Homily 27

to receive, it would not have tasted of the later; nor would it have been submerged along with his entire army. But he who becomes good under compulsion will never be truly good; since once freed from necessity, he will soon return to his natural bent. Let us not, therefore, demand this by saying: "What place will he receive who has done no evil nor any good?" For to do no good is in itself an evil. If you had a servant who neither stole, nor insulted you, nor grumbled, and who abstained from drunkenness and all other vices, but sat around idle all the time, and performed none of the services which a servant owes to his master, tell me, would you not scourge him? Would you not subject him to torture? And yet he has committed no crime. It is sufficient, therefore, to be considered evil that one has done no good. Let there be for us also a farmer who dissipates none of our property, nor acts with deceit or intrigue, nor steals, but who sits at home with folded hands, neither scattering seeds, nor tilling the fields, nor tending the vine, nor performing any other work concerning agriculture: will we not punish such a man? And yet he has done us no injury, nor do we have anything with which we can accuse him. But by this very thing, he has committed an injury. And in our own body, if there be a hand that does not strike the head, nor cut out the tongue, nor pluck out the eyes, nor do any other such evil, but remains merely idle, and does not perform its own duty for the whole body: will it not be more worth our while to cut it off than to carry it around idle and injurious to the whole body? And what of the mouth, if it does not consume the hand, nor bite the chest, but omits all those things which belong to itself: would it not be better to have had it shut? If, therefore, in these things, not only to have done no evil, but even to have omitted the good is considered a great injury, how much more so in spiritual matters. Would that it were possible for me indeed to wage the battle well on your behalf, and for you to reap the rewards of the deed performed, and I would never be so troublesome. For just as a mother, seeing her son suffering from a fever, standing by him as he is in pain and burning, and lamenting, says frequently: "Would that it were permitted me, my son, to take your fever upon myself, and to draw this flame into my own self," so also I say, "Would that it were possible for me, by laboring for your sakes, to perform everything well." But this is not permitted, it is not permitted. Wherefore, if anyone can correct others, let him join himself most especially to those who are about to accept the cure, and make them better; but he who is weaker, let him flee from the wicked, lest he undergo the same destruction from them. For thus he will spend his present life securely, and obtain the future goods; which may it be our lot all to obtain, by the grace and loving-kindness of our Lord Jesus Christ, with whom to the Father together with the Holy Spirit be glory, now and ever, and unto the ages of ages. Amen.

HOMILY XXVII

^A there is no profit for you in your kingship and in this great power. For when piety does not exist, even the possessions one has are lost with danger and the utmost shame; but when this is present, even things that do not exist are added. Parents, therefore, must consider not how to make their children rich in silver and gold, but how they may become more affluent than all in piety, philosophy, and the acquisition of virtue; how they may lack little, and how they may not be distracted by worldly matters and youthful desires. It is necessary to scrutinize their comings and goings, their associations, and their company, knowing that if these are neglected, they will have no excuse before God. For if we are required to give an account for the care of others—each one, it is said, let him not seek his own, but that of his neighbor—how much more for that of our children? ^B Yet you, on the other hand, do everything and exert yourself so that a horse may be suitable for them, and the house magnificent, and the farm luxurious; but that the soul may be beautiful and the disposition pious, you have no concern. And yet, if possessions are many and luxurious, when there is no virtuous person to manage them, all will be lost and will perish with him. But if the soul becomes noble and philosophic, even if there is nothing stored within, it will be able to possess all things with security.

But many parents suffer this regarding their children: not wishing to whip them, nor to rebuke them with words, nor to grieve their own sons as they live disorderly and lawlessly, they have often seen them caught in the most disgraceful acts, dragged to court, and beheaded by the executioners. For when you do not train, when you do not discipline, having mingled himself with polluted and corrupted men, and having shared in their wickedness, he is brought under the common laws and is punished while all look on; and along with the misfortune, the shame becomes greater, with everyone pointing their fingers at the father after the former's execution, and making the marketplace inaccessible to him. For with what eyes will he be able to look at those who meet him after such disgrace and misfortune of his son? ^C How is it not absurd, when your son is energized by a demon, that you run to all the saints, and trouble those who dwell on the mountain tops, so that he might be released from that madness; yet when he is continually vexed by sin—which is more grievous than any demon—you do nothing more? And yet, to be vexed by a demon is not at all grave; for the demon is not entirely able to cast one into Gehenna; but if we are sober, this trial will bring us brilliant and manifest crowns, when we bear such insults with thanksgiving; but it is impossible for the man living in sin to ever be saved, but it is necessary that he be both despised here, and upon departing, be punished there forever.

