Homily

HOMILY IN PRAISE OF THOSE WHO HAVE APPEARED IN THE CHURCH, AND ON WHAT MODERATION OUGHT TO BE OBSERVED IN DIVINE PRAISES. ALSO ON THAT TEXT: "I SAW THE LORD SITTING ON A THRONE HIGH AND LIFTED UP" (Isa. 6. 1).

1. ^A Preaching is compared to agriculture. Chrysostom rejoices at the gathering of the audience. Praise of the ecclesiastical assembly. I see you showing great zeal to bring to effect the things formerly spoken by us. Therefore, I also cast the seeds of doctrine unweariedly, being nourished by the good hopes arising therefrom. For the farmer indeed, when he has cast the seeds with effort, and sees the land fertile and the crops appearing thick, forgets his former labors, and is stirred up to the subsequent work and keeping by the expected profit. And yet how much more profitable and gainful is this agriculture! For that one indeed, procuring an abundance of sensible fruits, deposits food for bodies; but this one, casting down the teaching of words and multiplying the gifts of the Spirit, deposits the wealth of the soul, the unspendable and incorruptible food, which is not dissolved, nor destroyed by succession, but is preserved by a certain ineffable providence, and possesses intellectual enjoyment. ^B This is the yield of my labors, this is the wealth deposited in your love. Seeing this, therefore, increasing among you, I rejoice continuously, as not having cast seeds in vain, as not having endured labors for nothing, as having sown into fertile and rich land, and soil suitable for fruit-bearing. Whence, therefore, do I conjecture such gain? Whence do I behold the words progressing into work? Clearly from the present gathering, from your having reached, with zeal, the mother of all, the Church; from this all-night and continuous standing; from your imitating the angelic choir and offering unceasing hymnody to the Creator. O the gifts of Christ! Above, the hosts of angels offer praise; below, humans standing in the churches imitate the same praise as them. Above, the Seraphim shout the thrice-holy hymn; ^C below, the multitude of men sends up the same; a common festival of heavenly and earthly beings is assembled; one thanksgiving, one exultation, one joyful choir. For the unspeakable condescension of the Master has struck this into being, the Holy Spirit has woven it together; the harmony of its tones has been fitted to the Father’s good pleasure: it has from above the harmony of melodies, and being moved by the Trinity as if by a plectrum, it sounds forth that delightful and blessed melody, that angelic song, that unwearied symphony. This is the goal of the zeal here, this is the fruit of our assembly. Therefore I rejoice, beholding such approval; I rejoice, discerning the joy in your souls, the spiritual gladness, the exultation in God. For nothing so disposes our life to be full of joy as gladness in the church. In church, the joy of those who rejoice is preserved; in church, the cheerfulness of the despondent; ^D in church, the happiness of the mourning; in church, the refreshment of the overborne; in church, the rest of those who labor. For, "Come," He says, "to me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest" (Matt. 11. 28). What could be more desirable than this voice? What sweeter than this invitation? The Master invites you to a banquet in church; He urges you to rest in exchange for your labors; He transfers you to relaxation from your pains, lightening the burden of your sins; luxury heals despondency, and cheerfulness heals grief. O the ineffable care! O heavenly calling! Let us hasten, therefore, beloved, to show that our zeal is intensified, and to fulfill it with the proper order and appropriate purpose. For I wish to move this subject with you today—a speech that seems burdensome, but is actually light and profitable to the truth. For this is what affectionate fathers do: not only do they advise their children on what brings brief joy, but also on what brings pain; and they do not only advise them on what shows its benefit immediately, but they also teach with great diligence—and demand the sure keeping of—those things which seem burdensome, but are salvific when accomplished. And we set forth this discourse, so that we may not cast our labor here in vain, so that we may not, while enduring the necessity of wakefulness, box the air senselessly, so that our voices, dissolving into the air, might not ring out to our detriment rather than to our gain. For no merchant, while undertaking long voyages and encountering the great onrush of winds and the waves [of the sea, might...]

receive such labors in vain and to no purpose; rather, for this reason he furrows the seas, risks dangers, exchanges one place for another, and spends all his nights sleepless, that his commerce may increase for him. But if this did not happen but, rather, he suffered loss of principal along with a share of profit, he would not even be able to cast anchor, nor endure those various perils.

^B Consequently, knowing this, let us arrive here with the fitting reverence, so that instead of the remission of sins, we may not bring home an even greater addition of sins. What then is that which is sought, and what is required of us? That while we send forth the divine hymns, we be constrained by much trembling and, adorned with much religion, offer them in that manner. For there are some among those who are present here—who, I think, are not unknown to your charity—who, holding God in contempt and regarding the utterances of the Spirit as common and profane, send forth disordered voices, and behave themselves no better than those who are possessed, tossing and turning with their whole body, and bearing manners before them that are foreign to a spiritual station. O wretched and miserable man! It was your duty to send forth the angelic glorification with trembling and reverence, and with terror to render confession to the Creator, and through this to ask for the forgiveness of transgressions: but you introduce the manners of mimes and dancers here, while you indecorously toss your hands, leap with your feet, and are whirled about with your whole body. And how is it that you do not fear, nor shudder while daring such things against such utterances? Do you not consider that the Lord himself is here invisibly present, who measures the movement of each one and examines the conscience? Do you not consider that angels stand by this ^C awesome table and surround it with reverence? But you do not think of these things, because the things that are heard and seen in the theaters have darkened your mind; and therefore you introduce the things performed there into the rites of the Church; therefore, with cries signifying nothing certain, you proclaim your disordered soul. How then will you ask for forgiveness for your own transgressions? How will you bend the Lord to mercy, while presenting your prayer with such contempt? "Have mercy on me, O God," you say, and you display manners foreign to mercy. You cry out, "Save me," and you fashion a posture of the body foreign to salvation. What do hands contribute to supplication, which are always thrown about on high and indecorously whirled around? What does the vehement clamor, which has a noise with the violent impulse of breath declaring nothing certain? Are these not the works, partly of women exercising the prostitute's art in the crossroads, and partly of those who shout in the theaters? How then do you dare to mix the demons' sports with the hymns of the angels glorifying God? How then, ^D do you not revere this voice that you utter there: "Serve the Lord in fear, and exult in him with trembling" (Ps. II, 11)? Is this "serving in fear," to be so diffused and distorted that you yourself do not know what you are saying in the disordered roaring of your voice? This is indeed a sign of contempt, not of fear; of arrogance, not of humility; this is the work of those playing rather than those celebrating divine praises. What then is it to "serve the Lord in fear"? By fulfilling every commandment, to make this confession with trembling and fear, and to offer prayers with a contrite heart and a submissive mind. And the Holy Spirit commands through the prophet to "exult" not only in fear, but also "with trembling." For since the execution of a commandment is accustomed to beget joy in the soul of the one exercising virtue, he says that it is fitting to make this confession with trembling, lest, if we cast aside the fear, we be confused and dissolved, and at the same time both lose the fruit of our labors and provoke God against us. But how, you say, is it possible for anyone to "exult with trembling"? For it is impossible for these two to happen at the same time, since there is a very great difference between them. For joy is the fulfillment of those things which the mind desires, and a fruition of pleasant things, and a forgetfulness of annoying ones; but fear is the onrush of expected evils, rising up against a condemned conscience. How then is it lawful to exult with fear, and not simply with fear, but even with trembling, which is a vehemence of fear and a sign of some immoderate anxiety?

