verily said to her, "We are in desire of you, obey us: we are the elders of the people." Those who seemed to govern the people were themselves drowning. "The law is subject to us" (nay, rather the law condemns you, saying: *Thou shalt not covet thy neighbor's wife* [Exod. 20:17]); "but if you do not obey us, we will accuse you of having been with a youth." When she heard this word, she groaned, saying, "Anguish is on every side. It is better to choose death for the sake of chastity than illicit nuptials." But they, having lost the prey, accused her before the people; she, however, remained silent, discerning the reward of patience. They condemned her for violated chastity, B laid hands upon her, and she proceeded to death. The people beheld the condemnation; but God, the knower of all secrets, excited the Holy Spirit upon Daniel, who revealed the hidden counsels, the impurity of the elders, the chastity of Susanna. They were suffused with shame, and she was glorified: they in infamy, she in glory. You know what a morsel patience is. As many of you, therefore, as possess the image of patience, emulate this desire. *For he that shall persevere unto the end, he shall be saved* (Matth. 24:13) in Christ Jesus our Lord, to whom be glory and empire unto ages of ages. Amen.
ADMONITION TO THE FOLLOWING ORATION
This oration is found under the name of Chrysostom in the Vatican Codex 572, fol. 18. It is also found in two Royal codices, in the Barocci (Bodleian) codex, and in a certain Taurinensian codex. See also Lambecius, Book IV, p. 94. And it was edited by Savile, Vol. 6, p. 968. Everywhere it is carried under the name of Chrysostom; but it contains nothing worthy of Chrysostom, as anyone even moderately experienced will immediately perceive.ON THE SALVATION OF THE SOUL
Beloved, as many of you as have abandoned the vain and fleeting things of this life, struggle that you may not turn your mind back to them again. For riches pass away, and glory perishes, beauty withers, and all things are changed and dissipated like smoke, and pass by like a shadow, and are dissipated like a dream. Therefore Solomon said, *Vanity of vanities, all is vanity* (Eccl. 1:2). But in vain do they struggle with the things of this life; truly they are troubled in vain, they are tumultuous in vain, they are agitated in vain, struggling and gathering things which they will leave behind a little later: which we cannot take away with us; but having left all things, naked as we were born, we shall migrate to the fearful Judge. Even if we have scraped together all the treasures, naked, dark, miserable, sad, cast down, humiliated, contrite, timid, trembling, mournful, grieving, with face cast down to the earth, C covering D it for shame—thus we shall migrate, thus we shall rise again, thus we shall stand before that tribunal, [that] horrendous, bitter [tribunal], where there is no acceptance of persons, where the angels tremble, where the terrible thrones are set, where the books of deeds are opened, where the river of inextinguishable fire [is], where that huge worm, where the darkness without light, where that cold tartar, where the gnashing of teeth, where interminable tears, where the groaning that cannot be suppressed, where the inconsolable lamentation; where there is no laughter, but wailing; where there is no joy, but groaning; where there is no pleasure, but judgment; where there is no voice, but trembling. It is horrible to hear, beloved, it is more horrible to see all creation standing and rendering an account of word, of deed, of the thoughts with which we have sinned by night and by day. Great is the fear then, brothers, great the necessity, such as never was, nor shall be until that day. Then the angels circulate, the trumpets sound, the stars fall, the sun is darkened, the heavens are rolled up, the earth is shaken, the powers run before, the Seraphim cry out, the supernal, the lowest, the terrestrial, the infernal are deranged, the sepulchers are opened, the bodies rise again and are gathered, the judgment is prepared. Much fear, ineffable trembling, incomprehensible necessity which will be then: great is that winter, great the pain, a grave calamity, an incessant tumult, a great wailing. Hear therefore what Daniel says: *I beheld in the vision of the night, until the thrones were set, and the ancient of days sat. His garment was white as snow, and the hair of his head pure as wool: his throne a flame, his wheels a fire kindled. A flaming river was drawing before his face; thousand thousands ministered to him, and ten thousand times a hundred thousand stood before him: the judgment sat, and the books were opened* (Dan. 7:9, 10, 15). Alas! The prophet shuddered at the vision of the future judgment. What are we to suffer when we shall have arrived at the things themselves? When we shall be present, gathered together from the rising of the sun even to the going down, naked, and when we shall show to all the burden of sins placed upon our neck? Then the tongues of the blasphemers shall burn with flames, and there shall be no one who may cool them; then the teeth of the detractors shall be ground by cruel angels; then the hands of the avaricious, hanging down, shall tremble, and flayed, shall bring pain; then the mouths of the babblers shall be obstructed with fire; then the eyes of those who wink shall be gouged out without mercy. Where then are the parents, where the brothers, where the father, where the mother, where the kinsmen, where the friends? Where the fastidiousness of kings, where the power of princes, where the arrogance of tyrants, where the pride of judges? Where the servants, where the maidservants? Where the luxury of garments, where the colors of gems, where the fastidiousness of gold, where the sound of silver? Where the ornament of rings, where the shoe constricting the foot, where the silken garments, where the