And what excuse will you have then? Did I not, He says, settle the child for you from the beginning? Did I not set you over him as teacher, protector, curator, and lord? ^D Did I not put all his authority into your hands? Did I not command you to mold and regulate him while he was tender? What excuse, then, do you have, if you look on as he leaps away? For what would you say? That he is unruly and rough? But from the beginning, when he was easy to lead and very young, you ought to have seen all these things, to have reined him in, to have disciplined him with exactness, to have regulated him toward what is necessary, and to have checked the movements of his soul when the work was easier; you ought to have cut out the thorns when, the age being softer, they were more easily pulled up; and the passions, had they not been neglected and allowed to grow, would not have become difficult to manage. What defense could we have to speak, when God, whenever we are insulted by them, does not even spare their lives; for He says, *He who speaks evil of father or mother, let him die the death (Exod. 21. 17)*; but when He is insulted by them, do we not even endure to be indignant with them? I, He says, do not even ask that you kill the one who insults you; yet do you not endure even to sting with a word the one who tramples upon My laws? And where are these things worthy of pardon? Let us not, therefore, neglect our children, knowing that if they are well-disposed toward God, they will also be reputable and brilliant in the present life. For everyone respects and honors the man who lives with virtue and gentleness, even if he is poorer than all; just as they turn away from and hate the wicked man, even if he possesses much wealth; for those who neglect their children, even if they are otherwise gentle and moderate, will undergo the ultimate punishment for this sin.

And if you wish to know clearly that even if all our own affairs are well-managed, yet we neglect the salvation of our children, we will pay the ultimate penalty, attend with exactness to what is said: A certain priest existed among the Jews, a man who was otherwise moderate and gentle; Heli was his name: he became the father of two sons, and seeing them walking toward wickedness, he did not check or prevent them, or rather, he did check and prevent them, but did not do this with all diligence; he did not impose punishment, but tried by words and exhortations to lead them away from this wickedness; and he would continually say such words to them: "Do not, my children, do not act thus, for the report which I hear about you is not good." And yet, these steps were sufficient to recover them; but nevertheless, because he did not show the whole duty as he ought, he made God an enemy both to himself and to them; and having spared his children untimely, he lost his own salvation along with the children. Yet even so, you are ashamed, tell me, when the judge punishes your son and makes him more sober, and he requires an external correction, having lived with you for so long from the beginning? Do you not cover your face and vanish? Do you dare at all, tell me, to still be called a father, having thus betrayed your son, and not having brought to him the necessary support, but having looked on as he was corrupted by every wickedness? And if you see some runaway slave striking your child, you are indignant and angry and distressed, and you leap upon the sight of the one who struck him more fiercely than a wild beast; but when you see the devil everyday striking him, and demons leading him into sins, do you sleep, and are you not indignant?

