FIFTH CENTURY, YEAR 407.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
OF THE WORKS CONTAINED IN THIS VOLUME LXIV.
S. JOHN CHRYSOSTOM, BISHOP AND ARCHBISHOP. Thirteen sermons which circulate under the name of S. John Chrysostom. col. 11 Synopsis of those things which are observed in the works of Chrysostom. 31 Testimonies of the ancients concerning the writings of Chrysostom. 89 Catalogue of all the works of Chrysostom, according to the order of the Morell edition, collated with this new Montefaucon edition. 117 Catalogue of all the works of Chrysostom, according to the order of the Savile edition, collated with this new Montefaucon edition. 127 Augustan catalogue of the writings of S. Chrysostom in German. 141 General index to all the works of Saint John Chrysostom. 145
SUPPLEMENT TO THE MAURIST-BENEDICTINE EDITION. SUPPLEMENT TO THE HOMILIES. Homily on the holy Pentecost, from the Spicilegium of Cardinal Angelo Mai, col. 417. — Homily on the penitence of the Ninevites, from the Anecdota of J. Maria Bandini, col. 425. — Homily on Almsgiving and on the Rich Man and Lazarus, from the Nanian manuscript in Gallandi, col. 433. — Homily on the ten thousand talents and the hundred denarii and on the forgetting of injuries, from the edition of Chr. Frid. Matthaei, col. 443. — Five homilies from the Leipzig edition of M. Guill. Theod. Maur. Becher, which however seem to be adjudicable away from Chrysostom. Hom. 1. To those who esteem riches as great things and have been rashly affected toward the splendid things of life, col. 453. Hom. 2: On Prayer, col. 461. Hom. III, on the text 1 Cor. vi, 18: "Every sin that a man doeth," etc., col. 466. Hom. IV, that the virtue of the soul is worthy of honor above all things, col. 471. Hom. 5, on the text to the Hebrews iii, 1: "Consider the Apostle and High Priest," etc., col. 479. Fragment of a homily which is inscribed: "On those who approach the divine mysteries with attention, and on those who are left behind for the dedication of the church," from the Iriarte Catalogue of the Greek codices of Madrid, col. 494.
SUPPLEMENT TO THE EPISTLES. Epistle of S. John Chrysostom to the Empress Eudoxia, that she might restore to the woman Theognosta her confiscated vineyard, from the edition of Andrea Gallandi, col. 495. — Epistle of S. John Chrysostom to the monk Caesarius, with the Italian version of D.D. Maffei, from the Thesaurus of Canisius edited by Basnage, col. 497.
SUPPLEMENT TO THE COMMENTARIES ON SCRIPTURE. "Thēōdōn," epilogue or peroration of homily XVIII of S. Chrysostom on Genesis, from the Nanian manuscript XLIII, in Mittarelli’s Cod. Naniani, col. 499. — Fragment on the books of Kings, from the Nova Bibliotheca Patrum of Cardinal Angelo Mai, col. 501. — Specimen of the Exposition of S. John Chrysostom on Job, from codex X of the Medicean-Laurentian Library, shelf IX, in Bandini’s Anecdota Graeca, col. 503. — Fragments on Job from the Catena of Patrick Young, col. 503. — Fragments on the Proverbs of Solomon, from the Nova Bibliotheca Patrum of Cardinal Angelo Mai, col. 657. — Fragment on the prophet Jeremiah, from the catena of Michael Ghisleri, col. 759. — Fragments on the Epistle to the Romans, from S. Nicephorus’ Apologeticus for the holy images in the Nova Bibliotheca Patrum of Angelo Mai, col. 1037. — Fragments on the Catholic Epistles from the catena of J.-A. Cramer, col. 1039.
SUPPLEMENT ON THE LITURGY. Prayers for those possessed by demons and detained by some infirmity, from the Rituale Graecorum of Goar, col. 1061.
MELETIUS THE MONK. Note of the New Editor. col. 1073 Meletius’s book on the nature of man, from the edition of J.-A. Cramer, collated with the Paris manuscript no. 2299, of excellent quality, and somewhat augmented from it. 1075 Index of items which are contained in the book of Meletius. 1311 Alphabetical index of the works of S. John Chrysostom from the first words of the treatises, sermons, homilies, and epistles. 1327
Paris. From the presses of MIGNE.
MONITUM ON THE THIRTEEN FOLLOWING SERMONS WHICH CIRCULATE UNDER THE NAME OF ST. JOHN CHRYSOSTOM
A So great and so ready was the faculty of our doctor for preaching, that it is no wonder if new works of his are now and then unearthed from the shadows. We have set forth in previous volumes many homilies hitherto unknown, and we have given eleven at once, which are excellent, in the twelfth volume, which have now been brought to light for the first time. Truly, some time ago we received thirteen others sent by the most renowned and learned man, Walter Taylor, an Englishman, with this note on the title page: "From a manuscript codex of about 700 years of age, which, among others from the monastery of the Pantokrator on Mount Athos, was brought to England in the year 1727, and bought at his own expense by the R. Bentley, President of Trinity College, who preserves it in his library." These homilies were transcribed and translated into Latin by Walter Taylor. He has performed the office of interpreter most accurately; I have nowhere seen a more exquisite version, so that, in the course of so many sermons, I have judged that very little, or indeed almost nothing, needed to be changed for the better.
Now it remains to inquire into each of these sermons, whether they are truly Chrysostom’s, or are falsely ascribed to him. We have already seen countless ones which misrepresented the name of such a great doctor. For many writers, in order to sell their own works, were accustomed to mark them with the name of Chrysostom; booksellers also, to entice buyers, adorned works, even if they were alien, with the name of so great a doctor.