How will this happen, he says? The Seraphim themselves will teach you, who perform precisely such a ministry in reality. For they enjoy that ineffable glory of the Creator, while they contemplate his incomprehensible beauty: I do not mean that [beauty] as it is in nature (for this is unthinkable, nor can it be looked upon, nor expressed by a figure, and it is absurd to imagine it so), but as much as is granted, as much as they are able to be illuminated by that splendor. For since they serve continuously in the circuit of the royal throne, they persevere in constant joy, in everlasting delight, in exultation that will have no end, rejoicing, leaping, and glorifying without any silence. For to stand in the sight of that majesty, and to be illuminated by the splendor shining from it, this is their joy, this is their exultation, this is their pleasure, this is, finally, their glory. Perhaps you have felt some pleasure, and some desire for that glory has seized you. If you perform the celebration of the divine glory religiously, such joy will not abandon you, since he himself is that same Lord who is glorified both in heaven and on earth: "For the heavens and the earth are full of his glory" (Isai. VI, 3). How does it come about, then, that those Seraphim, while enjoying such pleasure, mix it with fear? Hear what the prophet says: "I saw the Lord sitting upon a throne high and lifted up" (Isai. VI, 1). For what reason, when he had said "high," did he add "lifted up"? Was it not enough to signify the whole matter through "high" and to declare the eminence of his dignity? Why then did he add "lifted up"? That

he might indicate the incomprehensibility of the throne. For since with us "high" provides some sort of conception of comparison to things that are low and humbler—for instance, mountains are high compared to plains and the hollows of the earth, and the heaven is high as it has been raised above all terrestrial things—but the "lifted up" and "raised on high" belongs only to that incomprehensible nature which it is impossible either to conceive or to describe: for this reason he says, "I saw the Lord sitting upon a throne high and lifted up." And what else did you see, O prophet? What did you behold concerning him? "And the Seraphim stood," he says, "round about him." Doing what, and saying what? Enjoying what freedom of speech? Freedom of speech, he says, they had none, but were full of fear and astonishment, and through the very form itself they showed the ineffable nature of their dread. For with two wings they covered their faces, both walling off the ray emitted from the throne, because they could not bear its unendurable glory, and at the same time revealing their own reverence which they have toward the Master. With such joy do they rejoice, with such gladness do they exult, and not only do they cover their faces, but their feet as well. For what reason do they do this? Their faces, indeed, one might reasonably explain due to the terrible nature of the sight and the inability to look directly at the unapproachable glory; but why do they cover their feet? I wished to leave this for you, so that you might labor over its solution and be watchful regarding the investigation of spiritual matters; but so as not to leave your mind occupied with the search for this and cause you to neglect the exhortation, it is necessary to solve it. Why then do they cover their feet? They hasten to show an insatiable reverence toward the Creator, attempting to signify a great agony through their form, through their voice, through their sight, and through their very posture. Since they are even thus failing to reach what is desired and what is proper, by covering themselves on every side they hide what is lacking. ^A Have you understood what was said, or is it right to go over it again? But in order that this may be clearer, I will try to make it manifest from examples among ourselves. Someone stands before an earthly king; he strives through everything to show great reverence toward him, so that through this he may draw more goodwill from him. For this reason, he practices such reverence through the posture of his head, through his voice, through the binding of his hands, through the joining of his feet, and the composure of his whole body. This also happens in the case of those bodiless powers. For because they have a great desire for reverence toward the Creator, and strive to procure this from every side, then failing in their aspiration, they conceal what falls short of their desire with a covering. For this reason, therefore, they are said to cover both their faces and their feet. Even if there is some other more mystical theory contemplated concerning this—not that they have feet and faces (for they are bodiless, just as the Divinity is), but that the discourse might show through these that they are composed on every side, and minister to the Master with fear and reverence—so too ought we also to stand, offering such doxology to Him, fearing and trembling, and as if seeing Him Himself with the eyes of the mind. For He who is not circumscribed by any place is present here entirely, and records the voices of all. Thus, therefore, sending up the praise with a contrite and humbled heart, let us make it well-pleasing, and send it up to heaven like a fragrant incense. "For a heart," he says, "which is contrite and humbled, God will not despise." But the prophet, he says, urges that the doxology be performed with a shout: "Shout to the Lord, all the earth." But we do not forbid such a shout, but rather the indistinct cry; we do not forbid the voice of praise, but the voice of disorder, the strifes against one another, the hands raised in the air in vain and to no purpose, the feet that dance about, the indecorous and effeminate manners, which are the plays of those who have leisure in the theaters and horse-races. ^B From there these ruinous teachings are brought in among us, from there these irreverent and vulgar yells, from there the disorders of the hands, the contentions, the strifes, the unruly manners.

4. Public spectacles are to be avoided, and why. For nothing so prepares one to despise the oracles of God as the distractions of the spectacles there. For this reason I have often exhorted that no one of those who come here, and enjoy the divine instruction, and partake of the fearful and mystical sacrifice, should go to those theaters, and mix the divine mysteries with the demonic. Yet some are so mad that, even while wearing the appearance of reverence, and having attained to deep gray hair, they nevertheless desert to those places, neither paying attention to our discourses, nor being ashamed of their own appearance. But when we propose this to them, and exhort them to respect their gray hair and their reverence, what is their cold and laughable argument? "They are a pattern," he says, "of the victory there and of the crowns, and we reap very great benefit from this source." What are you saying, man? This discourse is stale and full of deceit. From where do you reap the benefit? From those myriad strifes, and the oaths cast out in vain and to no purpose for the harm of those who say them? Or from the insults, and blasphemies, and mockeries with which the spectators of such things drench one another? But surely not from these; do you collect the fruits of benefit from the disordered shouts, and the indistinct cry, and the dust that is sent up, and those who push and crowd, and those who behave coquettishly in front of women? And here, indeed, all the prophets and teachers point to the Master of the angels Himself sitting upon a throne high and lifted up, ^C and awarding prizes and crowns to the worthy, while pronouncing hell and fire for the unworthy.

^A And the Lord Himself confirms this. Do you then despise these things, in which there is the fear of conscience, and the scrutiny of deeds, and the anxiety of rendering an account, and unavoidable punishment? Yet, to find an absurd excuse for the spectacles upon which you hang in suspense, you say that you derive benefit from the very things from which you suffer irreparable loss? I ask again and again; I entreat you, let us not create excuses for our sins; for these are pretexts and a deception, by which we bring damage upon ourselves. But enough of these things for now; it is time to return to the former admonition, and, having spoken briefly upon it, to impose a fitting end to the discourse.

For not only is this a sin, that the things done here are performed with less dignity than is proper, but another grave disease also walks about. What is this? That those who have set themselves to converse with God, and to render glory to Him, soon leave this off and seize upon their neighbor, and arrange domestic affairs, and the things that happen in the marketplace, in the assembly, in the theaters, in the army, and how some matters have been administered and others neglected, and what was overmuch or diminished in the handling of affairs: in sum, they converse here about all matters, ^B both public and private. And what pardon do these things deserve? Yet he who converses with an earthly king speaks only of the things about which the king wishes to hear, and about which he has inquired; and if anyone dares to inject something other than his will, he will suffer the extreme penalty. You, however, conversing with the King of kings, whom the angels serve with trembling, leaving off the discourse begun with Him, talk of mud, of dust, of spiderwebs? For the business of this life is nothing else. And how will you endure the punishment of such contempt? And who will deliver you from this vengeance?

^C The negligence of princes often arises from the fault of the people. But, they say, the affairs of the state are not in a healthy condition, and it is of these we mostly speak, and for these we are anxious and concerned. But what is the cause? The thoughtlessness, they say, of those who hold the magistracy. It is not the thoughtlessness of the magistrates, but our injustice, and the punishment exacted for our sins. That has confounded all things above and below, that has brought about whatever calamities exist, that has armed enemies, that has caused us to depart defeated. The swarm of evils has not inundated us from any other source than this cause. Therefore, even if someone like Abraham were to rule, even Moses, even David, even that wisest Solomon, even the most just of all men: if we live badly, it makes no difference what he is, as far as the cause of evil is concerned. How so, or why? Because if the ruler is a transgressor of laws, or if he is carried along rashly and without counsel, it is our thoughtlessness and our rashness that brings it about that we have such a magistrate; our sins have summoned the blow. For the fact that we receive magistrates according to our own hearts is nothing else than that our past sins have given us such a leader, whether he be from the priestly order, or from the number of those who administer worldly dignities. ^D Yet even if he be just, and so just that he reaches even to the virtue of Moses, the justice of that one man will not be able to cover the immense sins of his subjects; and one can learn this accurately from Moses himself. For although he had been afflicted in many ways for Israel, and had urgently supplicated God to deliver to them the promised land by lot, yet because the people had rendered themselves alien to this promise by their own sins, the intercession of Moses could not alter the just judgment of God, by which it came to pass that that whole people was laid low in the desert. And yet, who was more just than Moses, or who had more power with God? It is said that the intercession of the just is availing, but it must be efficacious, that is, aided by the repentance and conversion of those for whom it is offered. But for these, whose habits remain without repentance and without a good conversion, how can the intercession of the just help them, when they themselves obstruct it by their own deeds? How is it, seeing that the sins of a few subjects, nay, often of one, prevail over the confidence of those who rule justly?