^A

He indeed rendered both himself and others enemies of God; and because he spared his sons out of season, he destroyed both their salvation and his own. And besides, apart from the negligence in correcting his sons, God had nothing else to reproach the old man with. But if God so severely overthrew one who was a lesser sinner together with his entire house, will He send away those who have sinned more gravely unpunished? For if that priest, that elder, that noble man, who for twenty years had already presided over the Hebrew nation without fault, had nothing that could deliver him; but because he did not take exact account of his sons, he perished most miserably, and the guilt of this negligence overwhelmed all those [deeds] like a certain immense wave, and obscured all his righteous acts: what punishment will await us, who are far removed from his virtue, and not only do not look out for our own children, but also act more cruelly toward them than any barbarian? For just as one cannot flee to a defense and forgiveness for one’s own sins, so neither can parents for the delinquencies of their children; and rightly so. For if sin were innate in men by nature, one might rightly flee to a defense; but since we are both evil and good by choice, what plausible reason can he offer who permits his most beloved to be perverted and to become wicked? ^B Do not, therefore, leave riches for your children in such a way that you abandon virtue. For it is the extreme of foolishness not to make them masters of all wealth while they are alive, but to provide great license to their youthful [years] when they are dead. For while we are still living, we shall be able to demand accounts from them, and punish and restrain those who have used their means badly; but if, when we are dead, we suggest license along with the solitude of our own absence and their youth, we shall drive those miserable and wretched ones into infinite precipices. Do not, therefore, consider that we should leave them wealthy, but that we should leave them endowed with virtue. For if they have confidence in riches, they will care for nothing else, as those who can easily obscure their moral depravity with the abundance of money; but if they see themselves stripped of this consolation, they will strive for all [things], that they might obtain from virtue a great consolation for their poverty. Let us not, therefore, enter into private or public business before we have rightly formed their souls. If you yourselves educate your children well, they too will instruct theirs, and these again will teach their own; and so, proceeding until the advent of Christ, the thing will bring the entire reward for this to those who provided the root. For if you have educated your son well, so also will he [do for] his son, and he for his; and like a certain chain and series, an excellent life will always proceed, starting from you as the origin and root, and it will bring forth for you the fruits of the care taken for your descendants. Those fathers who neglect the moderation and temperance of their children are the murderers of their children; and they are more cruel to them for this reason, because this matter tends toward the ruin and death of the soul. Therefore, just as if you see a horse being driven toward a precipice, you insert the bit, and pulling back the reins, you restrain it by force, and whip it often—which is indeed a punishment, but still the mother of salvation—so ^C also act with your children when they commit faults: bind the sinner until you have placated God; do not send him away released, do not let him depart anymore to be bound by the wrath of God. For if you bind him, God will no longer bind him; but if you do not bind him, unspeakable bonds await him. "But he has paid the penalty," you say, "for a sufficiently long time." How long, tell me? One year, two, or three? But I do not seek the length of time, but the amendment of the soul. Show me this, then, if he is contrite, if he is changed, and the whole thing is finished; but if not this, time is of no use. For we do not seek whether the wound has been bound up often, but whether the binding has been of any use; and if indeed it has helped in a short time, let it be applied no more; but if it has brought no utility, let it be applied even after ten years. And let this be the limit, by which the bound one is released: namely, his own benefit. For nothing so commends one who holds authority as love for his subjects. For it is not only generation that makes a father, but also the love that follows generation. And if, where there is nature, affection is necessary, much more [is it] where there is grace. And you, O child, serve those who begot you as a servant. For what will you pay back to them, such as they [did] for you? For to beget them in turn is not possible. But even if a father reproaches your brother, be angry also with him; either as one concerned for your brother, or as one sympathizing with your parent. For if he who sinned sees that he is rebuked by the father, but has you as one who flatters him, he becomes lazier; and you, meanwhile, bring upon yourself not only damage to him, but also vengeance. For whoever prevents a wound from being treated, to him is due no less punishment than to him who inflicted it; nay, even greater. For it is not the same thing to wound, and to stand in the way so that what is wounded is not healed; for this brings about total death, whereas that does not entirely kill. Let us not, therefore, despise our parents; and if we should by chance despise them, fearing the magistrates, let us be altogether more reasonable; but if we spurn even these as ungodly, we shall never be able to escape the rebuke of conscience. But if we make little of this too and reject it, let us be better by fearing at least the opinion of men; but if we do not fear even this, the impending fear of the laws themselves will be able to amend us even against our will. For just as while the wicked are punished, others are corrected; so also while some perform something with praise, many are incited to an equal emulation. And a child indeed, so long as he is ruled by a terrible master, although he may conduct himself temperately and modestly, although he may live peacefully, yet that is nothing wonderful; for all impute that moderation of the adolescent to the fear of the pedagogue; but if, when that necessity has been removed, he remains in the same gravity of character, then all indeed ascribe the temperance of the earlier age to himself. Therefore it is necessary to seek and desire masters rather than fathers: for by the former it happens only to live, but by the latter [it happens to] live well. And do not glory that you have gotten a holy father: for this very thing will condemn you more, if, having a domestic example of nobility, you have acted toward yourself as unworthy of the virtue of your ancestors. It is a great good to have the hope of salvation in one’s own righteous deeds: for no friend will ever help there. For "if here," he says,

well-constituted, corrupted. He rose up at one time against his father, and having cast him out of his kingdom, his house, and his country, he seized everything in his stead; a man who neither respected nature, nor upbringing, nor age, nor things past, but was so utterly cruel and inhuman—a beast rather than a man—that he broke through all these barriers, leaped with shamelessness upon the very laws of nature, and filled everything with disturbance and turmoil. For if he did not wish to respect [him] as a father, yet he ought to have done so as an old man; and if he neglected his gray hairs, he ought to have been ashamed of him as a benefactor; and if not even so, [he should have respected him] as one who had done no wrong. ^A But the love of dominion cast out all this modesty and made the man a beast. And this blessed [father], who had begotten and nurtured him, wandered like a vagabond and an exile through the wilderness, like some displaced person in a foreign land, being punished by the evils ensuing therefrom; while he wallowed in his father's goods.

