; and if you are barren, show such a prayer, and beseech the priest to join you in the intercession. By all means, if you receive the words with faith, the blessing of the fathers will result in a good and ripe fruit. But if you become a mother, you too must dedicate your son. She led him into a temple; you make yourself a royal temple. For "your members," he says, "are the body of Christ, and the temple of the Holy Spirit which is in you" (1 Cor. 6:19). And again: "I will dwell in them and walk among them" (2 Cor. 6:16). For how is it not absurd to repair a house that has grown old and is about to fall, and to spend money, and to gather builders, and to manage everything, while the house of God (for the soul of the young might become a house of God) is not deemed worthy of even the most casual care? See that you do not hear the same thing that the Jews heard at one time. For they, when they had returned from the captivity and saw this perceptible temple neglected, and were beautifying their own houses, so provoked God, that He sent the prophet, and threatened famine, and a great shortage of necessities, and stated the cause of this threat; and this was, that "You dwell in paneled houses, but my house is desolate" (Agg. 1:4). If then regarding that temple such neglect stirred up the wrath of God, much more will carelessness for this temple provoke the Master; for this is much more precious than that, by as much as it has greater symbols of sanctification. Do not, therefore, let the house of God become a den of robbers, so that you do not hear another rebuke, which Christ made to the Jews, saying: "My Father's house is a house of prayer, but you have made it a den of robbers" (Matth. 21:13, Luc. 19:46). But how does it become a den of robbers? When we allow unfree and slavish desires, when we allow every kind of licentiousness to enter and dwell in the souls of the young. For such thoughts are worse than robbers, having enslaved the freedom of the children, and making them slaves of irrational passions, piercing them from all sides, and filling their minds with many wounds. Therefore, let us keep watch for these things every day, and like a whip using the word, let us drive away all such passions from their soul, so that our children may be able to share in the life above, and fulfill all the service there. Do you not see that those who are involved in the affairs of the cities often take their own children, once weaned from the breast, and make them thallophori, and agonothetes, and gymnasiarchs, and chorearchs? Let us do this as well; from early childhood let us introduce them into the citizenship which is in the heavens. For this worldly one is only expensive, and has no profit.

For, I ask you, what fruit can come from popular applause? As soon as evening overtakes us, that applause and all the tumult wither away; and when the festival is over, they stand bereft of all joy, as if they had delighted in a dream. Neither from the garland, nor from the magnificent robe, nor from all the rest of the pomp, if they seek it, are they able to find the pleasure they conceived, because all those things pass by faster than any wind. ^A

Felicity of the heavenly life. Various modes of abnegation.

But in the heavenly life, all things are otherwise: they bring non-expenditure-based gain that is both copious and stable. For there, it is not drunken men, but the host of angels that continuously applauds the one performing the task. But why did I say the host of angels? The Lord of the angels himself will praise and approve him. He who is praised by God triumphs not for one or two days, or a third, but for eternity, wearing the crown there; and you will never see that head stripped of that glory, for the time of that celebration is not circumscribed by fixed days, but extends toward the immortality of the age to come. ^B Poverty can never be a hindrance to this worship; indeed, it is permitted even to the poor to celebrate this festival—nay, to the poor especially, since he is free from all the pomp and clamor of the world. For there is no need for expenditures of money and opulence, but for a pure soul and a sober mind. For this is what weaves the garments of the soul for that life; this is what braids the crowns; and unless it is adorned with the duties of virtue, a great abundance of gold will be of no use, just as, conversely, poverty will be no harm if it has riches stored within. ^C Let not only free males, but also daughters, celebrate this festival for us; for, unlike external administration where it is ordered only for men to conduct this festival, this theatre also receives women, and the elderly, and the young, and slaves, and the free. For where there is a spectacle of the soul, there neither sex, nor age, nor earthly rank, nor anything else is able to hinder it. And for this reason, I exhort all of you that from their tender years at once you dedicate both your sons and daughters to such functions, and that you add to them riches consistent with this mode of life—not by burying gold, not by collecting silver, but by storing up modesty, sobriety, and chastity, and all the remaining virtues in their souls. ^D For that function demands these expenses. If, therefore, we collect this opulence both for ourselves and for our children, we shall obtain much splendor in the present life, and in the life to come we shall hear that blessed voice through which Christ honors all who have confessed him with his own proclamation. Confession, however, is made not only by faith, but also by works, such that if these are absent, we come into danger of suffering punishments with those who deny him. For the mode of denying is not one, but many and various, which Paul, describing for us, speaks as follows: "They profess that they know God, but in their works they deny him" (Tit. 1:16); and again: "If any man have not care of his own, and especially of those of his house, he hath denied the faith, and is worse than an infidel" (1 Tim 5:8). And again: "Flee avarice, which is the worship of idols" (Col. 3:5). Since, therefore, there are so many modes of denying, it is manifest that there are as many of confessing, and even many more; let us strive to confess with all these, so that we ourselves may obtain honor in the heavens, by the grace and goodness of our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom and with whom to the Father be glory, together with the Holy Spirit, now and always, and for ages of ages. Amen.

Sermo IV. To those who abandon the holy assembly to ascend to the theatres: and that it is not only more useful to be in church than in the theatres, but also more pleasant: and concerning the second part of the prayer of Anna: and that one ought to pray incessantly and in every place, whether in the forum, or on the road, or in bed.