I. Therefore, the first sermon, on Repentance and on David, the beginning of which is, "Behold, today there has been read to us blessed David," seems altogether to be Chrysostom's. The style of the holy doctor stands out here; he adds moral exhortations according to his custom; and he brings forward three reasons why God permitted just men, such as Abraham, Moses, and David, to fall into sins: the first, clearly, is so that the just might be wary regarding their own life, and not be puffed up by good works; the second, so that sinners might not despair of themselves, but, by the example of David, might apply the remedy of confession and repentance, even if they had fallen into sins; the third, because Jesus Christ, while He was alone without sin, permitted other just men also to fall into sins, so that afterwards they might be an example of repentance to others.
II. The second sermon, on those who live continuously in fasting, etc., the beginning of which is, "Fighters, indeed, on individual days," is not Chrysostom's, as anyone who has assiduously read and observed his genuine works will immediately discover. It seems to be the invention of some minor Greek.
III. The third sermon, on Temperance, the beginning of which is, "Those who apply themselves to certain disciplines." This very short homily also seems thoroughly unworthy of Chrysostom. And I believe that all who are versed in reading his works will hold the same opinion when they weigh the manner of beginning, the style, and the excessive brevity.
IV. The fourth sermon, on the Parable of the ten thousand talents, and against the Jews, the beginning of which is, "The magnificence of the clemency of our Lord," is a very short fragment torn from somewhere. I sought in vain whether it might lie among the works of Chrysostom. On account of its excessive brevity, it seems that a judgment cannot be rendered as to whether it is John Chrysostom's or not.
V. The fifth sermon, on the woman suffering from an issue of blood, the beginning of which is, "To others, indeed, other negotiations," is not Chrysostom's, but that of some minor Greek, who mixes in not a few futile things; and, treating mockingly of her who had suffered from an issue of blood for twelve years, he puts forth by divination what happened to her in each year.
VI. The sixth sermon, That this life is similar to the sea, the beginning of which is, "Those who sail on the sea," is not Chrysostom's, as any man of discerning nose, versed in the reading of the holy doctor's works, will easily discover. For both the style, and the manner of beginning and preaching, smack of a minor Greek.
VII. The seventh sermon, on that passage, "The kingdom of heaven is like a grain of mustard seed," the beginning of which is, "What is greater than the kingdom of heaven?" This sermon, full to the point of nausea with comparisons, seems to me far removed from the style of Chrysostom, nor should it be counted among the genuine works of such a great doctor. (It is partially received in the Eclogues.)
VIII. The eighth sermon, on that passage, "If any be in Christ a new creature, the old things have passed away: behold, all things have been made new"; the longest, which occupies thirteen pages, is indeed by a learned and not uneloquent man; but one who abounds to the point of nausea with tropes and figures. The beginning of the sermon is: "With great diligence, indeed." He then proceeds, and for five pages sets forth many things about Saint Paul which do not pertain to the proposed argument, and at times are ridiculous; as when, speaking of the attention of the auditors, he says: "And I see your eyelids raised like horns." Finally, he arrives at that place of Holy Scripture, "If any be in Christ a new creature, etc.," and begins as if it were a new homily. Neither the style, nor the manner of opening, nor of preaching, nor the way of concluding at the end, seems to be Chrysostom's, who has more native elegance than artificial diligence, and if he uses art anywhere, he so regulates the matter that the artifice always lies hidden. But this sermon approaches more closely to a, so to speak, "iron" style.
IX. The ninth sermon, on that passage, "This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased"; the beginning of which is, "This father, a lover of his offspring," at the beginning seems to speak of his own father and that of his auditors; just as John Chrysostom, when he was a presbyter of Antioch, not rarely spoke of Flavian, the archbishop of Antioch, at the beginning of his homilies. Whoever wove this sermon under the name of Chrysostom seems to have deliberately followed this custom; for that it is not Chrysostom's, both the style and the manner of beginning and the method of preaching persuade; which I hope those who have assiduously read the works of such a great doctor will admit. We have seen above, Vol. VI, col. 245-246, that Chrysostom the presbyter was induced by Bishop Flavian to preach in his place: but we have seen another also, Vol. VI, col. 411-412 (which misrepresents the name of Chrysostom, as we think), mentioning his own bishop, namely Flavian.
X. The tenth sermon, on the Gospel saying, and on Virginity; the beginning of which is, "He handed down no enigma." I think this long sermon, stuffed to the point of nausea with tropes, declamations, and figures, is not Chrysostom's, but that of some Greek declaimer who misrepresented the name of the holy doctor.
XI. The eleventh sermon, very short, on the Knowledge of God, and on the holy Theophany, etc., the beginning of which is, "Just as those who in corporeal vision," in which, although it is very short, the exordium is longer than the whole following discourse; and everything is so tempered that there is no one who would not judge that this little work is not Chrysostom's.
XII. The twelfth sermon, on the Assumption of the Lord, the beginning of which is, "Since by the grace of God." That this very short homily is unworthy of Chrysostom, all those who devote effort to reading and observing his books will admit.
XIII. The thirteenth sermon or homily, on the Sea of Gennesaret, and on the holy apostle Peter, the beginning of which is, "When the master is famous." These things persuade that this homily is not Chrysostom's: the style is far removed from Chrysostom; especially that dialogue of Peter with Jesus Christ, which deviates very much from the truth of the matter.