and will say, "If God wills it." For if you surrender yourself to sleep and sloth, and do not put forth good works, but merely cite the will of God, you will never obtain any of those things of which you have need. For, as I was saying, God never compels or forces anyone; rather, He desires that all should be saved, yet He imposes necessity upon no man, just as C Paul also says: "Who wills that all men should be saved, and come to the knowledge of the truth." How is it then that not all are saved, if He wills that all should be saved? Because not everyone's will follows His will, and He forces no one. Thus also He says to Jerusalem: "Jerusalem, Jerusalem, how often would I have gathered thy children together, and ye would not?" What then? "Behold, your house is left unto you desolate." Do you see that even if God wills to save us, if we are unwilling to approach, we remain in destruction? For God is not prepared to save a man against his will or unwillingly—as I often repeat—but rather a willing and choosing man. Indeed, men desire to rule and command their servants whether the servants will it or not, looking not to the utility of their servants, but to their own advantage; but God, who is in need of no one, when He desires to show you that He is in need of nothing of ours, and that He does not seek our servitude, but looks only to our advantage, and that He does nothing for His own use, but for our benefit: unless we approach spontaneously and willingly, rendering Him thanks for the servitude, He never compels or forces those who are unwilling and resistant; so that He may show that it is not He who is granted the favor of service by us, but we who are going to have the favor of His lordship. Knowing this, therefore, and considering the mercy of the Lord, let us exhibit a manner of life worthy of His bounty, as much as we are able, so that we may also obtain the kingdom of heaven: which may we be granted to share, by the grace and love of our Lord Jesus Christ, to whom be glory and authority, together with the Father and the Holy Spirit, now and always, and unto ages of ages. Amen.
REPREHENSION OF THOSE WHO WERE ABSENT, AND COHORTATION TO THOSE PRESENT TO CARE FOR THEIR BRETHREN; AND ON THE PROEMIUM OF THE EPISTLE TO THE CORINTHIANS, "PAUL, CALLED," AND CONCERNING HUMILITY
When I turn my eyes to your scarcity and see our flock diminished in the individual assemblies, I both mourn and rejoice: I rejoice indeed because of you who are present; but I mourn because of those who are absent. For you are truly worthy of praise, in that not even this small number has made you more negligent; but they are liable to charges, whom not even your zeal could stir to greater readiness of soul. Therefore I pronounce you blessed, and deem you worthy of emulation, because the negligence of those others has harmed you in nothing; but I pronounce them miserable, and pursue them with tears, because your zeal could in no way aid them. For they have not heard the prophet saying: "I have chosen to be an abject in the house of God, rather than to dwell in the tabernacles of sinners" (Ps. LXXXIII, 11). He did not say, "I have chosen to dwell in the house of my God," nor to abide, nor to enter; but, "I have chosen to be an abject." Even if I am numbered among the last, I count it good, I am content in this, even if I [144]
A am deemed worthy to stand at the doors. I regard it as the greatest gift, even if anyone should count me among the last in the house of my God. Desire makes the common Master one’s own; for such is love. "In the house of my God." He who loves not only desires to see the beloved, but also the house of the one, [not only the house], but also the gate; not only the gate of the house, but even the very alley and the street; and if he sees a garment, if he sees a sandal of the beloved, he thinks he sees the beloved himself. Such were the prophets; because they did not see God, the incorporeal, they saw the house, and through the house they imagined His presence. "I have chosen to be an abject in the house of my God, rather than to dwell in the tabernacles of sinners." Each place, each plot of land, in comparison with the house of God, is a tabernacle of sinners—whether you speak of a court of justice, or a senate house, or anyone’s private home. For even if prayers occur there, even if there are supplications, yet there must needs be contentions, and fights, and railings, and gatherings concerning worldly cares. But this house is free from all these; and for this reason, those are tabernacles of sinners, but this is the house of God. And just as a harbor, freed from winds and waves, provides great safety for the ships that moor there, so too the house of God, as if snatching those who enter from some storm of external affairs, provides for them to stand in much peace and safety, and to listen to the divine oracles. B This place is a ground for virtue, a school of philosophy—not only during a gathering, because there is a hearing of the Scriptures and spiritual instruction, and a council of venerable Fathers; but also for all the rest of the time. Step onto the threshold only, and straightway put off worldly cares. Enter within the doors, and a certain spiritual breeze surrounds your soul. This silence leads to holy awe, and teaches one to philosophize; it lifts up the mind, and does not permit one to remember present things; it transports you from earth to heaven. And if, even without a gathering, the gain of being present here is so great—when prophets cry out from everywhere, when apostles preach the gospel, when Christ stands in the midst, when the Father accepts what is being done, when the Holy Spirit provides His own gladness—how great a benefit do those who are present go away with! And what great loss do those who are absent incur! I wished to know where they spend their time who slight the gathering, what has held them back and led them away from this sacred table, and what their discourse is about. Or rather, I know clearly; for they are either speaking about strange and ridiculous things, or they are fixed upon worldly cares; but the leisure of both is stripped of forgiveness, and holds ultimate punishment. And concerning the former, there is no need of words or of proof. But that even those who put forward to us the affairs of their household, and speak of the unbearable necessity from there, that not even they can obtain forgiveness, being called here once a week, and not even then deigning to prefer spiritual things to earthly ones, is clear from the Gospels. For those indeed who were invited to the spiritual [146] wedding put forward these same excuses: one that he had bought a yoke of oxen, another that he had bought a field, another that he had taken a wife; but they were