linen? Where the meats, where the unguents and vain fumigations? Where the recondite treasures, where the adorned beds? Where those who despised the poor? Where those who neglected those who were in necessity? Where those who thought themselves wise? Where those who drank wine with tympans and choirs? Where those who always laughed, and mocked the pious? Where those who treated servants badly, and made no account of the fear of God? Where those who did not believe divine vengeance, and lived as if immortal? Where are those who said, "Let us eat and drink, for tomorrow we shall die"? Where are those who said, "Give me the present day, and take for yourself the morrow"? Where are those who said, "Let us enjoy the present things, and see about those"? Where are those who said, "God is clement, he will not punish sinners"? O how much will they repent who say such things! How much they will lament, and no one will have mercy on them! How much they will groan, and no one will redeem them! How much, macerating themselves, will they say: "Woe! because we played the fool with ourselves; woe! because we destroyed ourselves. We were taught, and gave no heed: we were warned, and we despised: these things testified to us, and we did not believe: while we heard the Scriptures, we led ourselves into error. The judgment of God is just: for we receive what is worthy of the things we have done." Woe to us, because for the sake of temporary pleasure, we are tormented eternally! For the negligence of a short time we are plunged into eternal fire; on account of vain glory we have fallen from the glory of God;SPURIA. IN CATECHUMENOS.
A ...those who strike them, saying: "Woe, woe, that we mocked ourselves! Woe, that we destroyed ourselves! We were taught, and we did not heed; we were admonished, and we despised; they testified to us, and we did not believe; hearing the Scriptures, we led ourselves astray." The judgment of God is just; for we receive what is worthy of the things we have done. Woe to us, that for the sake of temporary pleasure we are punished eternally; for the sake of the negligence of a short time we are plunged into eternal fire; for the sake of vain glory we have fallen from the glory of God; for the sake of poor food we have been deprived of the delight of Paradise; for the sake of perishing wealth we have lost the wealth of the kingdom! In the vain age we enjoyed ourselves, but in that one, those who did not enjoy themselves are gladdened. Now the fasting are feasting, those who labored dance into the heavenly bridal chamber, those who scattered their wealth reap in exultation, those who wept rejoice eternally, those who despised earthly things have received heavenly ones; but we alone, the wretched, have been justly delivered to punishment; and now we cry out, and there is no one who shows mercy; we groan, and there is no one who saves.
That we, therefore, may not also speak such words as those foolish ones in the age to come, come let us anticipate the thief of our souls; let us run, while we have time; let us groan, let us repent, let us arise, I beseech you, from the sleep of our sloth, from the weight of our sins and our negligence; let us lift up our hands to Him who is able to save us, and say: "Lord, save us, we are perishing." Let us hasten only before the sun sets, before the door is shut, before night overtakes us. For when the festal assembly is dissolved, no one does business; when the theater is emptied, no one is crowned, no one competes. Therefore let us run; for there is need of a race, brothers, and a vigorous race, that we may arrive, that we may not also, when we knock, hear: "I do not know you." Let us be quick-footed, let us be ashamed even a little. How often do we dishonor the Master? How often do we provoke the Benefactor to anger? He does good, and we are ignorant of it daily; He has compassion, and we set [Him] at naught; He feeds [us], He provides for [us] with shelter, and we daily transgress His commandments, and we are not ashamed. Let us be ashamed, then; for the time has drawn near, and the day has arrived, and we must render an account for our whole life. Let us cease, then, henceforth from excessive luxury and shameful laughter, that we may not weep bitterly there; let us cease reviling, hating, and wronging our brothers; let us cease hoarding, squandering, and committing adultery; let us devote ourselves to prayers, to supplications, to readings, to fastings, to repentances; let us demonstrate a new life, let us confess, let us turn back; for the time is for repentance. Let us repent, let us weep, let us show God a prayerful repentance, and let us hate sin; let us suffer here, I beseech you, a little, that we may not be punished there much; let us compete before the time [runs out], brothers, that we may not be tormented eternally. The time is short, but the judgment is long, and the end is near, and the fear is great, and there is no one who shows mercy. For each one will seek the time which he spent in vain, and will not find it. B Woe to the gossip, for he will seek a drop of water being scorched, and will not find it! Woe to the disbelieving, for he will be punished eternally! Woe to the negligent, for he is going to a severe judge! Woe to those who do not compete, for they are delivered to harsh angels! The one who loses gold finds other; but he cannot find other time for repentance. Let us not spare, brothers, our own bodies, but let us wear them out, since blessed are those who hunger and thirst, blessed are those who mourn. For the body is clay; and the hour and the day will come, fearful and evil and inevitable, and it will go into the earth, and the dust becomes dust again. Let us be sober, beloved, I beseech you; let us travel [the road], let us renew [ourselves]; for the hour will come, and it will truly come, of our departure; and let us not deceive ourselves.
