On Perfect Charity

to see your face.” If Paul, who knew how to philosophize more than all men, could not endure [the absence] for the space of an hour, how shall we endure it for so many days? But he indeed, not bearing the absence for even an hour, ran to you while the remnants of his illness still remained, thinking he was applying the greatest remedy, the fellowship of your charity. For that is more useful to me than the work of any doctors, and more convenient than any consolation I could derive from them, namely, to enjoy your charity; which I pray it may be granted us to enjoy for a longer time, through the prayers and intercessions of all the saints, to the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom and with whom to the Father be glory, honor, and dominion, along with the Holy Spirit, now and always, and unto the ages of ages. Amen.

Note on this Homily

BY CHRYSOSTOM ON PERFECT CHARITY, ON THE REWARD OF WORKS TO BE BESTOWED ACCORDING TO MERIT, AND ON COMPUNCTION

Many things are circulated regarding this [charity], with Christ saying: “By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another” (John 13:35); while Paul cries out: “Owe no man anything, but to love one another” (Rom. 13:8). He said that not without cause, but to teach that the debt should be mutual. For just as we always owe nourishment to the body, and give it (for this debt extends through the whole of life), so he teaches that we must act regarding charity; nay, with much greater zeal, in that it leads to eternal life and remains forever with those who are endowed with it. For he says: “And now abideth faith, hope, charity, these three; but the greatest of these is charity” (1 Cor. 13:13). And we learn this first by the mode in which we were propagated. For when God had formed one man, he commanded all to arise from him, that we might deem all to be as one and strive to live in mutual charity. Then, he wisely provided for mutual love through trade: but hear in what way. When he filled the world with many goods, he granted to each region its own species of fruits, so that, because of the necessity of utility, we might approach one another, and by giving on both sides what is superfluous, and receiving what we lack, we might love our kinsmen. He did the same even in individual men. For he did not grant that all should know all things, but to one he gave medicine, to another the craft of building, to another something else, so that, being in need of mutual services, we might love one another. In spiritual things, too, one may see the same thing, as Paul says: “To one is given by the Spirit the word of wisdom; to another the word of knowledge; to another prophecy; to another discerning of spirits; to another divers kinds of tongues; to another the interpretation of tongues” (1 Cor. 12:8-10). But there is nothing superior to charity; wherefore he himself prefers it to all, in these words: “If I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, and have not charity, I am become as sounding brass, or a tinkling cymbal. And if I have the gift of prophecy, and understand all mysteries, and if I have all faith, so that I could remove mountains, and have not charity, I am nothing” (1 Cor. 13:1-2). He pronounces that there is no profit in religion unless charity is present. And he did not speak these things about charity without cause; for he knew—he knew plainly, as one who cultivated the commands of God—that when this plant puts down firm roots, the fruits of all goods are sent forth. For that which is said: “Thou shalt not commit adultery, Thou shalt not kill, Thou shalt not steal, Thou shalt not bear false witness” (Exod. 20:13-16), and whatever other commands there are, are comprehended in this one, as in a head: “Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself” (Lev. 19:18; Gal. 5:14). What need is there to speak of these small things and be silent about the great ones? Because of charity, the beloved Son of God descended to us, who consorted and dwelt with us men, so that, the error of many gods having been removed, and the true religion having been proclaimed, he might teach men mutual charity, just as he…

^A has done. For says the Apostle: "Tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword?" But having scorned these as trivial, he adds things far greater than these; for he says, "For I am sure that neither death, nor life, nor 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." From this it follows that nothing was able to separate that blessed man, fired by love, not heaven, not earth, not sea, not the kingdoms in the heavens, not the punishments in Hades; for he looked down upon all things for the sake of Christ. And if we examine the other saints as well, we shall find that all were pleasing to God through love.