And you may perceive this again from the same Israelite people; namely, how while Moses was administering the state, when they had broken into the land of the aliens and joined battle with them, some of them, acting insanely against the women of their enemies, brought about the slaughter and destruction of the whole people.

The history of Achar. Jesus Nave as a figure of Jesus Christ. What anathema is. The sin of one sometimes brings vengeance upon all the people.

^A us from the earth. The commandment was perilous, given the great strictness of both the God who prescribed it and Jesus who legislated it. For how was it possible, in such a great multitude, for this law not to be transgressed, when there were many things pushing them toward this? For either the instability and love of gain of the people, or the fact that not all had become obedient to the commandment set before them, or the variety of the spoils lying there like bait, enticing the lovers of possessions, would easily have urged them toward transgression. And yet, this ^B law was laid down, and the danger of its transgression hung over their heads. What then? The walls fell, and all things in the city came into the hands of the besiegers. Thus, when the whole people was keeping this commandment, the transgression of one man kindled against the whole multitude the wrath of God. For they committed a trespass, it says, the sons of Israel committed a great trespass, and they embezzled, and took [104] some of the anathema, and Achar the son of Charmi took some of the anathema, and the Lord was moved with anger against the sons of Israel. And yet, one was the transgressor. How then did the sons of Israel commit a trespass, and the Lord became angry with the sons of Israel? Do you see how the sin of one ^C brought the punishment upon the whole people? How it made God hostile to the multitude? Since therefore the lawless act was committed, and no one was aware of it save only God, who knows hidden things, the punishment was impending; and he who had done this, even if he seemed to be hidden, was yet being burned by his conscience as if by fire. The time therefore came for the threat, and for the sin to be made manifest. For he sent, it says, Jesus men from Jericho to Gai. And there went up there about three thousand men, and they fled from before the men of Gai, and they killed of them thirty-six men, and pursued them, and ^D broke them, and the heart of the people was struck with fear, and became as water.

6. Behold the exacting of the penalty for one sin; behold the unassuaged blow. One sinned, and death and cowardice fell upon the whole people. What is this, O lover of good, Master? You alone are righteous, and your judgments are upright. You assign judgment to each according to his own works. You said, O lover of mankind, that each shall die in his own sin, and that one shall not be punished for another. What then is this righteous verdict of yours? Good are all your works, O Lord, and very good, and ordered for our benefit. Sin, he says, is like a rot; therefore, let it be paraded through punishment among all, so that it may not rot all of them, in order that, knowing what a great threat one transgression has brought forth, they may flee the endless punishment that comes from many. Seeing, therefore, he says, that the rout was insupportable, Jesus tore his garments, and fell upon the earth, performing those laments which the divine Scripture signifies. What then does the Master say to him? "Arise; why have you fallen thus? Your people have sinned, and transgressed my covenant, and will not be able, the sons of Israel, to stand before the face of their enemies, until you have removed the anathema from among yourselves." This was therefore proclaimed among the people, and he who committed the transgression is pointed out by God; he confesses. For Achar answered, he says, to Jesus, and said: "Truly I have sinned before the Lord God of Israel; so and so I did. I saw in the spoils a garment of plain [fiber], varied, very ^A beautiful, and two hundred didrachmas of silver, and one golden tongue of fifty didrachmas, and having coveted I took, [105] and behold these are hidden in the earth in my tent." He now brings all into the open, since he saw that the one who denounced these things was truthful, and he had a severe witness ^B exposing him. But see his ignominious and ruinous death: Jesus brought him, he says, to the valley of Achor, and his sons, and his daughters, and his calves, and his beasts of burden, and all his sheep, and his tent, and all that he possessed, and all Israel stoned them with stones. This is the requital for transgression; thus is the impartial justice of God. Knowing this, therefore, let us reckon the onset of afflictions to be the exacting of our own sins, and examining our own crimes each day, let us attach the cause thereof not to others, but to ourselves. For it is not only the carelessness of the rulers, but much more our own faults that have introduced evils. Thus, therefore, appearing here, each one, and reckoning his own transgressions, will neither blame another, and with the proper decorum will send up the present ^C doxology. The decorum required of us is this: first, to approach God with a contrite heart, then also to indicate the state of the heart through the visible appearance, through the posture, through the decorum of the hands, through a gentle and constrained voice. For this is easy, and possible for everyone who wishes. How then will it be achieved for all? Let us lay down a law for ourselves, and say that a commandment beneficial to all has been proposed, and it behooves us all to partake of such benefit. For this reason, let us also silence the disorderly voices, and let us order the habits of our hands, keeping them bound when presenting them to God, and not lifting them in indecorous gestures. For God hates and turns away from this, just as He loves and accepts the ^D restrained one: "For upon whom," He says, "shall I look, unless upon the gentle and quiet, and him who trembles at my words?" Let us say to one another that He does not wish us, while conversing with Him, to chat with one another, nor, having abandoned the discourse with Him, to stir up the casual meetings of those present, and to stir up pearls in the mud. For He considers such a thing an insult to Himself, not a doxology. And if anyone should wish to transgress this commandment, let us stop his mouth, as a plotter against our salvation; let us drive him away, let us cast him out of the enclosures of the holy church. For doing this, we shall easily wash away our former sins, and the Master Himself

^A will be in our midst, dancing with the holy angels and distributing crowns of propriety to each one. For since He is humane and munificent, rejoicing in our salvation, He therefore, delighting in our goods, promised the kingdom of heaven and the fellowship of incorruptible life, and prepared all good things, wanting us to have our tabernacles in these; may all of us be able to attain to them, by the grace and humanity of our Lord Jesus Christ, with whom is glory, power, honor, and adoration to the Father and to the holy Spirit, now and always, and unto the ages of ages. Amen.

BY THE SAME, HOMILY II.

Chrysostom is satisfied; his humility and love for his own.

I rejoice to see you coming together to hear the sacred discourses, and I judge this to be the greatest evidence of your progress in the worship of God and piety. For just as a desire for food declares the good health of the body, so also an appetite for spiritual discourses argues for the health of the soul. I rejoice, then, because of this; yet I fear lest I might not be able to bring something worthy of this your desire. ^C Just as a loving mother is pained, as often as she has a nursing infant, if she cannot abundantly grant him the fountain of milk—nevertheless, although she lacks milk, she still gives the breast, and he takes it and draws and sucks, and by warming the chilling nipple with his mouth, he calls forth more food than was there; yet the mother is pained while her breasts are being stretched, and yet she does not push the child away: for she is a mother, and she chooses to suffer all things rather than to grieve her offspring. If, therefore, mothers show so much love toward their offspring, much more ought we to be similarly affected toward your charity. For the pangs of the spirit are more vehement than those of nature. ^D So that, even if our table has much poverty, not even so shall we hide our food, but bringing all our own into the midst, we shall set it before you. But if these little things are vile, we shall nevertheless provide them. For even he to whom the talent was entrusted, he was not accused because he did not bring five talents, but because he buried the one that he had received, he paid the penalty (Matt. XXV, 27). For the thing sought by God and among men is not that you deposit many or few, but that you do not offer an oblation inferior to your resources. You heard recently, when it was given to us to discourse to your charity, that we were reading that Psalm which, casting the sinner out of the sacred enclosures, exhorted the angels and the supernal powers to praise the God of all. Do you wish, then, that even today we hear that same angelic melody, standing near to it somewhere? It certainly seems so to me. For if wicked men, while they perform dances in the marketplace, in profound darkness and at the dead of night, singing harlot-songs and soft melodies, stir up the whole city for us and cause it to turn toward them, shall we not run together to the celestial crowds, to the King of the universe being celebrated by the supernal choirs, so as to hear that divine and blessed voice? And what excuse will be given us? But how, you ask, is it possible to hear? If we ascend into heaven itself—not in body, indeed, but in our mind; if not in our presence, then certainly in our thought. For the body, since it is terrestrial and heavy by nature, remains on earth; but the soul is free from this necessity, and flies away most easily to the highest and most remote places: so that even if it wishes to reach the extreme ends of the world, or to ascend into heaven, there is nothing to prevent it; to such a degree has God given to it light wings of thought. And He has given not only light wings, but has also bestowed eyes much sharper than those of the body. For the sight of the body, if indeed it is carried through the empty air, proceeds to a long interval; but if it strikes against a small object, not otherwise than a stream that was being carried along is repulsed by an obstacle and turned back again, so it is; but the eyes of the soul, although they meet walls, or fortifications, or the masses of mountains, or the bodies of the heavens as obstacles, they easily pass beyond all things. Nevertheless, although the soul has such speed and sharpness of eye, it is not sufficient of itself for the understanding of celestial things, but it has need of Him who leads it by the hand. Let us do, therefore, what those who wish to see them are accustomed to do in the palaces of kings. What do those men do? Where they have sought out the one to whom the keys have been entrusted, they approach him, speak to him, and supplicate him; frequently they even count out money, so that he might gratify them. Let us therefore approach one of those to whom the celestial gates have been entrusted, let us call upon him, let us supplicate him; instead of money, let us show a ready willingness and a sincere affection. And if he receives this reward, having taken our hand, he will lead us around through all things, not showing us the palace, but the King Himself sitting upon His throne, with the armies and the leaders of armies standing by, with the myriads of angels and thousands of archangels assisting;* he will show all things to us with precision, as far as it is possible for us to see. Who, therefore, is this one to whom this duty has been entrusted, following whom we now wish to enter? Isaiah, the most vocal of the prophets. Therefore, it is necessary that we converse with this man.