Let it be, beloved, that we enjoy ourselves, let it be even that we are rich for fifty or even a hundred years; and after these things, sickness and old age, and after these things what? Weakness and death, and that terrible hour which is awaited and trembled at and neglected. Great fear comes then, brothers; and it is a great thing to see a soul separated from the body; there is great necessity at that hour, when the tongue cannot clearly speak a word, when we turn our eyes hither and thither continuously, and we recognize the friends and brothers standing by us, and we are not able to speak to them. We hear those who are mourning over us, and we are not able to comfort them; we see children wailing and weeping, and we depart having their pain. And why do I speak of children? For at that hour there is no concern for children, nor for brothers, nor does any other worry hold us, except the thought of our own transgressions, and how we might meet the Judge, and what verdict we might receive, and what place might receive us. Then, as we dwell on these things, suddenly harsh angels stand over us. Then, as we behold them, if we are found unprepared, how we are about to be troubled, and trying to flee from the bed, but not being able, looking toward them with pitiable eyes and with a gloomy face, pleading, entreating, beseeching, and saying: "Have mercy on me, fearful angels and ministers of the throne of God, and do not carry me, barren and unclean, before the Judge; do not separate me, a sinner, from the body; do not, I pray, I beseech, be moved, be persuaded, and allow me a little time to repent, to groan, to mourn, to do alms, since I have spent and consumed my life badly." Hearing these things, the angels say to us: "O wretched soul, you lived all your days in negligence, and now do you wish to repent? O miserable soul, your sun has set, your time is finished; God has commanded [us] to separate you from your body. Come and be judged in eternal fire according to your deeds; for there is no longer for you hope of salvation, but eternal punishment." Hearing these things, beloved, and believing that they are true and not myths, let us compete before that hour; and even if we have been accustomed to sinning, but let us cut these [sins] away through repentance. Let us not be led astray, brothers, there is judgment and eternal punishment, fire unquenchable and a worm that never dies, outer darkness and tartarus, gnashing of teeth and great weeping, as the Lord remembered in the Gospels; for He is truthful who said: "Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away." Therefore let us fear and tremble, all who have lived in sins, and let us hasten to be found with the saints through repentance. Do not say, "I have stolen, I have murdered, I have committed adultery, and God does not receive me"; say none of these things; for He receives all, as the robber, as the tax collector, and as the harlot; only let us not despair, I beseech you, let us not be overcome. Let us knock through repentance and say: "Open to us, Lord, the unworthy and sinners; for the sake of Your holy name do not turn us away, but be moved, and do not deprive us of Your kingdom." For You are the God of the hopeless, and the salvation of all who take refuge in You; and Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory with the unoriginate Father and the all-holy and good and life-giving Spirit, now and always, and to the ages of ages. Amen.