^B Love shows you your neighbor as yourself, and teaches you to rejoice in his good fortunes just as in your own, and to bear his failings just as you do your own. Love makes many into one body, and prepares their souls as vessels of the Holy Spirit; for the Spirit of peace will not rest upon those separated from one another, but upon those united in soul. Love makes the possessions of each common to all, as the book of Acts says: "And the multitude of them that believed were of one heart and of one soul: neither said any of them that ought of the things which he possessed was his own; but they had all things common; and distribution was made unto every man according as he had need." What wall is so unbroken, fortified by the harmony of great stones, that becomes impregnable to the assaults of enemies, as the system of those who love one another and are tightened by concord? It repels even the very assaults of the devil—and with good reason. For those who array themselves against him with one another, and do not stand with him against one another, become unconquerable to his machinations, raising the brilliant trophies of love. And just as the strings of a lyre, though they be many, yet by inclining toward one harmony sound a most delightful melody, so those who are blended toward one mind emit the well-tuned note of love. For this reason Paul counsels us to be of the same mind, to speak the same things, and to esteem others as better than ourselves, so that love may not be dissolved through rivalry, but by yielding honor to one another, we may live in harmony. And again he says: "By love serve one another. For all the law is fulfilled in one word, even in this; Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself." He who loves does not desire to command only, but also to be commanded; and he rejoices more in being commanded than in commanding. He who loves desires rather to bestow than to receive a favor; for he wishes to have his friend as a debtor, rather than to be a debtor to him himself. He who loves desires both to bestow a favor on the beloved, and not to appear to be bestowing one, and to lead the way in beneficence, and not to appear to be leading the way. Perhaps some do not understand what has been said; therefore I shall make it clear by a metaphor. The philanthropic Master was about to bestow His Son for our sake; but lest He should appear to be bestowing ^C a favor, but rather to be paying a debt, He commanded Abraham to give up his son, so that by doing this himself, he might be found, not as one giving a favor, but as one paying a debt, because of the surpassing wealth of His own goodness. I know that what has been said seems strange to many. The reason is that I am discoursing about a matter that now dwells in heaven. Just as if I were speaking about a plant growing in India, of which no one has had experience, the discourse would not have the power to demonstrate it, even if I said ten thousand things about it; so also now, whatever I say, I speak in vain; for some do not understand what is said. For, as I said, this plant is planted in heaven. But if we wish, it is possible for it to be planted among us as well. For this reason we have been taught to say to the Father in the heavens: "Thy will be done in heaven and on earth."

^D Let us not, therefore, think it impossible to acquire such a good. For it is possible, truly possible, if we are willing to be sober; and not this alone, but to achieve every virtue. For we are governed by a free-willed power of choice, and we are not subject to the necessity of fate, as some say, through our willing and not willing defining both good things to be present and evil things. For this reason God has promised a kingdom and threatened punishment. He would not have done this to those bound by necessity; for there is a recompense for both things happening by intent. He would not have established laws, he would not have given exhortations, if we were held by the bonds of fate. But since we are free, and masters of our own choice, and we become base through sloth, but virtuous through diligence, for this reason He has prepared these medicines, correcting us through the fear of punishment and the expectation of the kingdom, and teaching us to philosophize. From these things alone, but also from those which we ourselves do, it is clear that neither fate, nor fortune, nor birth, nor the course of the stars governs our affairs. For if all things that happen depend on that source, and not on the choice of men, for what reason do you scourge the servant who has stolen? For what reason do you drag your wife into court for having committed adultery? For what reason are you ashamed when doing things that are out of place? For what reason do you not even bear the words when being reviled, but if someone calls you an adulterer, or a fornicator, or a drunkard, or anything of that sort, you call the matter an insult? For if your sinning is not of your own mind, the thing happening is neither an accusation nor is the thing said an insult. But as it is, both through your not showing leniency to those who sin, and through the fact that you yourself are ashamed when doing evil things and strive to be hidden, and through the fact that you judge those who bring these things to you to be insulters, by all these you confess that our affairs are not bound by necessity, but are honored with the freedom of choice. For we know how to show leniency to those held by necessity. If someone, being harassed by a demon, should tear our garment or inflict blows, we not only do not punish him, but we also pity and show leniency. Why so? Because not the freedom of choice, but the violence of the demon worked these things. So that if other sins also came about from the necessity according to fate, we would have shown leniency; but since we know that there is no necessity, for this reason we do not show leniency, neither masters to servants, nor husbands to wives, nor wives to husbands, nor...