How the Scriptures are to be heard.

let us enter. For we are entering into the kingdom of heaven; we are stepping into regions shining with stars. The interior is full of deep silence and ineffable mysteries.

^B 2. But pay close attention with precision, for the reading of the Scriptures is an opening of the heavens. *And it came to pass*, he says, *in the year that king Ozias died, I saw the Lord sitting upon a throne high and lifted up* (Isa. VI, 1). Do you see the courtesy of a grateful servant? He immediately led us to the royal throne, not first taking us through long entryways; rather, he opened the gates and at once showed the King sitting opposite. *And the Seraphim*, he says, *stood around him; six wings to the one, and six wings to the other; and with two they covered their face, and with two their feet, and with two they flew; and they cried one to another, and said: Holy, holy, holy, Lord Sabaoth* (Ibid. v. 2, 3). Holy indeed, because he has deemed our nature worthy of such and so great mysteries, because he has made us partakers of such ineffable things! Horror and trembling seized me in the midst of this song. And what is to be wondered at if I, being clay and from the earth, am seized by this, when a truly great astonishment possesses the powers above themselves perpetually? For this reason, they turn away their faces and cast their wings forward like a wall, not bearing the rays that originate from thence. And yet, he says, what appeared was a condescension. How then could they not bear it? Do you say these things to me? Tell it to those who curiously pry into the ineffable and blessed nature, told it to those who dare the undareable. The Seraphim dared not look upon even the condescension, yet a man dared to speak—or rather, a man dared to take it into his mind—that he could look with precision and clarity upon that pure nature which is invisible even to the Cherubim? Shudder, O heaven; tremble, O earth; these transgressions are greater than the former. For what those people did impiously then, these men commit now. They worship the creation in the same way, but what these men have devised now, none of the men of that time dared either to say or to hear. What are you saying? Was what appeared a condescension? Yes, but a condescension of God. For if Daniel, having great boldness toward God, could not endure to see an angel who had condescended to him, but fell and lay prone, his joints loosened by that glory; what is to be wondered at if the Seraphim were amazed, not bearing to behold that glory? For the difference between Daniel and the angel is not as great as the difference between God and those powers. But in order that we might not, by lingering too long upon these wonders, cast your soul into a stupor, come, let us turn the discourse back to the beginning of the history and lead it along with humbler narrations. *And it came to pass in the year that king Ozias died.* It is worth first inquiring why the prophet specifies the time for us, for he does not do this simply or in vain. For the mouths of the prophets are the mouth of God, and such a mouth would say nothing incidentally. Let us not, therefore, listen incidentally either. For if those who dig up metals do not pass over even small fragments, but when they lay hold of a vein of gold, they examine the fibers with precision, how much more does it behoove us to do this in the case of the Scriptures? And yet, in the case of metals, the discovery of what is sought is very difficult. Because both the ores are earth and the gold is nothing other than earth, the communion of nature steals the sight from what is sought; yet even so they do not desist, but display every precision, although by looking they know what is truly earth and what is truly gold. But in the case of Scripture, it is not so. For the gold does not lie before us mixed with earth, but it is pure gold. *The words of the Lord*, he says, *are pure words, silver refined in the fire, tried in the earth* (Ps. CXVII, 20). For the Scriptures are not ores in need of processing, but they provide a treasure ready-made to those who seek the wealth within them. For it is enough merely to look in, to be filled with every benefit and depart; it is enough merely to open them, and immediately to behold the sparkle of the gems. ^C These things, however, have not been said by me simply, nor have Itedious discourse stretched out in vain; but since there are some crude men who, when they take the divine books into their hands, then find a number of years or a list of names lying there, immediately skim over them and say to those who find fault: "They are only names, and contain nothing useful." What are you saying? God is speaking, and you dare to say that nothing of what is said is useful? If you were to see an inscription only, would you not stop with eagerness, tell me, and search out the wealth lying within? And why do I speak of times and names and inscriptions? Learn how much the addition of even one single letter avails, and cease from despising whole names. Our patriarch Abraham (for he belongs to us more than to the Jews) was called Abram at first, which when interpreted means "transitory"; but after this, when renamed Abraham, he became the father of all the nations, and the addition of one letter bestowed such a great headship upon the righteous man. For just as kings hold out golden tablets to their own subordinates as a symbol of authority, so also God at that time gave to that righteous man the letter as a symbol of honor.

3. But I will speak about names at another time; however, it is necessary to say how great the profit is when the times are known, and how great the harm when they are ignored. And first, I will demonstrate this from the affairs of life. The testaments and the documents concerning marriages, concerning debts, and concerning other contracts, if they do not have the times of the consulate written above them from the beginning, are devoid of all their own force. For this is the strong thing in them; this is what resolves disputes, this is what relieves the courts, and makes enemies into friends. For this reason, those who write these things, just as a lamp upon a lampstand, so upon the front of the documents...

of every transaction, whether it be conducted with friends or with enemies, with servants, or with stewards and managers, require this caution, and everywhere we record the months, years, and days. But if this matter has so much power in secular affairs, it will be of much greater profit in spiritual ones. For this is what proves that prophecies are prophecies. For prophecy is nothing else than an announcement of future events. Therefore, if someone does not know the times of the things that have been spoken, or of the things that have occurred, how will he be able to show to a contentious man the dignity of prophecy? ^A Hence we have both struggles and victories against the Greeks, since we demonstrate that our own ^B are older than what is held among them; hence we have arguments against the Jews to conquer the truth—against the Jews, I say, the miserable and wretched, who, because of ignorance of the times, have fallen into the greatest error. For if they had heard the patriarch saying, "There shall not fail a prince from Judah, nor a leader from his loins, until he comes to whom it is reserved" (Gen. XLIX, 10), and if they had observed with precision the times of the Lord's advent, they would by no means have fallen away from Christ into the Anti-Christ; just as Christ himself, hinting at this to them, said, "I have come in my Father's name, and you did not receive me; if another comes in his own name, him you will receive" (John V, 43). Do you see what great error has occurred from the ignorance of the times? ^C Do not, therefore, neglect such great utility. For just as in fields, boundaries and pillars do not allow the lands to be confused, so the times do not allow deeds to be confused, but by dividing them from one another, and arranging each in a proper order, they release us from much commotion. It is therefore worth while to say to you, who this Uzziah was, and when he reigned, and over whom he reigned, and how long the time of his rule lasted, and finally how he ended his life. Or rather, it is better to be silent now, because it is necessary to extend our discourse into an infinite ocean of histories. For those who are about to travel upon such a sea, it is necessary not to set out with weary rowers, but with sound ones. For this reason, ports and islands are planted everywhere throughout the sea, so that both the pilot and the sailor may find rest, the one by putting aside the oar, the other by rising from the helm. For these reasons, inns and guest-houses are devised everywhere along the roads, so that beasts of burden together with travelers may be refreshed from their labor. For this reason, also, a time for silence is appointed for the teaching discourse, so that we may not deter ourselves by the multitude of words, nor weary you. And Solomon knows these times, saying, "A time to keep silence, and a time to speak" (Eccl. III, 7). ^D Let there be, therefore, for us a time of silence, in which time may also be given to the teacher to speak. For what we bring is like wine that has been drunk fresh from the winepress; but what is spoken by him is like wine which, because it has gathered age and maturity, brings to those who have need of it much utility and strength; and today that saying of the Gospel happens to us, that after the worse wine, that which is better is brought in (John II, 10). And just as that wine was not produced by the vine, but the power of Jesus Christ had made it, so also of this man's sermon, not human thought flows forth, but the grace of the Holy Spirit. Since, therefore, the streams of this liquor are abundant and spiritual, let us receive them zealously, let us guard them cautiously, so that, being assiduously irrigated, we may bring forth timely fruit to God, to whom belongs all glory and honor, with his only-begotten Son and the most holy Spirit, now and always, and unto the ages of ages. Amen.

