they shall have correction. — xvi, 10. “When wickedness is timid, it bears witness to its condemnation; for a troubled conscience always presumes harsh things. For fear is nothing else than a betrayal of the helps of reason.” — iv, 20. “They shall come in the calculation of their sins as cowards, and their own thoughts shall convict them from the opposite.”
Eccli. xxvii, 5. — “As in the sifting of a sieve remain the refuse, so do the waste products of a man in his thought.” — iii, 26. “A hard heart shall be burdened with labors.”
Matth. xv, 17, 18. — “Whatever enters into the mouth goes into the belly, and is cast out into the drain. But the things which proceed from the mouth come out from the heart; and those things defile the man. For from the heart come out evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false testimonies, blasphemies. These are the things which defile the man.”
S. Athanas. — When the mind turns itself away from the good, it is necessary that it should think of things contrary to it. For it cannot by any means act otherwise than by being in motion, since it is by nature easily moved.
He who has not been able to discern the snares of evil thoughts from the beginning, but has revealed their absurdity by the mutual comparison of their ends—that man has tied tail to tail, and placed a torch—that is, conviction—between them.
LITTERA Λ
TIT. I. — Concerning those who argue and dispute about the faith.
I Tim. vi, 3-6. — “If any man teaches otherwise, and does not consent to the sound words of our Lord Jesus Christ, and to the doctrine which is according to godliness, he is proud, knowing nothing, but languishing about questions and contentions of words, from which arise envy, contentions, blasphemies, evil suspicions, conflicts of men who are corrupted in mind, and who are destitute of the truth, supposing godliness to be a gain.”
II Tim. ii, 23, 24. — “But avoid foolish and unlearned questions, knowing that they beget strifes. But the servant of the Lord must not wrangle, but be gentle toward all men.”
S. Basilii. — He who contradicts seems to make himself in some way like the vain talker.
S. Greg. Naz. — They are arguers and sophists, not theologians. — There is no pleasure for the faithful in babbling and verbal contentions. For even one adversary is enough. — It is the first wisdom to despise that wisdom which is situated in speech and verbal captiousness, and in adulterous and superfluous contentions.
S. Greg. Thaum., cap. 12 (1). — Let us not inquire into the Evangelical word with curiosity, nor [engage in] very dry and endless questions and word-battles.
NOTES. (1) In many Dissertations, I show that all these chapters which they attribute to the Thaumaturge are Apollinarian, or from some other Apollinarist. And this twelfth [chapter] of this heretic certainly presents art and deceit, which he is accustomed to use elsewhere, pretending that it is not right to dispute curiously concerning the mysteries of the faith.
A spreading, by which the plain and most straightforward teaching of the faith is rendered rough and thorny. Rather, let us not be overly curious about the work of God. Let us embrace peace, let us prefer concord, let us safeguard unity, let us cultivate love, through which the grace of God is conciliated. It is not for us to know how the Son of God became man. For this mystery is great, as it is written (Eph. 5:32); who shall declare his generation? because his life is taken from the earth (Isa. 53:8; Acts 8:33). But this must be persuaded to everyone, that the Son of God has truly become man according to the flesh, according to the Scriptures, and conversed with men (Baruch 3:38) according to the likeness of us, without sin; and that He died for us and rose again, as it is written; and that He has ascended into the heavens and sits at the right hand of the Father, whence He shall come to judge both the dead and the living, as it is written. For we must beware that, while we clash with one another, some might disparage the teaching of the faith with insults, and that saying might come to pass: For your sake my name is blasphemed among the nations (Isa. 52:5).
Therefore, to inquire about God, if it tends not to strife but to discovery, is salvific.
Why do we fight with one another in vain? Why do we make war on one another, when we are commanded to love even those whom we hate? Why, leaving behind faith, do we quibble about the faith? He was born, but He was not born. He suffered, but He did not suffer. He rose, but He did not rise. Why do we go to law with the Redeemer? B Why do we demand an account of the Benefactor? Once He willed, and as He willed He appeared, and died, and rose, and is coming to judge the living and the dead.
It is better and more profitable to be an unlearned and simple person, and to draw near to God through love, than to appear learned and experienced, and to be found blasphemous toward one's own Master.
TITI. II. — Concerning reviling.
"Those who utter revilings are most foolish." Prov. 10:19. — "The glory of a man is to turn away from revilings; but every fool involves himself in them." Prov. 29:5. — "It is better to dwell on the corner of a roof, than with a contentious woman in a common house." Prov. 25:24.
"Before fire there is the vapor of a furnace and smoke; so also before bloodshed are revilings." Eccli. 22:27.
When a young child reviles you, you make the revilings a cause for laughter; and when someone who has lost his mind from madness utters words of dishonor, consider him rather pitiable than worthy of hatred. C
If someone wishes to accuse us, let us not be grieved that we hear evil, but that we rightly hear evil. D
For if we live in wickedness, even though there be no one to accuse us, we are of all men most miserable. But if we are careful of virtue, even if the whole world speaks evil, then we shall be all the more zealous. A
The Same. — If those who admit empty speech will not obtain pardon, what defense will they have who speak against others and revile them?