- ^A ready present, when the whole world is there, when angels and archangels, when principalities and powers, when the trumpets sound continuously and successively, and the just are caught up in the clouds, and there is great weeping of those who have sinned! What fear, then, shall seize those who remain upon the earth? For, he says, one is taken, and one is left. For these shall be taken, he says, and these left. What will the soul of those be, when they see some being led away with great honor, and themselves being left behind with much shame? It is not possible, it is not possible, believe me, to describe such grief in words. Have you ever seen those being led away to death? What do you think is the state of their souls as they walk to the gates of death? Would they not choose to do anything, to suffer anything, so as to be delivered from that gloom? I have heard many who were recalled by the clemency of the Emperors after they had been led away, saying that their souls were so disturbed, so stricken, that they did not see the people as people. But why do I speak of those being led away? A multitude of people surrounded them, the greater part of whom did not know them. If one had examined the mind of each, one would have found no one so ferocious, so savage, so stout, who was not downcast by fear and anguish. But if, while others, joined by no bond of relationship, are punished with death, men are so affected, when we fall into heavier things, in what state shall we be, cast out from that ineffable joy and sent into eternal punishment? For even if there were no Gehenna, to be cast out from such brightness and to depart without honor, what a punishment that would be! For if even today, when many see the Emperor entering and consider their own poverty, they do not receive so much pleasure from this spectacle as they feel grief from the fact that they are partakers of none of these goods, and are not counted among the clients of the ruler, what then will it be? Do you think it a small punishment not to be enrolled in that choir? Not to be deemed worthy of ineffable glory? To be cast far away from that assembly and the inexpressible goods? But when, in addition to these, there is darkness, and gnashing of teeth, and indissoluble bonds, and the worm that does not die, and the fire that is not quenched, and distress of soul, and anguish, and tongues burned, as that of the rich man; when we wail and no one is there to listen, when we groan and gnash our teeth from pains, and no one pays attention, and we look around everywhere and no one is present to console us: in what category shall we place those who are in such a state? What is more miserable than such souls? Those whom we see bound in iron chains, and others others enclosed in darkness, we are broken, we tremble, and we do everything possible so as not to fall into such a calamity: when we are led away bound into the torments of Gehenna, in what state of mind shall we be? What shall we do? For those bonds are not forged from iron, but from fire that is never extinguished, and those who are set over us are not our equals, whom it might often be allowed to soothe, but angels terrible and unmerciful, whom we cannot even look upon, and who rage vehemently because of the insult offered to the Lord. It is not, as here, a matter of some bringing money, others food, others persuasion, to prepare consolation for themselves, but there everything

^A is inexcusable. Even if it be Noah, even if Job, even if Daniel, if they see their own kinsmen being punished, they do not dare to stand by or reach out a hand. For it happens then that even natural sympathy is taken away. For because righteous parents are found to have sinful children, and good children wicked parents (for evil is not of nature, but of the will), so that their joy may be pure, and they who enjoy those good things may not be crushed by the necessity of sympathy, it comes to pass that even this is extinguished, and they themselves join in the indignation of the Master against their own offspring. For if even now some, when they see their children become base, disown them and cut them off from their kinship, this will happen much more in the judgment. Therefore, let no one hope, if he has not done good, to obtain anything good, even if he has ten thousand righteous ancestors. For each one, he says, shall receive according to what he has done through the body, whether it be good or evil (2 Cor. 5:10). Let us listen, I entreat you, and be sober. If you have a fire of wicked desire, think of the fire of that punishment, and this will be extinguished and depart. If you desire to utter anything improper, think of the gnashing of teeth, and fear will be a bridle to you. If you wish to plunder, hear the Judge saying, Bind his hands and feet, and cast him into the outer darkness (Matt. 22:13), and you will discard this desire. If you behave cruelly and unmercifully, remember those virgins who, because their lamps were extinguished for lack of oil, were cast out of the bridal chamber, and you will quickly become humane. If you desire to be drunken and to live in luxury, hear the rich man saying, Send Lazarus, that with the tip of his finger he may cool my burning tongue (Luc. 16:24); and because he does not obtain his request, you will quickly depart from the passion. And you will accomplish all other things in this way; for God has commanded nothing burdensome. Whence then do the commandments appear burdensome? From our own sloth. For just as if we are diligent, even things that seem heavy will be light and easy, so if we are slothful, even things that are bearable will appear difficult to us. Considering all these things, let us not pronounce blessed those who live in luxury, but let us consider their end. Here there is refuse and overindulgence, but there, worm and fire. Do not look at those who plunder, but at what their end is. Here are cares and toils, there, unbreakable bonds and outer darkness. Do not look at those who love glory, but at what their end is. Here is slavery and hypocrisy, there, great loss and being burned forever. If we thus converse with ourselves, and if we constantly chant these and similar things to our wicked desires, we shall quickly escape vice, and attain virtue, and extinguish the love of the present, and kindle the love of the things to come. For what do the present things have that is certain, or what is strange and paradoxical, that we should squander all our diligence upon them? Do we not see the same things constantly revolving, such as day and night, night and day, winter and summer, summer and winter, and nothing more? Let us therefore kindle the desire for the things to come. For great glory is laid up for the righteous, which cannot be expressed in words. For after the resurrection, having received back their bodies incorruptible, they are glorified together and reign together with Christ.