On the second book of Chronicles, where it is said, "The heart of Uzziah was lifted up," and concerning humility; and that a man endowed with virtue ought not to be confident; and finally how great an evil arrogance is.

HOMILY III

1. God is blessed, and in this generation of ours has nurtured witnesses, and we have been deemed worthy to see men slaughtered for Christ, men distilling with sacred blood, irrigating all the Church; blood, I say, distilling, fearful indeed to demons, but desirable to angels, and furthermore, beneficial to us. This dignity of God has been granted to us, that we should behold men fighting for piety, winning, and crowned. Nor indeed does it happen to us only to behold these things, but even to receive the very bodies of the athletes; and we have those victors, adorned with crowns, among us. But for the present, we shall reserve the sermon about the martyrs for the emulator of the martyrs, our common teacher; we ourselves shall now discourse concerning Uzziah, paying off the debt long since owed, and releasing the long-standing labor of hearing. For everyone of you, I know, is in labor, desiring to hear that history; and this labor we have delayed in the meantime, not because we wished to extend for you this torture, but because we were striving to kindle your desire, so that when you had been entertained by me, our preparation might seem most sweet to you. For to wealthy hosts, if they receive guests who are already full, the sumptuousness of the preparation might excite their appetite; otherwise, nothing brings the table of the poor to appear as sumptuous, as when those who are about to sit down to it are hungry. Who, therefore, is Uzziah, and from what ancestors sprung, of whom was he king, how long did he reign, and what did he accomplish with praise, and what otherwise, and finally in what manner did he end his life? Concerning all these things, we shall discourse in your presence for the present, or rather, as much as it will be permitted to say, so that we may not confuse your memory with the multitude, which is wont to happen with ignited lamps. For if you drop oil little by little onto the wick, you will have given sufficient nourishment to the fire; but if you pour all the oil in at once, you will have extinguished the flame, which

was esteemed, yet later fell into sin. For having thought more highly of himself than his own dignity, he leaped into the office of the priesthood. So great an evil is arrogance; it persuades everyone to ignore themselves, and after many labors, it empties out the whole treasury of virtue. And while other evils tend to abound when we are negligent, this one springs up even when we are doing right. For nothing is so prone to produce arrogance as a good conscience, if we are not watchful. For this reason, Christ also, knowing that this passion creeps in upon us after good deeds, said to the disciples: *When you have done all things, say, We are unprofitable servants* (Luc. 17:10). For when that beast is preparing to attack you, then, he says, by these words shut the doors against it. And he did not say, "When you have done all things, you are unprofitable," but, *You say, We are unprofitable.* Say it, do not fear; I do not pass judgment from your own assessment. For if you call yourself unprofitable, I will crown you as useful. Thus also he says elsewhere: *Speak you first of your iniquities, that you may be justified* (Isai. 43:26). For in worldly and forensic courts, after accusation and confession of sins comes death; but in the divine tribunal, after accusation and confession comes a crown. Whence Solomon also said: *Do not justify yourself in the presence of the Lord* (Eccl. 7:5). But Uzziah heard none of this, but rushed into the temple, and wished to offer incense, and while the priest prohibited him, he did not desist. What then did God do? He inflicted leprosy upon his forehead, punishing his shameless face, and teaching him that the court is divine, and the struggle was not against men. And so much for Uzziah. Let us now retrace the history from the beginning. For this cause I have also, by anticipation, briefly related to you all that happened, so that when you hear the Scripture proclaiming these things, you may follow them with precision. But pay attention. *And he did*, it says, *Uzziah what was right in the sight of the Lord* (2 Par. 26:4). By these words he testified to his great virtue. For he did not only do what was right, but also *in the sight of the Lord*, not for the display of men, just like those among the Jews who sounded trumpets before their almsgiving, who disfigured their faces in their fasts, who made their prayers at the street corners; than whom what could be more wretched, since they endure the labors, but are deprived of all the reward?

2. What are you doing, man? Are you going to give an account of your deeds to another, and do you call upon another as a witness of what is done? Do you have one judge, and do you set up another as a spectator? Do you not see the charioteers, who, when the whole city is seated high up at the horse races, and they are running through the whole of the stadium, argue there to turn over the chariots of their rivals, wherever they see the King sitting, and they think one eye of those looking on to be more trustworthy than all the rest? And do you, seeing the King of the angels himself acting as judge over your own races, leave Him and take refuge in the eyes of your fellow servants? For this reason, after myriads of struggles, do you depart without a crown, do you go away toward the judge without having obtained prizes after many sweats? But Uzziah was not such a person; rather, he did what was right *in the sight of the Lord*. How then, living with such precision, was he tripped up and did he fall? This indeed I also marvel at and am perplexed by; or rather, this would not be worthy of perplexity: for he was a man, a thing prone to slip toward sin, and quick to fall into wickedness. And this is not the only difficulty, but that we have been commanded to walk upon a road narrow and constricted, hemmed in by precipices on either side. When, therefore, both the ease of the will and the difficulty of the road come together, do not wonder henceforth at the falls. For just as in theaters those who practice walking up and down the rope stretched from below high up, if they look away a little, they are turned aside and carried down into the orchestra, and perish: so also those who walk this road, if they are even a little negligent, are cast down. For this road is narrower than that rope, and steeper, and more uphill, and much higher; for it terminates up at heaven itself, and our steps will be all the more precarious when we are high up and at the very summit; for to those standing on high there is much trembling, and only one safety remains: not to look down, nor to see the earth. For a difficult dizziness is produced from that. For this reason the Prophet constantly cries out to us, saying: *Do not destroy* (referring to the end), restraining our soul when it is negligent, and supporting and holding it when it is about to fall. For in the beginning we do not need much consolation. Why? Because every man, even if he were the most sluggish of all, being about to take hold of a task, shows much diligence in the beginnings, and with zeal flourishing and strength still fresh, he easily enters upon what is proposed; but when we have advanced through most of the road, and our zeal has withered, and our strength has ended, and we are about to fall, then the Prophet stands by us opportunely, offering this expression like a staff, and saying, *Do not destroy at the end.* For indeed the devil breathes more fiercely then. And just like pirates sailing the sea, they do not attack when they see the ships leaving the harbor (for what profit is it to them to sink an empty ship?), but when it is returning having a full cargo, then they set in motion every device: so also that wicked demon, when he sees that we have gathered much—fasting, prayers, almsgiving, self-control, all other virtue—when he sees our ship full of the precious stones of piety, then he attacks, digging through the treasury from every side, so as to sink the ship at the very mouth of the harbor, and

to cast us forth naked at that port; and for this reason the prophet admonishes all, saying: "To the end, do not corrupt." ^A For it is not easy to rise again after such a fall. For he who has come into the depths of evils despises all things through inexperience, but he who has tripped after many courses, no one would deem worthy of pardon; for falling then is thought to be of negligence. And not only is this the evil, but also that many are scandalized by such falls, so that, because of this again, the sin becomes unforgivable. Knowing these things, let us heed the Prophet, and "to the end, do not corrupt." For this reason also Ezekiel cries out saying: "If the just man happens to fall and sin, there shall be no remembrance of his righteousness, but in his sin he shall die." For he too fears ^B for the end. And not from this alone, but also from the opposites he shows the great power of the matter. "If the sinner," he says, "happens to become just, there shall be no remembrance of his sins; in his righteousness he shall live." You see here too the prophet taking great thought for the end. For, that the just man may not, by trusting in his own righteousness, decline into sloth and perish, he strikes terror into him by the end; and that the sinner may not, because of his failings, despond and remain forever in his fall, he raises him up through the proposed end. "You have sinned," he says, "many things, but do not despair; for there is a way to return if you show an end contrary to the beginning." Again to the just man: "You have done many good things," he says, "but do not be confident; for it happens that you fall, unless you show the same care ^C to the very end." You see how he has removed the sloth of the one, and the despair of the other.

lest being puffed up he fall into judgment and the snare of the devil" (1 Tim. 3:6); lest, he says, by committing the same sins as he, he should suffer the same things as he. ^A

