On Joseph and on Chastity
A Those who steer ships in the great sea, to whom neither continent, nor mountain, nor hill, nor the farthest crags indicate the land, turning their eyes to certain stars, and directing their boat towards them, save themselves from shipwreck. But those disciples of the Church who are situated in the sea of this life, turning their eyes not to certain stars, but directing the eyes of their mind to the fathers, and following in the traces of their souls with desire, are carried into the port of the same kingdom. For this reason, our Lord also published the life of those men in the holy Scriptures, that we might not only praise them as we hear, but also, by loving their conduct, imitate it. For since the Lord knew that the nature of men is philocalic, desiring the best things out of a certain ambition, He set forth the contests of the fathers as certain ornaments, so that each of us might conform himself to whatever contest he wishes. B The life of the blessed Job is the best teacher of patience; of Moses, of endurance; of David, of meekness; of Daniel, of fasting and prayer; of Joseph and the blessed Susanna, of chastity. The life of Joseph is fitting and desirable for young men, and for young women, especially those living in marriage, the contest undertaken for virtue by the blessed Susanna: for the praise of the contest is equal for both. For the former, indeed, trampled fear of his mistress for the sake of chastity; the latter despised the death-dealing threats of the magistrates for the sake of chastity. But let us first describe the life of the blessed Joseph; since he is the more ancient father; and subsequently we shall explain the life of the blessed Susanna. C The blessed Joseph was born from noble parents, and while he was still a youth, at that time when the down of the hairs first began to bloom on his cheeks in the manner of a rosy flower, casting forth the dense bloom of beauty in the yellow of his beard, bearing before him the appearance of the vernal violet in the pupils of his eyes, D with teeth like milk, with lips reddening with an igneous color, and with eyebrows spread beneath a milky forehead, connected together by the density of the hairs. But why do I attempt to describe the beauty of the youth, whom Scripture praised beyond measure when it said, *Fair in face, and comely in appearance exceedingly* (Gen. 39. 6)? He is sold because of the envy of his brothers, as it seemed to them, into slavery; but as God had predestined, into a kingdom, and the little boy was led off into Egypt, as a cheap urchin: for the buyers had not yet seen the wealth of his virtues, and knew not that because of the grace of his chastity he would rule over all Egypt, and would save it when it was entirely perishing from famine. He is led therefore into Egypt, and is sold again, yet he does not become a slave even once. For he who is free in spirit, even if he has been sold a thousand times, does not become a slave even once, just as he who is a slave in character, even if he were a thousand times given his freedom, does not become free even once; for whom his own character does not render free, six hundred parchments and black letters cannot render free. He is led therefore into Egypt, sold in an Egyptian house, loved by the master, loved by the mistress: but for the master it was a good love, for the mistress a wicked one. For the former loved him because of his modesty; the latter, because she was whipped by the goad of lust: and then, as the beauty of his form increased with the progress of time, so much the more did her uncontrollable love for him grow, and the inner fire of desire consumed her heart. And truly, while she studied to ruin the youth, she attempted everything by which the eyes of the young can be deceived, while she adorned her face like a certain meadow with manifold variety, staining her cheeks with rouge, overlaying her brow with white lead, painting her eyes with stibium, adorning her neck and hands with gold necklaces, perfuming her soft garments with various unguents: it was finally a death-dealing snare, for the deceiving of the youth through all the senses, as she thought, when she would entrap his eyes with the apparent adornment, his ears with the deceits of adulation, and fascinate his sense of smell with unguents. But see, I pray, the fortitude of the generous athlete: for I think that God permitted this temptation to be brought upon the boy, in order to both reveal the virtue latent in the youth and to leave his life to the Church as a certain greatest school. For there is nothing good done by the fathers that God has not erected in the Church like a certain pillar bearing a monument of life. Consider therefore the fortitude of the generous athlete, how many things there were that assailed him. His youth waged war upon him, lust tickled him from within, and the woman assailed him from without, blandishing with promises and assenting with flatteries: the sent-in women moved him, and adulation solicited his ears and senses: but nothing of these could overcome him. For neither, softened by adulations, did he slacken the reins, nor, puffed up by promises, did he neglect his chastity, nor, terrified by threats, did he betray the riches of his virtues: but he bridled all parts of his body with chaste thought. But when she could not in the least deceive