^B 6. We shall know from this how great this is; or rather, we shall not know it from anywhere clearly; but being led up from the good things among us, let us grasp at least some small conception, and I will attempt to express what has been said as best I can. For tell me, if someone were to promise you, being aged and living in poverty, that he would suddenly make you young, and would lead you to the very prime of life, and would make you exceedingly strong and beautiful, more so than everyone, and would give you the kingdom of the whole earth for a thousand years, a kingdom enjoying the deepest peace, what would you not choose to do and endure for the sake of this proposal? Behold, therefore, Christ promises not these things, but things much greater than these. For not as great as the interval between old age and youth is the difference between corruption and incorruption; nor as great as between a kingdom and poverty is the difference between the present glory and the future; but as great as the difference between dreams and truth. Or rather, I have said nothing yet; for there is no language capable of expressing the magnitude of the difference of the things to be compared to the present. As for time, one cannot ^C conceive the difference at all. For how could one compare to the present a life that has no end? And the difference in peace is as great as between peace and war; and as for corruption and incorruption, it is as great as a pure pearl is better than a clod of mud. Or rather, whatever one might say, he will not be able to express it. For even if I were to compare the beauty of those bodies to the light of a ray, and even to the most brilliant lightning, I would not yet be saying anything worthy of that brightness. For these things, is it not worthy to give up money and bodies? Or rather, is it not worthy to give up souls? But now, if someone brought you into a palace, and prepared for the king to speak with you in the presence of all, and made you his guest at board and table, you would say that you were the most blessed of all; yet, when you are about to ascend into heaven, and to stand by the very King of all, and to shine with the angels, and to enjoy that inaccessible glory, do you hesitate if it were necessary to spend money, or if it were necessary even to put off this life itself, to jump and rejoice and fly with pleasure? But you, in order to attain a position that provides you with opportunities for theft (for I do not call such a thing gain), you both cast out what you have, and borrow from others, and if ^D need be, you do not shrink from putting your wife and children in pledge; yet with the kingdom of heaven proposed—a rule having no successor—you hesitate and draw back and gape after money? And do you not consider that if the parts of heaven that face us are so beautiful and delightful, how great are the things above, and the heaven of heaven? But since it is not possible to see these things with bodily eyes, ascend by your reasoning, and standing above this heaven, look up to that heaven above this one, to the infinite height, to the inaccessible light, to the hosts of the angels, to the ranks of the archangels, to the other incorporeal powers; and again take hold of the image among us, descending from above, and sketch for me the things concerning the king on earth, such as men wearing gold, and a pair of white mules adorned with gold, and a chariot inlaid with precious stones, and plates fluttering about it, and dragons fashioned on silk garments, and golden shields having eyes, and horses adorned with gold, and golden bridles. But when we see the king, we see none of these things left.

SERMON 1: UPON THE WORDS OF THE APOSTLE "IT IS GOOD FOR A MAN NOT TO TOUCH A WOMAN"

^A for he alone turns us to himself: namely, his purple garments, the diadem, the chair, the brooch, the sandals, and the splendor of his face. When all these things have been weighed with care, turn your thoughts from them back to the things above, and consider that fearful day when Christ shall arrive. For you shall not see the team of mules then, nor the golden chariots, nor the dragons and asps, but rather that which strikes horror and casts such stupor that the very heavenly powers themselves shall stand amazed: for The powers of the heavens, he says, shall be shaken (Matt. 24:29). Then the whole heaven shall be opened, and the only-begotten Son of God shall descend, not surrounded by twenty or a hundred guards, but by thousands and ten thousands of thousands of angels and archangels. And all things shall be full of fear and trembling, with the earth riven asunder and all men from Adam until that day rising up from the earth and being snatched away, while He Himself shines with such glory that the light of the sun and the moon is altogether obscured, being surpassed by those very rays.