4. That it is a consolation to the wicked to have something to reproach in others.—But this is not only clear from this source, but also from the things which that wicked demon counseled to him who was the first of all mankind created. For just as it is the custom for the good to exhort others to those things through which they themselves became good, so it is the custom for the wicked to suggest to others such things through which they themselves have become base. For this is one type of wickedness, and they regard the destruction of others as a consolation for their own punishment. What then did the devil counsel Adam? To conceive a thought greater than his own nature, and to hope for equality with God (Gen. 3:5). For if, he says, this (pride) cast me out of heaven, much more will it cast him out of paradise. For this reason Solomon also said: "God resists the proud" (Prov. 3:34; 1 Pet. 5:5; James 4:6). He did not say: God dismisses the proud and abandons them, and strips them of His own help; but, "He resists," he says. Not that He needed a battle array and a fight against a proud man—for what could be more powerless than a proud man? For just as he who has lost his sight lies exposed to everyone for suffering harm, so the proud man, who does not know the Lord ("For the beginning of pride," he says, "is not knowing the Lord" [Eccli. 10:14]), is easily overcome even by men, having fallen from that light. And if he were strong, God would not have needed a battle array against him; for He to whom the will sufficed for producing all things, much more does it suffice for their destruction. Why then, he says, does He resist? That He might demonstrate the vehemence of the hatred He has toward the proud. ^B That the wound of pride is grievous, is clear from this and other sources. But if you wish, let us learn the cause of it from another source, from which the ulcer arose. For it is the custom of Scripture, when it is about to accuse someone, not only to speak of his sin, but also to teach us the cause of the sin; and it does this, making those who are healthy more secure against falling into the same things. Thus also doctors, when entering to those who are suffering, even before the diseases, search out the sources, so as to check the evil from above; for he who cuts away only the shoots while the root remains, does nothing else than toil in vain. Where then does Scripture state both the sin and the cause of the sin? It accuses those who were before the flood regarding the improper intermixtures; and hear how it sets forth the cause: "The sons of God, seeing the daughters of men, that they were fair, took them for themselves as wives" (Gen. 6:2). What then, is beauty the cause of sin? Far from it; for it is a work of God's wisdom; and a work of God could never be the cause of wickedness. But the seeing? Not even this; for this too is a work of nature. But what? The seeing evilly. For this belongs to a corrupted will. For this reason also a certain wise man exhorts, saying: "Do not contemplate another's beauty" (Eccli. 9:8). He did not say: Do not see—for it happens that this also comes about automatically—but, "Do not contemplate," he says, meaning the contemplation from study, the curious look, the wicked observation with close attention, from a soul that is corrupted and desiring. And what, he says, would be the harm from this? "For from this," he says, "love is kindled like fire" (Ibid. v. 9). For just as fire, when it takes hold of some hay or stubble, does not wait any length of time, but the moment it touches the material, it kindles a bright flame: so also the fire of concupiscence which is in us, when it touches fair and bright beauty through the sight of the eyes, it immediately burns the soul. Therefore do not look at that temporary pleasure, which comes from the observation, but consider the perpetual pain, which comes from the concupiscence. For the one often flies away after inflicting the wound; but the wound does not fly away, but often remains and destroys. And just as a stag pierced with an arrow in a vital part of its body, even if it escapes the hands of the hunters, gains nothing hereafter; so also a soul that has received the arrow of concupiscence from unchaste and curious observation, even if it lets the arrow go, it is itself corrupted ^C and destroyed, everywhere seeing the enemy and having him following. But what I was saying (for one must not allow long detours in the discourse), that Scripture is accustomed to tell both the sins and their causes, hear then even here what it says about Uzziah. For it did not teach us only that his heart was lifted up, but it added from whence it was lifted up. From whence then was it lifted up? "When he became strong," it says, "his heart was lifted up" (2 Paral. 26:16). He did not bear the greatness of power; but just as from greed comes inflammation, and from inflammation is born fever, and then from that often death; so also here, from the abundance of things has come arrogance. For what inflammation is in bodies, this is arrogance in souls. Then from arrogance comes desire for things not appropriate to him. ^D

5. We do not prolong these things without a cause, but so that you may never think those in power are to be envied, nor call them blessed, knowing how precarious the matter is; so that you may never deem those in poverty and suffering miserable, knowing that there is more security from that source. For which reason also the Prophet cried out, saying: "It is good for me, O Lord, that you humbled me" (Ps. 118:71). See then how great was the evil from the height. "His heart was lifted up," he says, "to the point of destruction." What is, "To the point of destruction"? Of the wicked thoughts, some do not even altogether step into our soul, if we fence ourselves with great security; others are indeed born within, but if we are slothful, they also sprout; but if they are anticipated, they are quickly suffocated and buried. Others are both born, and grow, and go out into wicked deeds, and destroy all the health of our soul, whenever we are in great sloth. This then he says, that "his heart was lifted up"; and the arrogance did not remain within, nor was it quenched, but it leaped out, and towards...

an evil deed advanced, and corrupted all its virtue. ^B It is then a blessing never to admit an evil thought at all, a thing which the Prophet also implies: "Lord, my heart is not lifted up" (Ps. CXXX), as if he said, "I have preserved my heart truly, it was not lifted up at all": that is, I have constantly kept my soul inaccessible to malice. This then is the nature of blessedness: and next to this is to repel speedily the evil thoughts that have already entered, and not to allow them to linger there longer, lest they prey upon us most ruinously. But if we should go so far as this in sloth, there is, through the goodness of God and the consolation of this very sloth, much prepared by that ineffable goodness as a remedy for such wounds. But let us now put an end to this discourse, lest that which we feared at the beginning should happen to us now, and a multitude of things overwhelm your memory. Wherefore it is necessary to summarize what has been said in a few words; ^C just as mothers are accustomed to do when they put apples, or sweetmeats, or anything else of the kind into the lap of their children, that through the children's negligence nothing of what has been given may fall out, they gather up their little tunic on all sides, and hold it securely. Let us do the same, let us contract our discourse, which has been stretched out, and deposit it in the keeping of our memory. You have heard how nothing should be done for display, and how great an evil sloth is, so that it can easily trip up even one who is living in a perfect life. You have learned how great care we need, especially towards the end of life, and that one who has been changed after having fallen into sins should not despair, nor should one who lives in sloth be confident concerning righteous deeds. We have discoursed to you about the difference of sins, that we might not be overly intent upon the outward forms of bodies; and how much evil arises from this, we have demonstrated. You remember what we told you about pride, and about evil thoughts. ^D Holding these, let us return home; or rather, holding these, let us receive the more perfect exhortation of the excellent teacher. For our words, such as they are, possess the indications of youth; but his words, whatever they may be, are adorned with a kind of hoary wisdom. And our words indeed are like a torrent, which is carried along with noise; but his discourse is like a fountain pouring forth streams with great tranquility, which imitates the course of oil rather than that of water. Let us therefore receive those streams, that they may become in us a "fountain of water springing up into everlasting life" (John IV, 14): which may it be granted to us all to attain, by the grace and loving-kindness of our Lord Jesus Christ, with whom to the Father, together with the holy and good Spirit, be honor, glory, and power, now and always, and unto the ages of ages. Amen.

Homily IV

^A

On that which is said from Isaiah: "It came to pass in the year that king Uzziah died, I saw the Lord sitting on a throne high and lifted up" (Isa. VI, 1); and the praise of the city of Antioch; and a divine demonstration against those who forbid marriage.