In Catechumenos
A In the external arenas many undergo the labor of the race, but only one carries off the crown of victory; though the labors and sweats of the contest belong to many, the joy of the prize belongs to one. In this spiritual arena of the Church, however, there is one race of piety for all, but the number of crowns is equal to that of the runners. And there is nothing surprising in this; for the Giver of rewards is not destitute, but Christ stands in the midst of the contestants, accepting the good intentions of each as a race, and distributing rewards with an equal scale. For He does not prefer the powerful and neglect the beggar; He does not admit the glorious and reject the weak; He does not crown the old and despise the young; He does not smile upon the just and look askance at the sinner who runs to Him, but toward all alike He spreads the net of His compassion; to all alike He draws them into the nets of piety. For He has proposed this as common to all, and, as we have just heard, that precept of kindness cries out to all: *Come to me, all you that labor and are burdened, and I will refresh you* (Matt. XI, 28). Come, all you who in traversing this salt sea of life have entrusted the rudders of your salvation to me: I have an art contrary to the devilish reefs; I bring you a trade superior to the waves. Come, all; a great storm of sin is pressing in: I have for men a saving harbor, a pool that suffocates the devil. O calling, which denudes sin! O voice, which snatches away the entire substance of the demon! O medicine, which pervades every sick person! O gift, flowing without obstacle to those who will! O fountain, which gives drink hastily to all who thirst for life! For He says: *If any man thirst, let him come to me and drink* (John VII, 37): if any man thirst for the streams of salvation, if any man desires living water, if any man speaks according to true knowledge, if any man thirsts for piety. For Judas thirsted for betrayal, Herod thirsted for the destruction of the children, the Synagogue thirsted for the slaughter of the prophets, Jezebel thirsted for the vineyard of Naboth, Delilah thirsted for the weakness of Samson, Herodias thirsted for the blood of the Forerunner, the Jews thirsted for the Savior; but they thirsted with a thirst that brings destruction, they thirsted with a thirst that brings fever, they thirsted with a thirst that is the cause of vengeance. But if any man thirst, as Zacchaeus thirsted for my sight, as the woman with the issue of blood thirsted for healing, as the harlot thirsted for the washing away of sin, as Matthew the evangelist thirsted for the dignity, as the thief thirsted for paradise, as Thomas thirsted for the touch of the life-giving wounds, as the Ethiopian eunuch thirsted for the baptism, concerning which, burning, he cried out to the Apostle: *Behold water, what does hinder me to be baptized?* (Acts VIII, 36). Hear, O catechumen: the fount of life not only calls, but even asks: *Come*, He says, *all you that labor and are burdened, and I will refresh you*. I am prepared for the benefit of my whole race; I wish to emit a fountain of gifts like rain. Come, all; even if there are many thousands of the infirm, let them approach. Let no one think that the physician is failing while I offer a remedy to the whole world; I do not tire in healing, just as I was not slothful in creating; the world does not diminish my supply while it shares my gifts; I do not become poor when I distribute; when I am poured out I rejoice, when I am drawn from I am delighted; while I am poured forth I am not diminished; stolen away, I am pleased with myself, of which thing the woman with the issue of blood is a witness, who stole it; and therefore she was crowned in both soul and body. Come, all you who labor. Do you see, O lover of Christ, how great is the liberality of the Creator toward our race? Why then do you neglect, O catechumen? Why do you delay? Approach the Lord calling you. Do you not hear the wise man urging you and saying: *Delay not to be converted to the Lord, and do not defer it from day to day. For suddenly the wrath of the Lord shall come* (Eccli. V, 8, 9)? For He cuts off the time, while He sees the nature of men easily and in a short time changing. For many who deferred to a very short time thought that they had provided wisely for themselves on both sides, nor did they expect that they would fall from their hope, and thinking that they were meanwhile gaining a use of life, were snatched away before they could enjoy the necessities, and were delivered to eternal punishments and torments; and when they thought they were stealing a short time, they did not consider that their whole salvation was being snatched away, suddenly snatched away before old age. Therefore the Lord Christ called the death of man a thief: *As a thief*, He said, *in the night, so He will come* (I Thess. V, 2); so that, being troubled by those indefinite snares, we might not hope for a longer established time for ourselves. For that longer delay is not in our power, we cannot live as long as we wish. Therefore the knowledge of the hour of our translation was not entrusted to us, so that we might diminish the immoderate license to sin, induced to temperance by the fear of death. Let us number those who are daily carried to the tombs, let us observe how among the old a great number of youths is mingled. Why therefore, O catechumen, do you neglect the security of your soul, and, having dismissed the fear of death, do you bring before me time as a strong contestant? How many men enjoying the pleasures of life, and boasting of the good health of the flesh as if of an immutable power, were suddenly snatched into the tomb like dust by a whirlwind? And so, since we cannot