punished nonetheless. The causes are necessary; but when God calls, they have no defense; for after God, all things are to us secondary. After His honor, then let the other things enjoy [our] zeal. For what servant, tell me, before he fulfills his master’s service, will ever give heed to the things in his own house? How then is it not absurd, in the case of a man, where the lordship is merely a name, to provide so much reverence and obedience to masters, while the true Master—not only of us, but of the powers above—we do not deem worthy of the same treatment as our fellow-servants? Would that it were possible for you to have entered into their conscience, and then you would have seen clearly how many wounds they had, how many thorns they held. For just as land, not enjoying the hands of laborers, becomes waste and runs to weeds; so too a soul, not enjoying spiritual instruction, sends forth thorns and thistles. For if we, who every day partake of the hearing of the prophets and apostles, scarcely hold back anger, scarcely bridle our temper, scarcely restrain desire, scarcely cast out the wasting away of envy—singing continuous incantations from the divine Scriptures over our passions, and scarcely subduing the shameless beasts; those who never enjoy this medicine, nor obey this divine philosophy, what hope of salvation will they have, tell me? I wished I could show to your eyes their soul, and you would have seen it filthy, parched, cast down, humiliated, and without boldness. For just as bodies that do not enjoy the baths are full of filth and much crust; so too the soul, not enjoying spiritual instruction, has much stain of sin lying upon it. For the spiritual place here is a bath, wiping away every filth with the heat of the Spirit; nay, rather, the fire of the Spirit [does] not only wipe away filth, but [also] the dye. For, "If your sins," He says, "be as scarlet, I will make them white as snow" (Isa. 1. 18). And even if, He says, the filth of sins has bitten into the essence of the soul with the same precision, so as to become a fixed condition of dye, and even so I am able to turn it to the opposite quality; for it is enough to nod, and all sins disappear. C 2. I say these things not for you to hear—for you do not need these medicines, thanks to the grace of God—but that they might learn through you. D And if I were able to know the places where they gather, I would not have troubled your love; but since it is impossible for me, being one, to know such a multitude, I entrust to you the healing of your brethren; take care of your own brethren, draw them, call them. I know that you have often done this; but it is nothing to have done it often, but to do it until you persuade and drag [them] in. I know that you have troubled them, that you were often considered burdensome, that you…
have been neglected, but let Paul console you, who says, "Charity believes all things, hopes all things, charity never fails." Even if he does not accept the cure, you have your reward from God. For if you cast seed into the earth and it produces no stalks, you must of necessity depart with empty hands; but it is not like that in the soul. But you, indeed, scatter the teaching, and even if she has resisted your words, you have nevertheless the entire reward, and no less than if she had been persuaded; for God does not attend simply to the outcome of things, but to the intention of those who labor, when He is accustomed to determine prizes. A I therefore exhort you that you do what those who are mad for the sights of the theaters do, and in the contests of horses, that you too do this. But what do they do? From the very evening they come together, and they meet with one another, and they arrive at the houses of others at dawn, and they designate other places for themselves, so that, gathered together, they may ascend with greater pleasure to that satanic spectacle. Just as those put forth diligent effort for the health of their soul that is harmful, and lead one another along, so you have a care for your souls, and keep one another; and when the time for the gathering is near, go to the house of your brother, and wait outside the porch, and detain him as he comes out; and even if he is urged by countless necessities, do not permit him, nor allow him to attack any secular business before you have brought him to the church and persuaded him to take part in the entire gathering; and even if he contends, even if he contradicts, even if he presents countless excuses, do not believe him, nor yield, but by saying and teaching that it will be that then for him the rest will be rendered more easy and expedient, when the gathering is complete, after he has been a participant in the prayers, and has received the blessings of the Fathers, then he will hasten to those [things]; and when with these and more other words you have bound him, lead him to this sacred table, so that you may obtain a double reward, both for your own arrival and for his. B Assuredly, if we shall have applied so much study and so much diligence toward hunting and drawing in those who are more negligent, we shall attain salvation. For however negligent they may be, and impudent, and cruel, revering the persistence of your purpose, they will at length desist from their negligence. For they are not more harsh than that judge who did not know God, nor did he reverence men, however much they are hard and stupid; yet the constant persistence of one widowed woman moved that cruel, savage, iron, adamant [judge] (Luc. 18:2-5). C What then shall we be worthy of, if, when a widowed woman was able to bend a cruel judge who neither feared God nor reverenced men, and compel him to confer a benefit, we shall not have been able to draw in our brothers, who are much more tolerable than that one and much more modest, while we are exhorting them to take hold of their own advantages? These things I have said often, and I will not cease saying them until I see those who are ill, healthy. I seek them every day until by your efforts I find them. I also strive exceedingly with you, that you should seek out those who are more negligent with the same pain of soul with which these things are now spoken by me. For Paul, not only to me but also to you, commanded that you have care for your members. "Console," he says, "one another in these words, just as you also do," and again, "Build one another up" (1 Thess. 5:14). For a great reward awaits those who are solicitous for their brothers, and the greatest punishment hangs over those who worry little or nothing for their salvation. D
Concerning the fact that we ought not to be negligent of our own salvation; and that in the reading of divine Scripture there is need of study and search; and concerning the name, Paul.