For when I see that the assemblies are little frequented, the prophets treated with insult, the apostles despised, the fathers treated with contempt, and that the insult with which those servants are attacked passes over to their very Lord, I am indeed inclined to accuse, but I do not see here those who ought to hear this accusation. You alone are present, who have no need of this admonition. Nevertheless, not even so must we remain silent. For we will both mitigate the indignation that they have aroused in us, and we will cast it out along with our words, and we will compel those very persons to blushing and shame, having sent as many accusers against them as you are now listeners. For if they had come, they would have heard our rebukes alone; now, fleeing our reprimand, they are about to hear all these same things from you. Thus also friends do: after they have not found those with whom they wished to expostulate, they approach their friends, who may refer their words to them. God also did the same: having omitted those who had sinned against him, he calls upon the innocent Jeremiah, saying: "Seest thou what the foolish daughter of Juda hath done to me?" (Jer. 3:6). For this reason, surely, we also, by accusing them, address you, so that once you have left here, you may correct them. For who could bear such neglect? We are gathered here once a week, and not even on this day do they endure to postpone secular cares; and if anyone objects to this, they immediately offer poverty as a pretext, and the necessity of preparing food, putting forward occupations that are pressing—a defense more grievous than any accusation. For what can be worse than this very crime, when anything else seems to us more urgent and more necessary than divine affairs? Indeed, even if this were most true, this defense itself would be an accusation, as I said. But that you may know that this excuse is a pretext for covering sloth, even if I were silent, the third day from now will refute all who offer such things, when the entire city will have migrated to the Circus, and houses and forums will have been emptied for the sake of that wicked spectacle. And here we see not even the principal places of the church filled; but there, not only the Circus, but also upper rooms, and houses, and roofs, and rugged places are filled for the most part; but neither poverty, nor occupation, nor bodily weakness…

nor infirmity of the feet, nor anything else of the kind, holds back the unbridled rage; but men who have grown old run there more vehemently than those in the prime of youth, disgracing their gray hair, bringing shame upon their age, and making old age itself a laughing-stock. And while they enter there, they feel as if they are nauseated, and they think they are being troubled, and they have lolled in the hearing of divine words, putting forward narrowness, suffocation, and such-like excuses; but there, even while they receive the sun on their bare heads, and are trampled, and pushed, and crushed with great and violent force, and suffer a myriad other terrible things, they are as disposed as if they were luxuriating in a meadow. For this reason our cities are corrupted, because the teachers of youth are wicked. For how will you be able to make a young man who is undisciplined and lascivious sober-minded, when you yourself, with gray hair, are stirring up such things, when you yourself, after so much time, have not taken your fill of that most joyless spectacle? How will you be able to steady your son, how to punish your servant when he commits sin, how to advise another who is neglecting his duties, when you yourself in extreme old age are behaving so shamefully? And if a young man insults an old man, he immediately puts forward his age, and finds a myriad to sympathize with him; but when it is time to make the young man sober-minded, and for him to become a standard of virtue, the matter of age is nowhere to them, but they, more insanely than the young themselves, rush to that illegal spectacle. I say these things, and I rebuke the aged, not to release the young from accusation and calumny, but by means of the former to secure the latter. For if the aged man ought not to do it, much more the young man. For there, there is much laughter, and the indecency is greater; but here, the destruction is more grievous, and the pit is deep, in as much as the desires of the young are more vigorous, and the flame in them is more violent, which, if it only catches a little fuel from without, burns up everything. For the young man is more prone to anger and desire; therefore he needs more watching, a steeper bridle, and a more secure wall and barrier.

2. For do not say this to me, man, that the spectacle has pleasure; but teach me whether it does not also have harm along with the pleasure. And why do I speak of harm? For that the matter does not even have pleasure, you will know clearly from this. Departing from that horse-race, meet those who are departing from the church, and observe with precision who is in greater pleasure: he who has listened to the prophets, and participated in the blessing, and enjoyed the teaching, and implored God on behalf of his own sins, and made his conscience lighter, and condemned himself for nothing of the kind; or you, who left your mother, and dishonored the prophets, and insulted God, and danced with the devil, and listened to those blaspheming and reviling, and spent the time in vain and to no purpose, and have nothing to carry home, neither bodily nor spiritual profit from there? So for the sake of pleasure, one ought rather to meet here. For there, there is immediately condemnation, accusation of conscience, repentance for what has happened, shame, and reproach, and the having of eyes that lack frankness; but here, the exact opposite: frankness, and freedom of speech, and the ability to converse with everyone with confidence about all the things heard here. When, therefore, you cast yourself into the marketplace, and see all running to that spectacle, flee to the church immediately, and having waited a short time, luxuriate continuously in the divine words. For if you are dragged away and go there with the many, after being entertained a little, you will suffer throughout the whole day, and the next, and many others, condemning yourself; but if you hold yourself back a little, you will have the ability to luxuriate throughout the whole day. For it is not only in this case, but also in all other things that it is accustomed to happen thus. For wickedness has a temporary pleasure, but a continuous pain; while virtue has a short labor, but a continuous profit along with joy. For example, someone prayed to God, wept, and suffered for a short time during the prayer; another luxuriated throughout the whole day, then gave alms, fasted, or did some other good thing, or, having been insulted, did not retort with insults: at least for a moment of time, having endured and restrained his anger, he is glad and rejoices throughout all time, reminding himself of those accomplishments. On the other hand, in the case of wickedness, it is the opposite: someone was insulted, he retorted with insults; after that, being at home, he devours himself, pondering the words, which often brought much harm. Therefore, if you pursue pleasure, Flee from youthful desires, and take care of sobriety, and pay attention to the hearing of divine oracles. We say these things to you, so that you, speaking to them, and continuously pouring these words into them, may draw them away from every evil habit, and persuade them to do everything by the guidance of reason. For one would not find the zeal of those who are carried along simply and in vain to be praiseworthy; and I make this clear from the following assembly. For our holy Pentecost approaching, such a multitude will run, that all things here are straitened for us. But yet, I do not approve of this gathering; for it is one of habit, not of piety. What then could be more wretched than those, when both their laziness is full of so many crimes, and the zeal which is thought to be present is devoid of praises? For he who participates in this divine gathering with zeal and longing and sober reason must do these things continuously, and not appear only during the festival, and depart again with them, being led around simply like livestock.