the youth with such engines as she had at her disposal, she captured him in a certain dwelling, stealthily and violently dragging him to abominable intercourse. And so one could see an excellent spectacle, not earthly, but heavenly. For truly, Joseph was struggling in the arena of temptation; the stadium had been opened, the contests were being completed, the trumpet was sounding, the judge of the contest was watching the struggle from heaven, and a crowd of angels was looking down, bowing; below, demons were proposing prizes for the Egyptian woman, and angels were weaving crowns for Joseph above: for the demons favored the Egyptian, and the angels were conspiring with Joseph. Which of them would gain the victory was contested with much contention: the angels were much anxious for Joseph, lest the unguents of the woman might perhaps soften the youth, lest soft garments, lest appearance, lest habit, lest gait, lest hearing, lest blandishments, lest adulation might enervate the youth: the angels were very anxious, the demons were hoping for much. Joseph was struggling for a crown, the Egyptian was fighting for disgrace: he indeed for life, but she for death. What, furthermore, were the things said by the Egyptian? Partly that she might threaten, partly that she might blandish, while she might terrify the youth with threats and soothe him with blandishments. And threatening indeed she said: "I am your mistress, you have been bought with my money, you have been sold for these uses to me: and if you contradict, chains and prisons will await you, and after these, an inevitable death: but if you comply, honors and the service of bodyguards, and the rule over all my house will be delivered into your hand. But do you fear, lest you be detected? Yet you can escape the notice of both my husband and all the domestics: only comply, only assent to the deed; then you will be the master of all." Having heard these things, Joseph said to the Egyptian: "A slave, O woman, I never was; for I was born of noble parents; Abraham, indeed, and Isaac, whom God deemed worthy of converse, were my grandfathers: Jacob, however, who wrestled with the angel, is my father: for which reason I also wrestle with you boldly: for the rest, I was sold to you because of the envy of my brothers; yet the name of slavery will nothing hurt the nobility of my soul. For even an envious cloud often obscures the brilliant rays of the sun for a time, but does not darken them forever; for it is quickly scattered by the impetus of the solar light: by parity of reasoning, the name of slavery also will not extinguish the splendor of my nobility; for a little later it will be dissipated by the rays of my character, and the beauty of my nobility will shine through all Egypt. I was sold to you, I admit indeed, and I do not deny it; I have fulfilled the service of slavery fitting for you; I have not been a liar, I have not been harmful; I have been blameless, devoid of deceit, without offense, without crime; no accusation of insolence against me has been produced."
the old pearls, to bear the new. Do you see the freshness of my youth, yet look upon the grey-haired character of my conduct? Nature gave me a younger appearance, but the Law has produced grey hair in my heart. Do not be deceived, woman, you will not overcome my virtue; you will not overcome Joseph, the son of Jacob—that Jacob who, while still in the womb, tripped his brother, and afterwards was able to wrestle with an angel. Do not be deceived, I wrestle with the same struggles as my father. But you think to cajole me with promises. What is there that you can promise me, tell me, that is comparable to temperance? What kingdom is equal to it, what treasure is equivalent to it? Or do you not know that temperance is a heavenly possession, an angelic reality, a gift of God? Keep your honors for yourself; your honors are the harbingers of dishonor; your honors, which you promise, are the firstfruits of shame; your gold is a product of the earth, and the expense of it perish; but my gold is the product of God, an eternal sprout. But you think to escape notice in this matter. Are you ignorant of the unsleeping eye of God, who beholds everything that is done in darkness? And how many angels do you think are standing here now? Under how many witnesses are these things being done? Consider, woman, your husband, your brothers, your friends, your neighbors, your kinsmen—those who boast of your modesty. Consider the angels now present, and either be ashamed before them, or turn in reverence from the humans who are absent. With what eyes will you look upon your husband, whom you have resolved to plot against? With what arms will you embrace him, whom you have desired to slay? With what words will you flatter him, whose bed—so far as it concerned you—you have defiled? Remember what you promised him: how you swore to preserve your faith in temperance toward him, how you assured him that you loved him more than yourself with oaths. Imitate the turtledove, woman; for that bird, once mated to one husband, does not mix with another; and if it happens that her male is hunted by a predator or devoured by an eagle, she does not mix with another male, but remains, always awaiting the one she desired, and dies in the memory of him. Let either the fear of God, or the Law of the Hebrews, or the noble way of life of