define the time of life, let us not shake off the fear of death. How many negligent ones, who expected a long life, did a sudden conflagration reduce to dust? How many were swallowed by an earthquake? How many did the sea overwhelm as they sailed? How many did a chasm of the earth suddenly swallow? How many travelers did overflowing rivers snatch away? How many perished falling into wild beasts or robbers? How many did the sword of enemies harvest? How many were removed by sudden diseases? How many were led out of their country and underwent death, nor were they thought worthy of a common burial? Do you not hear the Lord frequently crying out, and announcing the nearness of the end: *The axe is laid to the root of the trees* (Matt. III, 10)? What axe? Death. What root? The life of man. Who cuts it down? The sentence of the Lord, which in cutting down cries out, *You are dust, and into dust you shall return* (Gen. III, 19). Therefore, departing from that, let us approach the Christ who calls; let us run, having been translated from darkness to light, let us run to the Lord who confers rest upon us, subduing the flesh to the spirit; let us run, let us hasten more swiftly than death; let us anticipate the angels who come to patronize us. This life is as a word; the span of life passes by like a shadow. Time is consumed, habits are not changed for the better; works go before, the judge awaits, the command urges, the angels are present, the conscience accuses. What shall we do when called to the judgment? Let us therefore love a good plan of life, let us have a hatred for the habit of sinning, let us take care for our future defense, let us obtain purity of life: for *they who are clean of heart shall see God* (Matt. V, 8): let us love the Lord’s crowns; with great alacrity let us run the race of life, having in the struggle Christ Himself as the coach cooperating: *For to them that love God*, He says, *all things work together unto good* (Rom. VIII, 28). But hear what is more wonderful: at the time of the contest the Lord fights with the contestants, and in the hour of victory B the Giver of the prize sits: He anoints for the fight, and a little later He Himself imposes the crowns; He struggles together, He gives strength to the one struggling, He provides the handles of victory, and a little later He renders the reward to the victor. Whence is this clear? Hear David crying out: *I am with him in tribulation: I will deliver him, and I will glorify him* (Psal. XC, 15). O ineffable kindness! O goodness surpassing all speech! For see what the Lord says: In the time of tribulation, He says, I am with him: I come into a share of the labor with him, I deliver him from danger. All these things I do, struggling together. Then as the Giver of the prize and Lord, He promotes liberality, saying: *I will glorify him. With length of days I will fill him*. This the Lord is accustomed to do in him who spends freely: He strengthens the hand
the poor man by receiving his benevolence. When you hear of “Christ’s hand,” understand the palm that holds the ends of the earth. He stretches out his right hand therefore in an ineffable manner, secretly receives the small coins, marks the face of the giver, accepts the good deed on earth, and prepares the rewards in heaven. And how and when does the repayment take place? When, he says, the Son of man comes in the glory of his Father, and all the holy angels with him, then he shall sit upon the throne of his glory: and all nations shall be gathered before him, and he shall separate them one from another, as a shepherd divides the sheep from the goats: and he sets the sheep on his right hand, but the goats on the left: and he shall say to them on his right hand: Come, ye blessed of my Father; for you have found the Judge to be a debtor; do not fear the throne, but run as to one who has been benefited, to him who is seated; what I have set forth for you, I bring forward—a promissory note; I do not hide the good deed, lest you be deprived of the philanthropy; I do not deny the gift; for I hasten to the repayment. Come, you who have shown the seed of compassion, I have prepared for you the harvest of joy. Say, Master, the cause. I was hungry, and you gave me to eat. Let no one therefore send away the poor man as if he were destitute; for in despising the hungry, he overlooks the Judge of the ages to come. Let us therefore acquire as a debtor him who is about to judge there. For he who has pity on the poor, he says, lends to God (Prov. 19:17). Let us strive to be worthy to be set on the right side, let us hate the loathsome kinship of the goats, let us pursue the communion of the lambs; for we have the power to choose the better part. For this reason the Judge foretold to us that terrifying tribunal there, and the severity of the sentence, so that we might avoid suffering evil by learning of the threat. Let us not pass by the command of Paul which says: Godliness is a great gain (1 Tim. 6:6). It is not subject to an account-taker (nor in the time of the Judge is it a matter of severity): he does not fear the accuser’s outcry at the throne; he does not await condemnation, but awaits an intercession; for it is an enjoyment of goods that lacks nothing, an inalienable wealth, an unending honor, an untreasured gain, a help that leads the way, a grace that accompanies, a healing of the heart, an exultation of the soul, a glorying of the conscience, an accessible apology, an occasion for boldness. Godliness is profitable for all things, having promise of the life that now is and of that which is to come; of which may we also be found worthy to attain, by the grace and philanthropy of our Lord Jesus Christ, to whom be glory and power, now and always, and unto the ages of ages. Amen.