3. I could indeed have extended the introduction of the discourse to greater length; but since I know clearly that even before our exhortation you are doing what is appropriate for yourselves, and you will say more than what has been said, so that I may not seem to trouble you in the rebukes against them, abandoning all the remaining things to you, I shall take up the accustomed teaching, and return to the history of Anna.

And let no one be surprised if I am not yet finished with this subject. For I cannot cast this woman out of my mind, so much do I admire the beauty of her soul and the splendor of her understanding. I love her eyes, which were never without tears during prayer; and her mouth and lips, which were not rouged with stolen paints, but adorned with thanksgivings to God—such as were that woman's, whose philosophy I admire so much. I admire her all the more because, though being a woman, she philosophized in this way—a woman, I say, whom many oft-times blame. "From a woman," it says, "is the beginning of sin, and by her we all die" (Eccl. 25:33). And again: "Any malice is small compared to the malice of a woman" (Ibid. v. 26). And Paul says: "Adam was not deceived, but the woman, being deceived, fell into transgression" (1 Tim. 2:14). This is why I admire her most: because she washed away this indictment, because she rejected this accusation, because, though she was of the blamed sex, she shook off all these reproaches, and proved by her deeds that those women were not such by nature, but by their own will and negligence, and that it is possible for this sex also to attain the summit of virtue. For this animal is quarrelsome and stubborn, and if it inclines to malice, it works great evils; but if it applies itself to virtue, the soul will sooner abandon the body than change its purpose.

Exposition of Anna’s Prayer

Thus, therefore, she too overcame nature, vanquished necessity, and by the assiduity of prayer caused a barren womb to bring forth a child. Therefore she flees again to prayer, and after receiving grace, speaks in this way: "My heart is strengthened in the Lord, my horn is exalted in my God." ^A You know that I recently discussed with your charity what these words, "My heart is strengthened in the Lord," mean; it remains now to interpret what follows. For when she had said, "My heart is strengthened in the Lord," she immediately added: "My horn is exalted in my God" (1 Kings 2:1). What is "my horn"? Indeed, Scripture is accustomed to use this term often; just as when it says, "His horn is exalted" (Ps. 74:11), and, "The horn of his Christ is exalted" (1 Kings 2:10). What, then, does it mean by "horn"? Power, glory, brightness, borrowing this metaphor from brute animals; for God added to them horns in place of ornament and weaponry, and when these are lost, they lose the principal part of their strength: and just as a soldier without weapons, so too is a bull easily captured without horns. Therefore this woman says nothing else than, "My glory is exalted." ^B And how is it exalted? "In my God," she says. Therefore this height is in safety, and has a firm and immovable root. For the glory that comes from men imitates the vility of those who offer it, from which it happens that it is easily overturned; but not so is the glory of God, but it remains immovable forever. And the prophet, declaring both of these—both its weakness and this one's firmness—speaks thus: "All flesh is grass, and all the glory of man as the flower of grass. The grass withereth, and the flower thereof falleth away" (Isa. 40:6-7). But of the glory of God it is not so; but how? "The word of the Lord abideth forever" (Isa. 40:8). And this is manifest even in this woman. For kings and generals and potentates, who tried everything so that they might leave an immortal memory of themselves, built for themselves splendid sepulchers, and set up statues and many effigies in many places, and left behind countless monuments of their deeds—now they are silent and are not known even by name: ^C but this woman is now celebrated everywhere among nations; and whether you go into Scythia, or into Egypt, or into India, or to the very ends of the world, you will hear everyone singing of her deeds: in short, as much of the earth as is illuminated by the sun, all of this Anna occupies with her glory. Nor is this alone worthy of admiration, that this woman is sung of everywhere in the world; but that everyone knows her wisdom and long-suffering and endurance—in towns, in fields, in houses, in camps, on ships, in workshops—in short, you will hear her praises everywhere. For when it pleases God to make someone glorious, even if death intervenes, or a length of time, or anything else, that person's glory remains perennially flowering, and no one will be able to obscure its brightness. ^D For this reason, she herself also, teaching those who hear her that one must not flee to these fleeting things, but to Him from whom we hope for the truest of goods, indicates the author of this glory. For when she had said, "My heart is strengthened in the Lord," she added, "My horn is exalted in my God," indicating by these words the twofold goods that do not rashly occur together. For she says, "I have been liberated from the streams, I have laid aside my ignominy, I have obtained security and honor." But you would not easily find both of these coming together in one place. For many are liberated from dangers, yet do not possess a glorious life: others, on the contrary, enjoy glory and brightness, yet they are not free of dangers because of this glory. For instance, many are often thrown into prison—adulterers, poisoners, grave-robbers, and those guilty of other similar crimes—then dismissed by the order of royal clemency: these have indeed been liberated from punishment, but they have not abolished their own reproaches, and disgrace never ceases to follow them. Other military and generous men, having embraced a conspicuous and glorious way of life, exposing themselves to the dangers of war, often receive many wounds, and are finally taken away by an untimely death; and these, for the love of glory, have deprived themselves of security.