1. A brilliant theater has been prepared for us today, and a magnificent and eager assembly. What, then, is the cause? The fruit of the seeds planted yesterday; today is the harvest. We planted yesterday, and today we reap. For we are not cultivating lifeless earth, for it to bear fruit slowly, but souls endowed with reason. It is not nature that delays, but grace that accelerates. ^B Our people are well-composed, a plebs studious of hearing. Yesterday they were called, today they are crowned. The fruit of yesterday's admonition is today's obedience. Whence we also gladly cast seeds, because we see a clean field, not a thorn that chokes, nor a path that is trodden, nor a barren rock, but a deep and rich field, which at once receives the seed and exhibits to us the ear of corn. This I always say, and I will not cease to say it: this is the praise of our city, not that it possesses a senate, not that we can count consuls, nor that [it has] many statues, nor that it has an abundance of merchandise, nor that it has a convenient location: but that it possesses a people studious of hearing, that the temples of God are full, that the delights of the Church grow more each day, and that it has discourse flowing forth, and a desire that is never satisfied. ^C For a city is rendered admirable not by its buildings, but by its inhabitants. Do not tell me that the city of the Romans is great in magnitude; but show me there a people equally desirous of hearing. For Sodom had towers, while Abraham dwelt in a tent: yet the angels who came passed by Sodom, and turned aside to the tent (Gen. XVIII). For they were not seeking the splendor of houses, but were seeking the virtue and beauty of the soul as they went about. Thus indeed, the desert had John, the city had Herod: and therefore the desert was more noble than the city. Why then so? Because prophecy is not situated in structures. ^D I say this, lest we ever praise a city that is dissolute in its morals. Why do you tell me of buildings, why of columns? These are destroyed together with the present life. Enter the church, that you may see the nobility of the city. Enter, I say, see the poor remaining from the middle of the night until the dawn, see the sacred vigils coupling the day with the night, see them fearing neither the tyranny and violence of sleep, nor fearing the necessity of poverty, neither by day nor by night. Truly a great city, and the metropolis of the whole world. How many bishops, how many teachers have come hither, and depart having been taught by the people, and take care to transplant that law which is innate in themselves

^A nor eating, nor drinking, nor living; for these things are all common to us with the unreasoning animals. But in what does man differ from the unreasoning animals? By speech; for this reason man is also a rational being. For just as bodies are nourished, so is the soul also nourished; but the body with bread, and the soul with speech. If, therefore, you see a man eating stone, would you say he is a man? In the same way, if you see one not nourished by speech, but by unreason, you will say, This man has lost even his very humanity; for upbringing reveals the nobility of a man. Since, therefore, our theatre is full, and again the sea is surging, and full of calm, and again the deep is tempest-tossed and standing still—come, let us draw the ship, having spread out the tongue instead of a sail, having called upon the grace of the Spirit instead of the zephyr, and using the cross as the pilot instead of the neck and the rudder. For the sea has salt water, but here there is living water. There are unreasoning animals, but here rational souls; there those who sail from sea to land, but here those who sail from earth to heaven drop anchor; there are ships, but here spiritual discourses; there planks in the ship, but here the framing together of arguments; there a sail, but here the tongue; there the breeze of a zephyr, but here the coming of the Spirit; there a human pilot, but here Christ is the pilot. ^B For this reason the ship is tempest-tossed, but it does not become submerged. It could indeed have sailed in a calm, but the pilot did not allow it, in order that you might see the endurance of those who sail, and that you might accurately learn the wisdom of the pilot.

2. Let the Greeks hear, let the Jews hear our achievements and the primacy of the Church. By how many has the Church been warred against, but never once has she been defeated? How many tyrants, how many generals, how many kings? Augustus, Tiberius, Gaius, Claudius, Nero, men honored by letters, powerful, made so much war on the budding Church, but they did not uproot her; but those who warred have been silenced and handed over to oblivion, while she who was warred against rises above the heavens. Do not look, for my sake, only at this—that the Church stands on earth—but that she has her citizenship in heaven. Where is this clear? The demonstration of the facts reveals it. Eleven disciples were warred against, and the whole world was at war; but those who were warred against overcame, and those who warred were destroyed; the sheep got the better of the wolves. Have you seen the Shepherd sending the sheep into the midst of the wolves, so that they might not even procure salvation by flight? What shepherd does this? But Christ did this in order to show you that achievements happen not according to the succession of things, but above nature and succession. For the Church is rooted more firmly than the heavens. But perhaps the Greek condemns me for arrogance; but let him await the demonstration of the facts, and let him learn the power of the truth, how it is easier for the sun to be extinguished than for the Church to be obliterated. ^C Who, he says, is proclaiming these things? He who established her: "Heaven and earth shall pass away, but my words shall not pass away" (Matt. 24:35). He not only said these things, but he also fulfilled them. For why did he establish her greater than the heavens? For the Church is more precious than the heavens. Why the heavens? Because of the Church, not the Church because of the heavens. And the heavens because of man, not man because of the heavens. And this is clear from what he himself made. For Christ did not take upon himself a heavenly body. But let us not lengthen the discourse, let us return to those who were absent today (for you know what we promised yesterday), let us prepare to unload. For I postponed it because of those who were left behind. Since, therefore, those who were left behind have fulfilled their share, and with their own presence have granted us a table filled with provisions, come then, let us set forth these viands—viands which are not stale; for even if they were from yesterday, yet they do not become stale. Why indeed? They are not meat, so that it might corrupt, but thoughts that are perpetually flourishing. For meat indeed corrupts—for it is body—but thoughts, remaining, become more fragrant. What then was it that we said yesterday? For we also enjoyed a table yesterday, and those who were left behind were not harmed. "And it came to pass in the year that king Uzziah died, I saw the Lord sitting upon a throne high and lifted up" (Isai. 6:1). Who says these things? Isaiah, the spectator of the Seraphim, who was joined in marriage, and did not extinguish the grace. And you have given heed to the prophet, and you heard the prophet today, "Go out, you and Jashub your son" (Isai. 7:3). It is necessary not to pass over these things either. "Go out, you and your son." Did the prophet have a son? If then a son, then a wife, in order that you may learn that marriage is not an evil thing, ^D but fornication is evil. But since we are conversing with many, and we say, "Why do you not live rightly, why do you not display an exact life?" he says, "How can I, if I do not renounce my wife, if I do not renounce my children, if I do not renounce my business?" Why? Is marriage a hindrance? Your wife has been given to you as a helper, not as a plotter. Did the prophet not have a wife? And marriage was not a hindrance to the Spirit; but he lived with his wife, and was a prophet. Did Moses not have a wife? And he split the rock, and changed the air, and was speaking with God, and held back divine wrath. Did Abraham not have a wife? And he became the father of nations, and of the Church; for he had Isaac as a son, and he himself became the subject of noble deeds. Did he not offer up the child, the fruit of marriage? Did he not become both a father and a lover of God? Was it not possible to see a priest coming from his own bowels? A priest and a father? Nature being conquered, and reverence prevailing? Bowels being trampled upon, and pious achievements overcoming them? And the father being released, and the lover of God being crowned? Did you not see him wholly a lover of his child and a lover of God? Did marriage hinder anything at all? And what of the mother of

^A the Maccabees? Was she not a wife? Did she not add seven sons to the choir of the saints? Did she not see them crowned with martyrdom? Did she not stand by as a spectator, like some immovable mountain? Did she not stand by while each one of them was suffering martyrdom, and, being the mother of martyrs, did she not herself suffer martyrdom seven times over? For while they were being tortured, she was receiving the blow. Nor did she receive it without pain: she was a mother, and the violence done to nature declared the power of her own virtue; but she was not conquered. There was indeed a sea and waves; but just as the sea, when it rages, is calmed, so too nature, when stirred, was reined in by the fear of God. How did she anoint them? How did she nourish them? How did she present seven temples to God, golden statues, or rather, ones more precious than gold? O soul of the martyrs, attend. The tyrant stood by, and was departing overcome by one woman. He was warring with arms, she was conquering by the power of her spirit; he was kindling a furnace, she was kindling the virtue of the Spirit; he was moving an army, she was applying her mind to the angels; she saw the tyrant below, and in her mind she kept turning over the One reigning in the heights; she saw the torments beneath her, but she was counting the prizes above; she saw the present torture, and was reflecting on the future immortality. Therefore Paul also said, "To us who look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen" (2 Cor. 4:18). ^B Did marriage offer any obstacle? And what of Peter, the foundation of the Church, that vehement lover of Christ, he who was unversed in speech and the conqueror of rhetoricians, the unlearned man who nevertheless shut the mouths of philosophers, he who dissolved the Greek philosophy like a spider's web, who traveled over the whole world, who cast the net into the sea and fished the world—did he not have a wife? Indeed, he had one. But that he had one, hear the Evangelist testifying. What does he say? "Jesus entered into the house of Peter’s mother-in-law who was sick with fever" (Mark 1:30). Where there is a mother-in-law, there also is a wife; where there is a wife, there also is marriage. And what of Philip? Did he not have four daughters (Acts 21:9)? But where there are four daughters, there also is a wife and marriage. What, then, of Christ? He was indeed born of a virgin; yet He attended a marriage, and He brought a gift: "They have no wine," He says (John 2:3). Honoring marriage, commending the fact with a gift, so that you might not abhor marriage, but hate fornication. By my own risk I pledge salvation to you, even if you have a wife.