But, woe is me, what a stupor that is, when, waiting for such rewards, we still lust after the things present, and do not think of the craftiness of the devil, who through these small things deprives us of great goods, giving us clay so that he may snatch away heaven, showing us a shadow so that he may drive out the truth, and in dreams displaying a vain display (for such are present riches), so that when the light arrives, he may show us to be the poorest of all. Since we know these things, beloved, let us flee his guile, let us take care to avoid it, so that we be not condemned with him, so that the Judge may not say to us: Depart from me, you cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels (Matt. 25:41). Is it therefore written in vain? By no means, you say; but only for the sake of a warning, so that we may repent. If, therefore, we do not repent, but remain wicked, will He not, tell me, inflict punishment? Will He then not reward the good? He will reward them, you say: for it is fitting for Him to bestow benefits even beyond merit. Therefore these things are true, and they shall entirely come to pass: but those things which pertain to punishments, shall they in no wise come to pass? O the great craftiness of the devil! O his inhuman humanity! For this thought is his own: that he may confer an empty grace and make us more slothful. Because he knows that the fear of punishment, like a bridle, ensures that we are pricked in our souls and are drawn back from vices, he does and attempts everything, so that he may uproot it entirely, by which at last we may be carried headlong without fear through precipices.

How then shall we overcome him? Whatever we bring forth from the Scriptures, those who contradict will say that it is written for the sake of a warning. ^B Truly, they might perhaps say this concerning future things, even though most impiously; but concerning the past, and concerning those things which have already occurred, it is not so. Let us therefore question them: Have you heard of the flood, and of that universal destruction? Was that also said for the sake of a warning? Did it not happen, and was it not brought to an outcome? Do not the mountains of Armenia bear witness to it, where the ark rested? Are not its relics preserved there even until now for our admonition? Many said similar things then, and for a hundred years while the ark was being built, and the wood was being prepared, and the just man was crying out, there was no one who believed: but because they did not believe the warning of his words, they underwent vengeance suddenly and in reality. And yet, will the One who inflicted such great punishment upon them not inflict a much greater one upon us? For these things are not less than the evils of that time. Then they were obsessed with illicit trysts: for the sons of God, he says, went in unto the daughters of men (Gen. 6:2): but now there is no kind of sin that is being left behind.

The curse of the Sodomites was not destroyed by the passage of time. But if it pleases, let us turn the discourse to other kinds of punishment, so that from what has passed, the things to come may be believed. Has anyone of you ever traveled in Palestine? I, indeed, think so. You, therefore, bear witness to the truth of what is said. For beyond Ascalon and Gaza, at the very latest end of the Jordan river, there was a certain region, great and most fertile, which could contend with the paradise of God: for Lot, he says, saw all the region around the Jordan, that it was irrigated as the paradise of God (Gen. 13:10). But now it is the most desolate of all deserts. For the trees stand, and they have fruit, but that fruit is a monument of divine wrath. Pomegranates stand there, offering to those who do not know them a hope of good things by their splendid appearance, but when taken in the hands and broken, they offer no fruit, but much dust and ash stored inside. Such is the earth, such are the stones, such is the air itself. All things are burned, all things are reduced to ash, except for the monuments of wrath, the signs of future punishment. Are these also warnings of words? Are these also merely the noise of discourse? If anyone does not believe in hell, let him consider Sodom, let him contemplate Gomorrah with himself, the punishment, namely, already taken and still remaining until now. This is what the divine Scripture, narrating of wisdom, speaks thus: She preserved the just, when the impious were perishing, delivering him as he fled from the fire descending on the Pentapolis (Wis. 10:6-7). This land even now stands as a smoking witness to wickedness, and in uncertain times it brings forth the fruits of trees. It is necessary, however, to tell the reason for which they suffered such things. One was their crime, grave indeed and execrable; yet one. They were carried away by an insane love for boys, and therefore they were consumed by a rain of fire: but now, six hundred times more and graver things are perpetrated, and no such fire is sent. Why? Because another fire is prepared, one that is never to be extinguished. For how— ^C

but now, six hundred times more and graver things are perpetrated, and no such fire is sent. Why? Because another fire is prepared, one that is never to be extinguished. For how ^A should God, who is just and impartial—as indeed He is—spare us when such wicked things are done? This is not the case, it is not.