§ 4. But to this woman, both of these happened, as one who obtained both security and glory at the same time. The same thing happened to those three children (Dan. 3): for they both escaped the danger, having been liberated from the pyre, and became illustrious because they had overcome the power of this element in a supernatural manner. To this manner, certainly, the benefits of God apply themselves: for He bestows a life that is both safe and illustrious at once, which indeed, indicating both, this woman herself was saying: "My heart is strengthened in the Lord, my horn is exalted in my God." Nor did she say simply, "In God," but, "In my God," usurping for herself Him who is common to the whole world. She did this not to diminish His

dominion, but rather signaling and comforting her own affection. For such is the custom of those who love: they cannot bear to love with the many, but want to show the filter of their love exclusively and uniquely. So too does David act, saying: *O God, my God, I wake early for you* (Ps. 62:1). For having stated his common dominion, he also stated the one peculiar to the saints. And again: *O God, my God, look upon me; why have you forsaken me?* (Ps. 21:1). And again: *I will say to God, You are my helper* (Ps. 42:9); for such outcries come from a soul that is boiling, hot, and burning with longing. Thus this woman, too, acted. But whereas for humans to do this is nothing wonderful, when you see God doing it, then be amazed. For just as these do not call Him in common with the many but wish for Him to be their own God in particular, so He too does not say that He is God only in common with others, but in particular their God. For this reason He says, *I am the God of Abraham and Isaac and Jacob* (Exod. 3:6), not contracting His dominion, but rather extending it; for it is not so much the multitude of the subjects as the virtue of those ruled that demonstrates His reign; nor does He rejoice so much in being called God of heaven and earth and sea and the things in them, as He rejoices in being called God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. And what does not happen among humans, is what one can see happening in the case of God. What do I mean? Among humans, slaves are named after their masters, and so it is the custom for all to say: "so-and-so is the steward of such-and-such, so-and-so is the manager of such-and-such, of this general and governor"; no one says, "so-and-so is the governor of this steward," for we are always accustomed to naming the lesser from the greater. But in the case of God, the opposite has happened; for not only is Abraham called Abraham of God, but God is also called God of Abraham, and the Master is named from the slave. This very thing, then, Paul also said, being struck with wonder: *For which cause God is not ashamed to be called their God* (Heb. 11:16). He is not ashamed, he says, for the Master to be called by the name of His slaves. Why is He not ashamed? Tell me the reason. ^B Let us imitate Him, and ourselves. But they were, he says, ^C *strangers and sojourners* (Heb. 11:13). And yet, for this very reason one ought to be ashamed: for a stranger is thought to be cheap and contemptible. But those saints were not strangers in the way that we imagine, but in some other strange and paradoxical way. For we call those strangers who have left their own country and gone to another land; but they were not strangers in that way, but rather, having looked down upon the whole world and having deemed the earth small, they looked toward the city in the heavens, not out of arrogance, but out of greatness of soul, not out of despair, but out of philosophy. For since they considered all things upon the earth and saw that it flows away and perishes, and that nothing here is stable and immovable—neither wealth, nor power, nor glory, nor life itself—but each thing has an end and hastens toward its proper termination, while the things in the heavens are not like these, but are endless and immortal, they chose to be strangers to those things that flow away and pass by, so that they might get hold of those things that remain. They were, therefore, strangers, not by not having a country, but by longing for the country that remains forever. This, therefore, is what he himself, ^D explaining, said: *For those who speak thus, show that they are seeking a country* (Heb. 11:14). Which country, tell me? The former one, which they left? No, he says: *For if they were remembering that one, they would have had an opportunity to return; but now they desire a better one, that is, a heavenly one, of which God is the architect and creator* (Heb. 11:15-16). For this reason, God is not ashamed to be called their God.

e, so that it may be rekindled to piety in that same manner. Let us also imitate the stonemasons: for they, as often as they build a wall, because of the frailty of the material, bind it together with long timbers, not at wide intervals, but at short ones, so that the fastening of the stones may be more secure through the frequency of the timbers. Do you also do the same yourself; and just as they do with wooden ties, so do you, by interposing frequent prayers amidst secular business, fortify your life in this manner. ^B And if you do this, even if many storms rush in—whether temptations, or sorrows, or troublesome thoughts, or anything else—nothing will be able to cast down a home bound and fortified by such frequent prayers.

You will say: "How is it possible for a secular man, tied to forensic business, to pray for three hours of the day and run to church?" It is possible, and it is very easy. For even if it is not convenient to run to the church, one can nonetheless pray while lingering in the forum and in the vestibule of the court. For this requires more of the mind than the voice, and more of the tension of the spirit than the extension of the hands. Nor does it matter so much in what posture of the body you do it, as in what affection of the soul. Since even Anna herself was heard, not on account of intense vociferation, but on account of the internal outcry of her heart. For the Scripture says, *Her voice was not heard, and the Lord heard her* (1 Kings 1:13, 19).