A bad wife is to be corrected or borne. Look to yourself. If a woman is upright, she is a helper to you. What then if she is not convenient? Make her convenient. Were there not good and bad wives, so that you would have no excuse? What sort of woman was Job’s? But Sarah was good. ^C I will show you a woman both bad and wicked. Job’s wife did not harm her husband; she was perverse and wicked, and was giving him counsel to utter blasphemies. What then? Did she overthrow the tower? Did she cast down the diamond? Did she overcome the rock? Did she drive away the soldier? Did she break the boat? Did she uproot the tree? None of these things; but she was urging, and the tree was rendered more stable; she was stirring up the waves, but the ship was not submerged, but was sailing with a favorable wind; its fruit was being picked, and the tree was not stirred; the leaves fell, but the root remained immovable. I say these things, so that no one might use the wickedness of a wife as a pretext. Is she bad? Correct her. But you say, "She cast me out of paradise." Truly, the same one led you into the heavens. The nature is the same, yet the mind is different. But was Job’s wife bad? Truly, Susanna was good. But was that Egyptian woman unchaste? Truly, Sarah was modest. Have you seen her? See this woman also; since even among men, some are bad, while others are good. Joseph was good, but the elders were unchaste. Have you seen that in all things vice and virtue are not judged by nature, but are distinguished by the mind? Do not offer me excuses. But let us hasten to the resolution of the matters we owe. "And it happened in the year that king Uzziah died." I am going to say for what reason the prophet himself designates the time; since we were inquiring yesterday, for what reason—when all the prophets, as well as this one, are accustomed to narrate the time of the kings during which they lived—that custom is omitted in this place; for he does not say, "In the days of Uzziah," but "In the death of Uzziah." I want to solve this question today. For although the heat is immense, yet the cooling of the Word is greater; although force is exerted upon the wearying body, yet the vigorous soul is delighted. Do not tell me about the heat and the sweat. If you sweat in the body, you wipe away your soul. Those three children who were in the furnace suffered no harm, but the furnace became a cooling for them. When you think of sweat, think at the same time of the reward and the prize. For a pearl diver dares to let himself down into the depths of the waters for no other reason than for the sake of the pearls, the cause of wars. Although I do not blame the material, but the intemperate mind. And you, in order that you may receive the treasure that knows not how to fail, and may plant a vine in your soul, do you not sustain the heat or the sweat? Do you not see those who sit in the theater, how they sweat, and with naked head receive the sun's ray, by which they are made captives of death, by which they are made slaves of a harlot? They labor for destruction, and you are sluggish and remiss for salvation? You are an athlete, you are a soldier. Who then is this Uzziah, ^D and for what reason did the prophet express this death of his? This Uzziah was king, a just man, flourishing in many excellent deeds; but later on he came at length to pride, to pride, I say, the mother of evils, to arrogance full of tumults, to elation, by which the devil rushed into destruction. Nothing

^A is worse than arrogance: for this reason we consumed the whole sermon yesterday, casting down arrogance and teaching humility.

4. How great a good is humility, and how great an evil is arrogance? A sinner surpassed a just man—the publican the Pharisee—and words prevailed over deeds. How words? The publican says: *God, be merciful to me a sinner* (Luke 18.13). The Pharisee says: *I am not as the rest of men, an extortioner, or unjust*. But what else? *I fast twice in the week, I give tithes of all that I possess* (Luke 18.12). The Pharisee displayed works of justice; the publican spoke words of humility; and the words prevailed over the works, and so great a treasure was exhaled, and so great a poverty was changed into wealth. Two ships came having a cargo; both entered the harbor; but the publican was well moored in the harbor, while the Pharisee suffered shipwreck, that you might learn how great an evil pride is. Are you just? Do not humble your brother. Do you boast in achievements? Do not reproach your neighbor, lest you cut short your own praise. As great as you are, so much humble yourself. And attend with precision to the word, beloved. It is rather the just man who ought to fear arrogance than the sinner; this I said yesterday, and today I say it for the sake of those who yesterday were absent; because the sinner has a conscience ^B that is humble by necessity, but the just man is puffed up by his achievements. Just as, therefore, in the case of ships, those who possess an empty ship do not fear the attack of pirates; for they do not come to bore through a ship that carries nothing; but those who have a ship full of cargo fear pirates; for the pirate goes there where there is gold, where there is silver, where there are precious stones: so also the devil does not easily attack the sinner, but the righteous man, where there is much wealth. Since often arrogance arises from the devil's ambush, it is necessary to be sober. As great as you are, so much humble yourself. When you have ascended to the height, you have need to be secured, so that you may not fall. Wherefore also our Lord says: *When you shall have done all things, say: We are unprofitable servants* (Luke 17.10). Why do you think yourself great, being human, kin to the earth, consubstantial with ashes, both in nature, and in judgment, and in the choice of things? Today rich, tomorrow poor; today healthy, tomorrow sick; today rejoicing, tomorrow grieving; today in glory, tomorrow in dishonor; today in youth, tomorrow in old age. Does anything of human affairs stand still, or does it ^C mimic the course of river currents? For as soon as it appeared, faster than a shadow it abandons us. Why then do you think yourself great, man, who are smoke and vanity? *For man was made like to vanity; his days are as grass* (Ps. 143.4). *The grass is withered, and the flower thereof is fallen* (Isai. 40.8). I say these things, not as degrading existence, but as bridling arrogance. For man is indeed great, and an almsgiving man is precious. But this Ozias, being king, and wearing the diadem, since he was just, thought himself great at one time, and having thought himself great and greater than his worth, he entered into the temple. And what does he say? He entered into the holy of holies, and says, I wish to offer incense. Being king, he usurps the authority of the priesthood. I wish, he says, to offer incense, because I am just. But remain within your own boundaries: other are the boundaries of kingship, and other the boundaries of priesthood; but this is greater than that. ^D For not by outward appearances is a king seen, nor by the fixed stones that are on him, and the gold with which he is covered, ought the king to be judged. For this man received to manage things on earth; but the institution of the priesthood sits above. *Whatsoever you shall bind upon earth, shall be bound also in heaven* (Matt. 16.19). To the king are entrusted things here, to me the heavenly things; when I speak, I mean the priest. Do not therefore, if you see an unworthy priest, malign the priesthood; for one ought not to malign the thing, but him who makes bad use of the good; since Judas also became a traitor, but this is not an accusation of the apostolate, but of his will; not the crime of the priesthood, but the malice of his will.

5. Therefore do not you malign the priesthood, but the priest who makes bad use of the good. Since when someone discourses with you, and says, Did you see this Christian? say, I am not discoursing with you about persons, but about things. Since how many physicians became murderers and gave poisons instead of medicines? But I do not malign the art, but him who used the art badly. How many sailors caused ships to sink? But it is not navigation, but their bad will. Even if a Christian be base, do not accuse the faith and the priesthood, but him who makes bad use of the good. The king is entrusted with bodies, but the priest with souls; the king remits some debts of money, but the priest the debts of sins; the one compels, the other entreats; the one by necessity, the other by will; the one has sensible weapons, the other spiritual; the one wars against barbarians, for me the war is against demons. This authority is greater; for this reason the king brings his head under the hands of the priest, and everywhere in the Old Testament priests anointed kings. But that king, having crossed his own boundaries, and having leaped over the measurement of kingship, attempted to add, and entered into the temple with authority, wishing to offer incense. What then the priest? It is not permitted to you, Ozias, to offer incense. See boldness, an unenslaved mindset, a tongue touching heaven, liberty unvanquished, the body of a man, and the mindset of an angel, walking on the ground, and living in heaven. He saw the king, and saw not the purple; he saw the king, and saw not the diadem. Do not speak to me of kingship, where there is transgression. It is not permitted to you, O king, to offer incense *into the holy of holies* (2 Paral. 26.18); you cross the boundaries, you seek things not given: for this reason what you possessed you shall lose. It is not permitted to you to offer incense, but to the priests. This is not yours, but mine. Did I usurp your purple? Do not usurp my priesthood. It is not permitted to you to offer incense, except to the priests, to the sons of Aaron. After a long time, after the death of Aaron this happened. And why did he not say, To the priests, only, but also made mention of the father? It happened at that time for such a thing to occur. For Dathan and Abiron and Core stood up against Aaron; the earth opened, and swallowed them.