The Same. — If you think that the divine Apostle is to be obeyed when he explicitly cries out that revilers will in no wise obtain the kingdom of heaven, avoid chatter and the practice of simply disparaging, as it happens, those who do you no wrong.
S. Nilus. — You say that you are speaking in jest, not with the intention of hating, but as one making light and being carefree, and for this reason you cast insults upon innocent men in your cups? Then, while you jest and make light, endure the eternal punishment, and as you are being carefree, depart into that fire whose bitterness cannot be endured. B
The Same. — Let it not pain you, nor let you be tormented, when reproaches and curses are justly heaped upon you because of your sins; but rather, listen with a willing mind to the jibes that are cast.
TITLE III. — On famine, and on those who do not sell grain in time of need; and that many unlawful things are done by those suffering from famine.
IV Kings vi, 25-30. — “There was a famine in Samaria, so that an ass’s head was sold for fifty shekels of silver, and the fourth part of a cab of dove’s dung for five shekels of silver. And the king of Israel was passing by on the wall. And a woman cried out to him, saying: Save me, O lord king. And he said: If the Lord does not save you, from where shall I save you? From the threshing floor or from the winepress? And the king said to her: What is with you? And she said: This woman said to me, Give your son, and let us eat him today, and we will eat my son tomorrow. So we cooked my son, and ate him. And I said to her, Give your son on the second day, and we will eat him; and she hid him. And when the king heard the words of the woman, he tore his garments.” C
Prov. xi, 26. — “He that withholds grain, the people curse him. He who hoards grain, may he be left to the nations.” D
Joel i, 10-14. — “Lament, you priests, who minister at the altar, because the fields have been laid waste. Let the earth mourn, because the grain has been afflicted. The wine has dried up; the oil has dwindled; the farmers are confounded. Lament, O possessions, over the wheat and barley; the vintage has perished from the field. The vine is dried up, and the fig trees have dwindled; the pomegranate, and the palm, and the apple, and all the trees of the field have dried up; because the sons of men have confounded joy.”
Lam. ii, 11, 12, 20. — “My eyes have failed with tears, my bowels are troubled; my glory is poured out upon the earth, at the destruction of the daughter of my people, in the
A shedding of children, and infants in the streets of the city. They said to their mothers: Where is grain and wine? when they poured out their souls into the bosom of their mothers. See, O Lord, and consider: upon whom did you ever cause this to come? Shall women eat the fruit of their womb? The cook has made a gleaning. Shall infants who suck the breasts be slain?” Thren. iv, 10. — “The hands of merciful women have cooked their own children: they have become meat for them.” Jerem. xiv, 4, 5. — “For there was no rain upon the earth. The farmers were ashamed, and covered their heads. Even the hinds in the field calved, and left, because there was no grass. The wild asses stood on the cliffs; they snuffed up the wind like dragons. Their eyes failed, because there was no grass.” S. Basil. Hom. de avarit. — Do not at all expect a dearness of grain, so that you may open your storehouses. For he who increases the price of grain is an object of execration to the public. Do not, through the greed of hoarding gold, foster famine, nor B put off the common need for the sake of private wealth. Do not become a merchant of human calamities. Do not, for the sake of an opportunity to increase your riches, draw the wrath of God upon yourself; do not irritate the wounds of those who have been chastised by scourges. Do you look at your gold, but do not look at your brother? And do you recognize the imprint on a coin, and distinguish the genuine from the counterfeit, but are you utterly ignorant of a friend who is laboring under a lack of necessities? What then is the poor man to do? He turns his eyes subsequently toward his children, so that by bringing them into the marketplace, he may thereby find a consolation for death. Consider here the battle B between the necessity of famine and paternal affection. The one threatens a most miserable death, while nature pulls in the opposite direction, urging him to die with his children. And often having attempted it, and often having been checked, he finally gives in, forced by the inescapable pressure of necessity. And what does the father deliberate? By what means, [i.e., first], shall I sell? Whom will the corn-merchant gladly take? Shall I go to the firstborn? But I am moved by his birthright. Or to the younger? But I pity his age, which does not sense the calamities. C This one preserves the clear features of his parents; that one is suited for the studies of letters and learning. Woe to the helplessness! Who am I to become? With whom of these shall I clash? What kind of wild beast’s soul must I assume? How can I forget nature? If I hold on to all, I will watch them all consumed by the suffering; if I cast out one, with what eyes shall I look upon the rest, having already become suspected by them of treachery? How shall I inhabit my house, having brought childlessness upon myself? How shall I come to the table, which will have abundance from such a subsidy? And he, indeed, goes forth with countless tears to sell his dearest child: D yet does this calamity not bend you? Does no thought of nature enter your mind? But while famine crushes this wretched man, you, on the contrary, delay and procrastinate, making his calamity last longer for him.