Many others have often done this; and when the magistrate was shouting inside, threatening, exasperated, and raging, they themselves, standing before the doors of the court—after they had fortified themselves with the sacred sign and prayed a few words in their mind—entered in, changed the man, mitigated him, and rendered him gentle, though he had been harsh. Nor did place, or time, or silence prove an impediment to them for praying.

^C Do this also yourself. Groan bitterly, call your sins to memory, look up into heaven, say in your mind, "Have mercy on me, O God," and you have completed the prayer. For he who says, "Have mercy," offers a confession and acknowledges his own sin; for it belongs to those who have fallen to request mercy. He who says, "Have mercy on me," has received the remission of his offenses; for he who has obtained mercy is not punished. He who says, "Have mercy on me," has obtained the kingdom of heaven; for whomsoever God has mercy, He does not only deliver from punishment, but He also deems him worthy of the possession of future goods.

Do not, therefore, let us seek excuses by saying that there is no house of prayer nearby; for if we are sober, the grace of the Spirit makes us ourselves temples of God, so that we have a great capacity for prayer from every side. For divine worship is not among us as it was once among the Jews, having much in the way of sensible ceremonies and requiring much operation. There, one who was going to pray had to ascend to the temple, buy a dove, have wood and fire at hand, stand by the altar having grabbed a knife, and perform many other precepts. Here, nothing of the sort; but wherever you are, the altar is present to you, and the knife, and the victim—you yourself are the altar, and the priest, and the victim. For wherever you are, you can erect an altar, if only you bring a sober will, and neither place nor time impedes you. But even if you do not bend your knees, nor strike your breast, nor stretch your hands toward heaven, if you only bring a fervent mind, nothing will be lacking to you for prayer.

It is permitted even to a woman holding a distaff or weaving a web to look up in her mind into heaven and call upon God with a burning heart. It is permitted even to a man occupied in the forum or making a journey to pray attentively. It is permitted likewise to another sitting in a workshop and sewing leather to lift his soul to the Lord. It is permitted to a servant shopping and running up and down, or serving in the kitchen, if he is not permitted to approach the church, to cry out a prayer intently from the depth of his heart. God is not ashamed of the place; He demands one thing: a fervent mind and a modest soul. And that you may know that there is no need for habit or the opportunity of places or times, but for an upright and vigilant mind, Paul, lying supine in prison—not standing erect (for the wooden stocks did not permit it)—because he prayed with great alacrity while lying down, shook the prison, moved its foundations, terrified the jailer, and soon led him, initiated, to the sacred mysteries (Acts 16). ^D Again, that Hezekiah, not standing erect nor with bent knees, but lying supine on his bed due to infirmity, with his face turned toward the wall, because he invoked God with a fervent and temperate mind, revoked the sentence passed against him, procured for himself great grace, and was restored to his former health (4 Kings 20). And you may see that this has happened not only to great and holy men, but also to the wicked. For that thief, not standing in an oratory or bending his knees, but stretched upon the cross, obtained the kingdom of heaven with a few words (Luke 23:42-43). Another, cast into a muddy lake; another, thrown into a pit for wild beasts; another, shut up in the belly of a whale—having invoked God, they dissolved the evils that were instant, and procured for themselves divine benevolence.

While saying these things, I exhort you to frequent the churches continually and to pray at home with great quietness at your leisure, bending your knees and lifting up your hands. But if time or place should find us in a multitude of people, one must not for this reason cease from the customary prayers, but, as I have advised your charity, pray and invoke God, certain that you will nonetheless obtain what you desire by such a prayer. I have not said these things so that you may applaud and praise, but that you may perform them by your works, and that you may occupy the time of working, both night and day, with vows and prayers. And if we manage our affairs in this way, we shall both pass the present life safely and attain the kingdom of heaven; to which may it be given to us all to attain, by the grace and kindness of our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom and with whom to the Father is glory, together with the holy Spirit, now and always, and unto the ages of ages. Amen.

SERMON V.

Against those who gather only for festivals, and what a festival is; also against those who blame God’s providence because there are rich and poor in life; and that poverty is most useful and possesses more pleasure and security everywhere than wealth; and on Anna.

^A 1. It seems that we exhorted those who were present at the previous gathering in vain, trying to persuade them to remain in their paternal home, and not to appear and depart again only with those who show themselves at a festival; or rather, not in vain. For even if none of them were persuaded by what was said, still our own reward is complete, and the debt of accounting to God has been fulfilled. Therefore, the speaker must cast the seeds, regardless of whether someone attends or not, and deposit the money, so that the reckoning may no longer be for him, but the account is with God for the bankers. This we have done, by refuting, by reproving, by exhorting, and by admonishing. ^B For we reminded you of the son who had consumed his substance and returned to his father’s house, and we added his entire misery—the famine, the disgrace, the insults, and everything else he endured in a foreign land—wishing to make them more sober-minded by this example; and we did not stop the discourse there, but we also showed the father’s affection for them, not demanding from them a reckoning for their negligence, but receiving them with outstretched hands, 740 forgiving them for their transgressions, opening the house, setting the table, clothing them with the garment of instruction, and providing them with every other healing. But those men did not imitate that son, nor did they condemn their previous departure, nor did they remain in the paternal home, but they slipped away again. ^C It should be your task, then—you who are always with us—to bring them back and persuade them to share with us in the festival of every assembly. For even if Pentecost has passed, the festival has not passed; for every gathering is a festival. Whence is this evident? From the very words of Christ, through which he says, "Where two or three are gathered in my name, there am I in the midst of them" (Matt. 18:20). When Christ is in the midst of those who are gathered, what other evidence of this festival do you seek that is greater?