the ancients, instruct you, woman. Having said these things, Joseph saw her still shamelessly clinging to his garments and burning all the more with inward frenzy (for loves are then more inflamed toward their object when they cannot attain it), and like a noble athlete, stripping off his clothes, and casting her down to the ground along with the garments, he leaped out of the arena naked, free from the defilement, B bearing away the victory of temperance. And the Egyptian woman held onto the leaves of disorder, while Joseph bore off the fruit of righteousness. There was joy in heaven over the victory of Joseph; the angels rejoiced, the demons wept, Joseph was crowned, the Egyptian woman was put to shame; she was stung by the victory; she turned to calumny, and slandered Joseph to his own husband, attaching shame to him, saying: "Why have you brought here a Hebrew boy to mock us?" The husband was indignant, and cast him into prison. For the lamp was necessary to those in darkness, the dispenser of grain to the hungry, the harbor for those tossed by the storm, the physician for the sick. Two of Pharaoh’s eunuchs were thrown into the same prison; they saw dreams; there was no one to interpret them; they reported them to Joseph; he made plain the hidden thing. The eunuchs were cast into the prison; the result came to them according to what Joseph had interpreted. King Pharaoh saw a dream; there was no one to interpret it; the eunuch reported about Joseph; he was brought forth from prison because of the dream. And witness for me, a mystery: by a dream he was sold, by a dream he was set free. For what? He interpreted the dream of Pharaoh, the king saw his foresight, and freed him to reign, entrusting to him all authority over Egypt. Having received that authority, Joseph in the time of famine provided for all: those from abroad, those at home, friends, enemies, strangers; his father came to Egypt; his mother also, along with his father, bowed down to him. For even if she died while coming along the way, yet in her husband she bowed down; for husband and wife are one flesh. His eleven brothers also came and bowed down to him; and the vision was fulfilled which Joseph had seen: "For I dreamed," he said, "that the sun and the moon and eleven stars bowed down to me." Why eleven? Because Judas had hanged himself; for the Joseph who was sold was a symbol of Christ who was sold by Judas. Do you see how through C temperance he was justified, and through temperance he reigns in the heavens? And these things have been said for us, so that you too, by imitating the same way of life, might gain the same glory from God. But we needed to speak also about the blessed Susanna, especially since we promised—but since it is better to depart thirsty, and not to vomit forth what those who were satisfied received, having kept the narrative for another day, God willing, let us now run to the chalice of mystical instruction, in Christ Jesus our Lord, to whom be glory and power for ever and ever. Amen.
On Susanna
We are grateful debtors to you for the word, not paying as much as we owe, but giving as much as we have. For the readiness [to give] is bountiful and has been spread out to give more than what was owed; but the poverty of the word has been constrained; wherefore, we offer you little in place of many things. But if any of you should wish to extend our meager words with the readiness of your heart, we shall lack nothing of what is owed, for our readiness will supply the missing part of the words. For God, when He sees the small offerings of a poor man and the bountiful ones of a rich man, knows how to receive the honors equally; and often He receives those of the poor man more greatly; for He looks not at the bulk of the money, but at the readiness of the heart. A proof of what is being said is that poor widow who cast her two mites into the treasury; for her small offering outweighed before the Lord that of the rich who had cast in gold; because God has no need of money, but [seeks] a sincere and well-disposed heart. Come, therefore, let us too, having opened our hearts in sincerity, as if we were casting into the living treasury of God what word we possess from God, pay you the debt of the word. For I remember having promised you, on the previous day, the struggle of the blessed Susanna’s temperance, to proclaim it for the benefit of many; just as Joseph also struggled against the Egyptian, and demonstrated to us all the wrestling matches of temperance. Let Susanna, therefore, wrestle in this public theater, where God, and angels, and men, and women look on; let her wrestle, and let her teach how younger women must struggle unto death for temperance. This blessed Susanna, then, being noble by birth, dwelling in a chamber from her tender years, being comely in beauty, and practiced in a manner of devout life, when the beauty of her youth was in bloom, was joined in the bond of lawful marriage. And indeed, preserving the mystery of marriage inviolate for her own husband, she did not allow her restless eye to wander toward the sight of young and strange beauty; she did not open her ear to receive the sweet-sounding melody of harlotries; she did not permit the incense of young men’s garments to creep into her sense of smell; nor did she allow any other sense simply to be carried away, lest that which was in her heart...