Things being in this state, and the camps being arrayed with him, and the cities being under the tyrant, a certain Hushai, a gentle man and a friend to David, remained, keeping his friendship toward him in the change of these times; and having seen him suddenly wandering through the wilderness, he rent his tunic, cast ash upon himself, sighed, and cried aloud a bitter and pitiful cry; and since he could do nothing [else], he brought as a solace that which comes from tears. For he was not a friend of the times nor of the power, but of virtue; therefore, when the rule had been overturned, he did not change his friendship. ^B Accordingly, David, seeing him doing these things, says to him: "Though you are a friend and sincerely disposed toward us, it profits us nothing; but what must be devised and considered so that our dire straits may be resolved, and I may find some way out of these calamities?" Having said this, he suggests a plan to him, such as this: "Go," he says, "to my son, and putting on the guise of a friend, scatter his counsels for me, and make the counsel of Ahithophel void." For this Ahithophel had gained control over the tyrant at that time, having ingratiated himself, and he was formidable in military matters, and formidable in strategizing for war and battle; wherefore David feared him more than the tyrant; so formidable was the man in his judgments. ^C Having heard this, Hushai was persuaded, and he reasoned nothing faint-hearted, nor unmanly; nor did he say: "What if I am caught? And what if my guise is stripped away and exposed? And what if the drama of this hypocrisy is detected? Ahithophel is formidable; perhaps he will expose even this and make it manifest, and I shall perish in vain and for nothing." Having considered none of these things, he leaped into the camp, having cast his all upon God, and let himself into the midst of the dangers. And when he stood by the city, seeing the tyrant riding up, he approached; but he, seeing him suddenly and being drunk with the love of rule, did not examine his circumstances accurately, but mocking and reproaching him, "Go," he says, "with your companion"—not even enduring to speak the name of the father, in the midst of great hatred. ^D What then does Hushai, undisturbed and untroubled, say? "When God was with him, I was minded to be with him; since He now stands with you, it is fitting to serve your interests." This puffed up the tyrant and made him swell, and without examining anything accurately (for a light man believes every word, and, having been overturned by the opposing [forces], he at once brings him into his intimate circle, and enrolls him among his foremost friends. But God was managing everything, being present and acting as strategist in what was happening. And then, a council having been proposed concerning the war, and some suggesting one thing and others another as to whether it was necessary to attack immediately or to delay a little, the formidable Ahithophel, having come forward, skilled in advising and bringing forth a judgment, suggested this counsel: "Let us attack," he says, "your father, who is now wretched and confounded, and by not granting him even a little [time], let us thus consume him; for if we attack him while he is now unprepared, there will be no labor for us." Hearing this, the tyrant calls also Hushai, who had defected to him by hypocrisy, and says: "Let us share our counsel with him also"; which was not according to human logic—to honor this man who had come suddenly in such a way and deem him worthy of trust, so as to deem him worthy of counseling even on such matters; but as I said before, when God acts as strategist, even difficult things become easy. 653 ^A And Hushai is brought in, and the tyrant gives him leave to speak, and bids him say what occurs to him.

What then does Hushai [say]? "Never," he says, "has Ahithophel so erred." Do you see the man's wisdom? He does not cast his judgment at him immediately, but with a eulogy. For having praised him first, as one who had counseled aptly in former times, he thus degrades the present judgment; as if to say: "I marvel how he has now erred; for this reasoning does not seem to me to be profitable. For if we attack now, your father, like some bear goaded to madness, full of rage and despairing of his own life, fighting with his anger at its height, will have no regard for his own safety, and will fall upon us with great vehemence; but if we should yield a little, we will attack with greater preparation, and with greater safety, and without toil, and with all ease, having taken him as if in a dragnet, we will thus return." Absalom praises this counsel and affirmed it to be more profitable for him. ^B Hushai said these things, wishing to give time to David, so that he might stand a little and catch his breath and gather armies. Thus, therefore, having cast out the counsel of Ahithophel, by way of certain secret men he sent word to David, and [told him] that the tyrant had ratified his [Hushai's] counsel, which was bringing victory to David. And so it even came to pass. For since those around the tyrant gave a little space, David, having made preparation, attacked, and set up the trophy. Which Ahithophel, seeing from his own great wisdom and formidable ability, and already perceiving the end from there, that this counsel was destruction for Absalom, not enduring the ruin resulting from it, went away, tied a noose, and hanged himself, and thus ended his life. ^C Therefore, concerning Ahithophel and Absalom, it is said: "His labor shall return upon his own head"; for the punishment descended upon the head of both. For the one, having used a noose, thus ended his life; but Absalom did not hang himself, but was hanging against his will, and he was not destroyed immediately, but, as in a court of law, he was first suspended and nailed to the wood, and with God bringing down the verdict from above, he hung for a long time, being scourged thereafter by his conscience.