Where there is instruction and prayers, where there are the blessings of fathers and the hearing of divine laws, where there is a gathering of brothers and a bond of sincere love, ^D where there is conversation with God and God’s discourse with men, how could it not be a festival and a solemn assembly? For it is not the multitude, but the virtue of those gathered that is accustomed to make the festivals; not the luxury of garments, but the adornment of piety; not the abundance of the table, but the providence of the soul. For the greatest festival is a good conscience. And just as in external solemnities, he who has neither a bright garment to put on, nor a more abundant table to enjoy, but lives in poverty and famine and in the lowest of evils, does not feel the time of the festival, even if he sees the whole city dancing, but rather is pained and stung all the more, in that he sees others enjoying themselves while he himself is in need; whereas he who is rich and lives in luxury, and has the means to change garments every day, and enjoys much prosperity, even when the time of the festival is not present, thinks he is celebrating; so too with spiritual matters, he who lives in justice ^A and right-doing, even when a festival is not present, keeps a festival, harvesting the pure pleasure from his conscience; but he who is fed in sin and wickedness, and is conscious of many evils in himself, even when a festival is present, is the most un-celebrating of all. Thus it is possible for us, if we wish, to keep a festival every day, if we care for virtue and cleanse our conscience. For in what does the past gathering excel the present one? Or is it not only in noise and confusion, and in nothing else? For when the enjoyment of the holy mysteries, and the communion of other spiritual things—I speak of prayer, of hearing, of blessings, of love, and of all other things—is the same today, this day will be no less than that one, ^B neither for you nor for me who speak. For those who heard us then, these will also hear us now; but those who are not present now, were not there then, even if they seemed to be present in body; they do not hear now; or rather, they did not hear even then; and not only did they not hear, but they also harassed those who were listening, causing noise and confusion. So the theater is equal for me both then and now, and the assembly of the listeners is the same, and this one is in no way inferior to that one. But, if one must say something even more marvelous, this one has something more than that one, in as much as the discourse is untroubled, the instruction is without noise, and the hearing is with greater understanding, with no noise disturbing our ears.

2. I say these things not to dishonor the multitude ^C of those gathered then, but to persuade you not to be dejected, nor to be gloomy because of the small number of those now gathered here. For we do not wish to see a multitude of bodies in the church, but a multitude of listeners. Since, therefore, the same guests are present with us both then and now, I will set before you the feast today with the same eagerness, returning to the subject which the time of the festival interrupted. For just as when Pentecost was present, it was untimely, while neglecting to speak of the good things given to us at that time, to keep to the previous sequence; so now, with Pentecost having passed, we will take up the sequence of the history in good time, holding to the subject concerning Anna. For even if many things have been said, one must consider, and over many days, ^D whether we have come to the end of the subject. For those who have found a treasure, even if they take ten thousand coins from there, do not stop until they have emptied the whole thing; for it is not taking many things, but leaving nothing behind, that usually makes them recover it all. But if those who are mad about money act with so much zeal regarding things that perish and do not remain

not stop before they have exhausted the whole, so that it does not please them so much to have received many things as it grieves them not to have left nothing behind. So if we are to imitate these men, we ought all the more to do this with divine treasures, and not withdraw until we have exhausted all that we see there. I say "all that we see," because it is not given to exhaust the whole. For it is a fountain of divine thoughts that flows continuously, never failing, never to be emptied. Therefore, let us not grow weary; for our discourse is not about ordinary things, but about prayer, our hope; prayer through which the barren mother was made a parent of numerous offspring when she lacked children, and joyful from being sorrowful; through which a flawed nature was repaired, a closed womb was opened, and impossible things became possible. Therefore, let us examine everything little by little, explaining each phrase, so that not even the smallest detail, as far as is possible, may escape us. For this reason, we have spent two entire discourses on only two of her sayings: first, *My heart has been confirmed in the Lord*, and what follows shortly after, *My horn has been exalted in my God* (1 Kings 2:1). It is fitting, therefore, today to come to the third. And what is this? *My mouth has been dilated against my enemies; I have rejoiced in Thy salvation.* ^A Observe the precision of the discourse. She did not say, "My mouth has been sharpened against my enemies"—for it was not prepared for insults and taunts, nor for reproaches and accusation, but for admonition and counsel, for correction and instruction. For this reason she did not say, "My tongue has been sharpened against my enemies," but, *My mouth has been dilated*. "I enjoy," she says, "relief; I am able to speak freely; having now cast off the shame, I have returned to freedom." And not even now did she name the rival woman, but simply with an indefinite designation, as if with a mask, she hid the cause of such great sorrow. She did not say what many women say: "God has confounded her, He has dissipated and cast down the wicked and arrogant and boastful one," but simply, *My mouth has been dilated against my enemies; I have rejoiced in Thy salvation.* ^B