A Famine is the chief of afflictions, the most miserable end of all types of death. For in other dangers, either the sharpness of the sword brings death swiftly, or the onset of fire extinguishes life at once. Famine, however, possesses a sluggish evil, drawing out the pain, a disease settled and lurking within, a death always present and always lingering. For the suffering caused by famine has often compelled many to overstep the bounds of nature, and to lay hands upon those of their own kin; and it compelled a mother to receive back into the womb the child whom she had brought forth from it. And this tragedy the Jewish history has dramatized.
B S. Greg. Naz. Orat. in plag. grand.—What will those say who purchase and sell grain? Who watch for the difficulties of the times so that they may trade, and make delicacies for themselves from the calamities of others, and acquire wealth—not like Joseph with the goods of the Egyptians, in a superior manner of stewardship; for he knew how to gather, and how to distribute grain well; but like unjust and wicked men, that they might acquire the means of others? They who say: *When will the month be past, that we may sell? And the sabbaths, that we may open our stores?* (Amos VIII, 5). They who corrupt what is just with double measures and weights, and have inclined the leaden measure of iniquity upon themselves.
Ejusd. in laud. Basil.—In famine nothing is more bitter than the cruelty and insatiable cupidity of the rich. C For they watch the seasons, and trade in scarcity, and cultivate the calamities, not hearing that *he who has mercy on the poor lends to the Lord*, and that anyone who hoards grain is cursed by the people; nor that there is nothing else promised to the humane, or threatened to the inhuman; but they are more insatiable than is necessary, and think wickedly, shutting up the bowels of God—to others their own, and to themselves—of which they have more need than others do. These are the grain merchants and tavern-keepers, who neither revere kinship, nor are grateful to God, by whose benefit they themselves live in abundance while others are pressed.
Joseph. lib. VI De bello Jud. cap. 20.—Necessity compelled them to grind everything with their teeth: and they brought to their mouths even those things which were not fit for the foulest of animals to eat. D They did not abstain even from their belts and shoes at the last, and, stripping off the leather from their shields, they chewed it.
Ibid. cap. 11.—A certain woman, with famine pervading her bowels, attacked nature herself: and having snatched her child, whom she was still nursing, "Wretched infant," she said, "in war, and famine, and sedition, for whom do I preserve you? Be you food for me, and for the seditious a fury, and for the future age a fable, which alone is wanting to the calamities of the Jews." While she said these things, she slays her son: then, having cooked the body, she eats one half of it, but preserves the rest, hidden away. Immediately the seditious arrived, and from the
A offensive odor they sensed, they threatened that they would slay her without delay unless she produced the food she had readied. But she, saying that she had kept a choice portion for them, uncovered the remains of her son. The men were immediately seized by horror and mental alienation, and stood frozen at such a sight. Then the woman said, It is my own legitimate son, and the deed is mine: eat; for I too have eaten. Do not be softer than a woman, nor more compassionate than a mother. But if you are pious and turn away from my sacrifice, I have indeed eaten one half, and let the rest remain for me.
Joseph. ibid. ch. 20. — But of those who were perishing by famine in the city, an infinite multitude fell, and unspeakable calamities occurred. For in every house, if any shadow of food appeared anywhere, war broke out, and dearest ones engaged hand-to-hand against each other, snatching away the miserable provisions of the soul. There was no trust even towards the dying in their deprivation, but robbers searched even those who were breathing their last, lest anyone having food hidden in their bosom should be feigning death. But those struck by starvation, like rabid dogs, leaped forward and threw themselves against doors in the manner of drunkards, and through helplessness would go to the same houses two or three times in one hour. B
TIT. IV.—Concerning wicked men and those addicted to excess.
Eccl. XII, 6-10. — "Give to the pious, and do not receive the sinner. Do good to the humble, and do not give to the ungodly. Prohibit giving him bread, lest he become stronger than you; for you will find double the evil in all the good that you do for him. For the Most High also hates sinners, and will render punishment to the ungodly there."
Didymus. — Exercise care with greater and more ready zeal for those who have fallen into poverty for the sake of virtue and piety, or even those who through illness or some other event are struggling with penury, than for those who have become destitute of their property because of wickedness or luxury.
S. Nilus. — Do you dare, being a Christian, to behave altogether youthfully, and to be lascivious, and to give yourself to games? Do you dare altogether to dance and leap, and to move your feet and hands according to the pleasure of the devil? How can you associate and mingle with those who are truly Christians? D
Eusebius. — Within, the priest offers supplication to God for the salvation of the world, and outside games are being celebrated. Thus, indeed, the Israelites were also playing, and destruction came upon them. For while Moses was offering supplication to God on the mountain for them, the multitude, after having busied themselves with food and wine, rose up to play; and wrath came upon them, and twenty-four thousand fell in one day.