8. But let us not stop here. Come, let us bring others into the middle who have been punished, so that through many demonstrations what is said may be confirmed. You all hear of Pharaoh, the king of the Egyptians; surely you know the justice he received, how with chariots and horses, together with all his host, he was submerged in the Red Sea. And that you might learn of the punishments of the Jews also, hear Paul saying: "Neither let us commit fornication, as some of them committed, and were destroyed in one day twenty-three thousand; neither let us murmur, as some of them murmured, and were destroyed by the destroyer; neither let us tempt the Lord, as some of them tempted, and were destroyed by serpents" (1 Cor. 10. 8, 9, 10). If then they suffered such things for what they transgressed, why shall we not suffer? But now we suffer nothing terrible, and for this very reason we ought to be most afraid. For we are not kept from paying the penalty, but we are kept to pay a worse one, if we do not change. For they did not know of Gehenna, and were handed ^B over to punishments here; but we, whatever we might sin, even if we suffer nothing grievous in the present life, will suffer everything in the future. For how could it be reasonable that they, being more childish, suffered such things, while we, who have enjoyed more perfect teachings and commit far worse sins than they, should escape the punishments?

Do you wish to hear their other calamities also, which they suffered in Palestine at the hands of the Babylonians, Assyrians, and Macedonians? How many famines, pestilences, wars, and captivities they endured under Titus and Vespasian? Read the book of Josephus, which he wrote concerning the destruction of Jerusalem, and you will learn of that bitter tragedy. For along with other grievous things, they fell into such an excess of famine that they ate their own belts and shoes, and things more loathsome than these. For necessity brought all things under their teeth, as the aforementioned writer says. And they did not stop even there, but tasted of their own children.

How then, when they have paid such penalties, shall we, who do things worse than these, escape? For if they were punished ^C then, why are we not punished now? Is it not manifest even to the blind that it is because the punishment is reserved for us in the future, as I have often said? Moreover, we ought to reflect on what happens now in this life, and we shall not disbelieve in Gehenna. But if God is just and impartial—as He is—why do some pay the penalty for murders here, while others do not? Some for adulteries are punished, while others die unpunished? How many grave-robbers have escaped? How many thieves? How many covetous men? How many plunderers? If then there is no Gehenna, where will they pay the penalty?

Do we persuade those who contradict us that the discourse concerning it is not a myth? For it is so true that not only we, but poets and philosophers and story-tellers have philosophized about the future retribution, and have said that the wicked are punished in Hades. Even if they were not able to speak of these things with the truth as it really is—since they were moved by reasonings and hearsay from among us—still they ^D took up a certain image of the judgment. For they speak of certain Cocytus and Pyriphlegethon rivers, and water of Styx, and Tartarus, as far distant from the earth as the latter is from heaven, and many other modes of punishment; and again, Elysian fields, and islands of the blessed, and flowery meadows, and much fragrance, and light breezes, and choirs dwelling there, and those wearing white robes, and singing certain hymns, and finally a retribution reserved for both the good and the bad after the departure from here.

Let us therefore not disbelieve in Gehenna, lest we fall into it; for he who disbelieves becomes more negligent; and he who is negligent will certainly go into it. But let us believe without doubt, and converse about it continually, and we shall not quickly sin. For the memory of such words, like a bitter medicine, will be able to wipe away all wickedness, abiding always in our soul. Let us therefore use it, so that, being well purified, we may be accounted worthy to see God, as it is possible for humans to see Him, and may enjoy the promised good things, by the grace and lovingkindness of our Lord Jesus Christ. To Him be glory unto the ages of ages. Amen.

ON THE HOMILY IN JOSEPH AND ON CONTINENCE

The learned and accurate Joseph Boevlesius, sub-librarian of the Bodleian, ensured that the very few [remnants] remaining in the Manuscript be written out and transmitted to me. For the rest perished when the leaves were torn away, as the praiseworthy Mr. Boevlesius himself warned.

The Latin interpretation, although old, is sufficiently well-composed.