*On what it is to rejoice in the salvation of God.* See how she keeps the same law throughout the whole prayer. For just as in the beginning she said, *My heart has been confirmed in the Lord, my horn has been exalted in my God*, so also here, *I have rejoiced in Thy salvation.* Not simply "in salvation," but "in Thy salvation." For not because I have been saved, but because I have been saved by Thee, therefore I rejoice and exult. Such indeed are the souls of the saints; they rejoice more in God the author of benefits than in the benefits themselves: for they do not love Him for the sake of the gifts, but the gifts for the sake of Him. This befits grateful servants, this befits stewards mindful of a kindness—namely, to place the Lord above all their own affairs. Let us also be so affected: when we sin, let us not grieve because we are punished, but because we have offended the Lord; and if any good deed of ours exists, let us not rejoice because of the kingdom of heaven, but because we have done something pleasing to the King of heaven. For he who is of sound mind fears the offense of God more than any hell, and values pleasing God more than any kingdom. Nor should you marvel if it behooves one to be so affected towards God, since many are so affected towards men. For often, we who have brothers or children, if we have even inadvertently harmed them, we demand punishment of ourselves, and we are accustomed to do the same towards friends. But if we think it much graver to offend friends or children than to suffer punishments, it behooves us to be much more so affected towards God, and it must be thought graver than any hell to have done something that displeases Him. ^C Such was the blessed Paul; for this reason he said, *I am certain that neither angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord* (Rom. 8:38-39). Indeed, when we call the holy martyrs blessed, we laud them first for their wounds, then for their rewards; first for the stripes, and then at last for the crowns laid up for them. For rewards happen because of wounds, and not wounds because of rewards.

Chapter 3: Troubles borne for Christ are grace, crown, and reward.

*Rationale: A benefit is not to be demanded from God; poverty discovers arts.* You have seen the thought of a grateful soul. She did not say within herself: "What great thing, or what more than others have I received? That which my rival has long since abundantly received, I have obtained only with difficulty, after great effort, and tears, and prayers, and supplications." But because she thought rightly concerning the providence of God, she does not demand the rationale of the beneficence from the Lord, which many do, calling God to judgment daily. If they see one man rich and another needy, they do not cease to speak against His providence. What are you doing, O man? Paul does not allow you to judge your fellow servant, saying, *Do not judge...*

before the time, until the Lord come* (1 Cor. 4:5); yet you drag the Master to court, and demand an account of His actions, and you do not shudder, nor are you afraid? And what forgiveness, I ask you, or what defense will you obtain when you receive so many proofs of His providence every single day and hour, yet because of the anomaly that seems to exist regarding wealth and poverty, you condemn the order of all things, and that unjustly? ^A For if you wished to examine these things with the proper judgment and an industrious mind, even if there were no other proof establishing God’s providence, wealth and poverty would most clearly demonstrate it. For if you were to remove poverty, you would have removed the structure of life itself, and destroyed our existence: and there would be no sailor, nor pilot, nor farmer, nor builder, nor weaver, nor cobbler, nor carpenter, nor metalworker, nor leather-worker, nor baker, nor any other craftsman of this kind; and these not existing, everything would vanish for us. For as it is, like an excellent teacher, the necessity of poverty sits over each of these and forces them to work even against their will. But if all were to be rich, all would be destined to live in idleness; and thus everything would have perished and been destroyed. Besides what has been said, it is easy to stop their mouths in another way, by the very things of which they complain. For why, tell me, do you accuse God’s providence? Because one possesses more money and another less? What then? If in the most necessary things, and those of much greater importance, which sustain our life, we demonstrate that there is an equality for all men, will you not then cast your vote for God’s providence? By all means. For if the fact that not everyone enjoys the same thing—I mean money—serves as proof that there is no providence, if it should appear that all enjoy equally not just one thing, and not so lowly a one, but many and much greater things, it is evident that even against your will you will be compelled to vote for God’s providence from that. Come, then, let us proceed to the things that sustain our life and examine them with precision, and see if the rich man has an advantage herein over the poor man. For example, the rich man has Thasian wine(a) and many other such drinks that are concocted and prepared with much seasoning; but the fountains of water are set before all in common, both rich and poor. Perhaps you laughed to hear of this equality. Therefore, learn how much more precious than any wine is the nature of water, and how much more necessary and useful; and then you will condemn yourself, and you will know the true wealth of the poor. For if wine were removed, there would not be any great harm to anyone, except to the weak alone; but if someone should extinguish the fountains of water and remove that element, he would overturn our entire life and wipe out all the arts; and we would not be able to last even two days, but all would immediately die a most pitiful and cruel death.