A MONITION ON THE FOLLOWING ORATION
This short oration appears to be a fragment; nor is it something we would venture to restore concerning those things which have perished. For we are not compelled to make a work worthy of darkness public, unless the earlier Savile had published it. We usually interpret a text that is generally obscure or corrupted by conjecture.
THE WRETCHED ARE PREACHED AGAINST WHO CORRUPT THE VIRGINS OF CHRIST
A What is this for us, O miserable and wretched guides of evil desires? How do you wish to escape the hands of the living God? What will you do when he who has betrothed this one comes to judge the living and the dead? And what defense will you make, having committed such lawless deeds against the brides of Christ? Have you so despised this? Have you not trembled? Have you not feared? Have you not shuddered? Have you not spared your own souls? Do you not know that there is no other lawlessness such as this? Do you not know that the virgins are the temple of God? Do you not know that the Spirit of God was dwelling in them? Those who daily converse with Christ concerning the dowry that is everlasting and remaining for ages, and whom Paul brought forward to present as chaste virgins to Christ, you have mingled with mire and stench? B O how have you dared to corrupt the brides of Christ, being procurers of evil desire? If one were to dare to commit such things against a fellow-servant maiden, he does not go unpunished; but against the bride of Christ—so to be armed, do you then expect to escape justice? Have you not heard the Apostle saying, "Judgment is merciless to him who has showed no mercy" (Jas. 2:13)? And what then is more unpitiable than this? For with one sword you work two murders, killing both yourselves and them; for this is death in the sight of those who are wise. O who would not groan? Who would not mourn? Who would not beat his breast and lament the untimely murder? Who would not weep for the premature death? Who would not feel pain at the unjust wound? Provision and dowries are guarded under the law for the man who is joined in incorruptibility to the heavenly bridegroom Christ; and is virginity betrayed to the adulterer? C But someone will say: "I was joined to Christ by necessity, not by choice to be joined to him, but to a fellow-servant." Miserable woman, have you dared at all to speak for yourself, that even if you did not have the intention or love toward him, the Master desired you? Hear, O wretched one, and I will speak to you, and be convinced even by the things of the world. I speak of worldly matters: D If one man carries off a girl in place of another, as the equality of status is tested, the abduction is authoritative for the one who did it, and the law and the king yield to the abduction. For he did not abduct and take in order to insult, but in order to honor, and the dowries and gifts prevail. If then for men there is no change, since it follows the original purpose, what will you plead, you who were abducted by the Master beyond all expectation? For I do not call that necessity by which you were deemed worthy to be joined to the Master, but the economy and philanthropy of the Master; so that under the guise of necessity you, the unworthy one, might gain the immortal marriage that is above you. Do not therefore say, "I chose to be a virgin by necessity"; do not be ungrateful to the heavenly bridegroom, because he deemed you worthy to be taken without a dowry, ignoble, and a slave; for you are his slave, even if you do not wish it. Wherefore I entreat, O virgin, that you become obedient without any contradiction and shameful thoughts. And if you have not yet renounced the spiritual marriage, guard the covenants securely; but if you have transgressed and fallen, rise up, rise up, I entreat. For the good and philanthropic Master stands by you, who was insulted by you; he does not cast away your living together; give him your hand. Since you have insulted the first right hand, do not renounce this one. He does not disdain your wounds; for he heals the wound of the soul and the body; for he is a compassionate physician. Uncover the passion to him through confession, so that he may invisibly place upon you the saving medicine; for he did not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance. He came to you who are lying down; rise up then, take up your mat, and go into your house, that is, into the harbor of repentance. No longer give heed either to the carnal eyes, or to those of the mind upon that adulterer, the procurer of Gehenna and the undying worm. Take up, he says, take it up from there; for I do not want you to lie down. Tear apart the symbol of sin; wash yourself with tears, not in the font, but in the church; for God is able to grant you your first dignity. Do not teach the potter how he should correct his own vessel. Have you sinned? Be silent; do not say, "And how is it possible for me to arrive at my first dignity?" Do not say this, O virgin; for God is the one who justifies, and who is he that condemns? Hear the Master, how he upbraids despair through Jeremiah the prophet, saying: "Is there no balm in Gilead, or is there no physician there? Why then has the healing of the daughter of my people not gone up?" O the compassionate physician! He does not reproach for the transgression, but for the neglect; he did not say, "Why were you struck?" but, "Why were you not healed?" He did not say, "Why did you fall?" but "Why did you not rise?" That the Lord desires to present you more brilliant through repentance, hear him speaking through Isaiah the prophet: "If they be [scarlet]..."