^B 4. Thus, in the most necessary things that sustain our life, the poor man is in no way disadvantaged, but, if one must say something marvelous, he even has the better of the wealthy. For while one may see many rich men abstaining from water-drinking because of the physical infirmity they suffer due to luxury, the poor man throughout his whole life enjoys these streams without fear, running to the fountains of water as if to fountains of honey, and reaping from them a pure and clean pleasure. And what of the nature of fire? Is it not more necessary than countless treasures and all human wealth? And this treasure, too, is set before the rich man and the poor man equally for their need. And the benefit afforded to our bodies by the air, and the light of the sun—does it come more to the wealthy and less to the poor, and do the former see it with four eyes, but the latter with only two? But no one could say even this; for even for the rich and for the poor, the measure of enjoyment has been ordained equally. Nay, one might even see the poor having the advantage over the wealthy here, inasmuch as they have clearer senses, a sharper eye, and more accurate faculties in every case. Therefore they reap a more genuine pleasure, and they take more delight and enjoy more fully the contemplation of creation. And you will see this equality—or rather, the advantage possessed by the poor—not only in these elements, but also in the other things brought to us by nature. For sleep, which is more pleasant than all luxury, and more necessary, and more useful than all food, is easier for the poor than for the rich; and not only easier, but also more genuine. For in the case of the wealthy, much luxury, and the habit of eating without hunger, and drinking without thirst, and sleeping without drowsiness, usually dissolves the pleasure in all things; for the nature of things does not make each of these pleasurable so much as the necessity of the need does. Thus, at least, drinking sweet-smelling wine does not delight as much as drinking water while thirsty; nor does eating fancy cakes as much as eating while hungry; nor does sleeping on a soft bed as much as sleeping while drowsy; all of which [items] are more abundant among the poor than among the wealthy. And are not the matters of bodily health and all other well-being set forth in common to both rich and poor? Can anyone say or show that the poor alone suffer from illness, while the rich remain throughout in pure health? On the contrary, it is possible to see that the poor are not easily caught by incurable diseases, while these sprout everywhere in the bodies of the wealthy. Podagra, for instance, and headaches, and paralysis, and the incurable distortions of the nerves, and all sorts of evil and corrupt humors, are accustomed to trouble especially those who live in luxury, those who smell of perfumes, not those who labor and toil and earn their necessary food by daily work.

5. For this reason, even among beggars, those who live in luxury are all the more wretched; and this is something that even the luxurious themselves could not deny. Often, for instance, a rich man lying on a soft bed, with servants and handmaidens present, enjoying much care from all, has wept and groaned upon hearing a poor man outside in the alley crying and begging for bread, and has prayed to be like him, if only he could have health, or to have his illness if he could have [someone else's] wealth. Not only in health, but in the matter of child-bearing as well, no one could reach out and say the rich man has any advantage over the poor man; but likewise both among these and among those, [the rich or the poor, you see the same] many children.

the rich man, however, the more he sees his substance increasing, the more he is stung by his childlessness, feeling no pleasure because of the loneliness of his heir. And the poor man's inheritance, even if he departs without children, since it is not worth contending over due to its scarcity, passes to friends and kinsmen; whereas that of the rich man, because it attracts many eyes to itself, not infrequently falls to the enemies of the deceased—and when he sees this happening to others while he is yet alive, he leads a life more burdensome than death, expecting the same to happen in his own case. But as for death, is there not the same equality here? Do not untimely deaths befall the rich and poor alike? And even after death, is the body of the one not dissolved in the same way as that of the other, becoming ashes and dust, and breeding worms? Yet the funerals are by no means similar. But what is the utility of this? For when you have provided the deceased with an abundance of precious, gold-woven garments, you have brought about nothing other than greater envy and accusation, and have opened the mouths of all against the deceased, and have prepared for him countless curses, and charges of avarice, while individuals are rent with indignation and execrate the dead man, who, even after his departure, has not ceased his madness regarding money. An additional evil is that this irritates the eyes of house-breakers. Thus, the greater the display, the greater the occasion of insult becomes. For no one cares to despoil the corpse of a poor man, which is safe by the very vileness of its garments. But for the rich, bolts and locks, doors and guards—all are employed to no avail, since those who have habituated themselves to such villainies dare everything out of greed for money. Thus, a greater honor brings the deceased greater injury; the man who receives a lowly burial lies in the integrity of his grave, while he who receives a costly one is despoiled and disgraced. Or, if he escapes this mockery, he will not even at that be any better off, except that there will be a greater state of decay and a more abundant feast for the worms. Are these, I ask, the things for which we call men blessed? And who is so wretched and miserable as to count a man worthy of envy for these reasons? Indeed, not only these, but going through other matters one by one and examining them diligently, we shall find that the poor are to be preferred to the rich. If we consider these things diligently, and relate them to others (for it is said, "Give an opportunity to a wise man, and he will be wiser" [Prov. 9:9]), and keep that thought ever in mind—that the abundance of money brings its possessors nothing more than cares, anxieties, fears, and dangers—we will not judge our condition to be worse than that of the rich. For if we are sober, we shall have the better part in both the affairs of this life and in divine matters. For you will find pleasure, security, a good reputation, health of body, philosophy of soul, good expectations, and a smaller occasion for sinning more in the poor than in the rich. Let us not, therefore, murmur like ungrateful servants, nor blame the Lord, but let us give thanks for all things, counting nothing evil save sin, and nothing good save justice. If we are so disposed, neither illness, nor poverty, nor ignominy—nothing, in short, of what is deemed painful—will afflict us; rather, harvesting a pure pleasure from all things, we shall attain the promised goods, by the grace and kindness of our Lord Jesus Christ, with whom be glory to the Father, together with the Holy Spirit, for ever and ever. Amen.

NOTICE

HOMILY I. ON DAVID AND SAUL, AND REGARDING TOLERATION, AND THAT ONE OUGHT TO SPARE ONE'S ENEMIES, AND NOT SPEAK ILL OF THE ABSENT (a)

(a) Collated with the Royal Codex 1975, likewise with 1963.