Wherefore I greatly trust and believe that you will perform the things which we have said with great alacrity of soul; for which reason, making here an end of exhorting, I will try to lead you to the table of Paul. "Paul, called apostle" — these things have been read by us; but it is necessary not just to read, but also to understand what is said; otherwise no gain from the reading will come to us. Indeed, if a treasure is trodden upon from above, it does not show its riches; but it must be dug up first, and after you have gone down inside, then you will find all the gain; so too it happens in the Scriptures; reading alone is not sufficient to indicate the secret treasures of goods, unless you scrutinize the depth. If reading were sufficient, would Philip not have said to the eunuch: "Do you think you understand what you read?" (Act. 8:30)? If reading were sufficient, Christ would not have said to the Jews: "Search the Scriptures" (Joan. 5:39); but he who searches does not stop at the surface, but descends as far as the depth itself. For in the very beginning I perceive a sea of meanings. And in secular epistles, indeed, greetings are made in any way, merely rendering honor and respect; here, however, it is not so, but the beginning overflows with much wisdom. For it is not Paul who is speaking, but Christ who moves his soul. "Paul, called." This name, Paul, is indeed one and a naked name; but it has as much of a treasure of meanings hidden [within it], as you have found by experience. For if you remember, you know that I spent three whole days discussing this name alone, while I brought forth the reasons for which, when he was previously called Saul, he was then called Paul, and for what reason he did not immediately upon being turned to the faith receive this appellation, but for a long time retained the name which his parents had imposed upon him from the beginning; and we demonstrated much of the wisdom and providence of God from it, both toward us and toward those holy ones. For if men do not impose names upon their children rashly, but borrow them either from a father, or from a grandfather, or from other ancestors; much more did God not impose appellations upon His servants without cause, nor without any reason, but with greater judgment and wisdom. Indeed, men, for the honor of the departed, or for their own consolation, often call their sons by the names of the dead, and by that means, through the appellation of their children, they devise for themselves a solace for the grief which they suffered from the demise [of their loved ones].A Peter was truly called by name because of his virtue, and in that name the Lord established an argument and proof of the firmness of his faith, so that he might possess, as if from a master, an appellation of such firmness. By the scale of the loudness of his voice in preaching, He also called John and James B by name. But so that I do not again cause annoyance by saying the same things, I will leave these out and say this: that the very names of the saints, when uttered by themselves, are worthy of reverence for the pious and fearful for sinners. For even Onesimus, who had become a fugitive and a thief, and had stolen some of his master's property, whom Paul took in and transformed, and in this way led to the holy initiation; then, when he was about to return him to his lord again, he wrote this to him: *For though I have much boldness in Christ to enjoin thee that which is befitting for charity's sake, I rather beseech thee, being such as Paul the aged, and now a prisoner also in Christ Jesus* (Philem. 8, 9). You see that he added three things: the bonds for Christ, his conduct in keeping with his age, and the reverence of his name. For if there was one person who was beseeching, why did he strive to make it threefold, for the one who was entreating for Onesimus, the aged, the prisoner, Paul? C You see that even the names themselves are worthy of reverence to the faithful and those who love God? For if the name of a beloved child, when mentioned, has often persuaded even an unwilling father to grant a favor because of the affection toward that name, much more is it likely that this happens in the case of the saints. And that they are also fearful to sinners—just as the names of masters are to children who are slothful—hear how, when writing to the Galatians, he hinted at this very thing. For because they had declined into Jewish infirmity, and were in danger concerning the faith itself, wishing to raise them up and persuade them not to introduce any Jewish practice into the teaching of the Gospel, he wrote thus: *Behold, I Paul tell you, that if you be circumcised, Christ shall profit you nothing* (Gal. 5, 2). You said, "I"; why did you add the name? For was not "I" sufficient to declare who was writing? But you learn that even the mere addition of the name is sufficient to strike those who hear; for this reason he adds the appellation, bringing them into remembrance of their teacher. And we undergo this same thing; for when we are put in mind of the saints, even if we are in sloth, we are roused, and if we are in contempt, we are struck with fear. For when I hear of Paul the apostle, I conceive [of him] in tribulations, in distresses, in stripes, in prisons, in the deep for a night and a day, caught up into the third heaven, hearing the unspeakable words in paradise; the chosen vessel, the paranymph of Christ, who prayed to be anathema from Christ for his brethren. And just like a golden chain, this string of his accomplishments enters with the memory of the name for those who attend with accuracy; and no small gain comes to us from this.
D Even more could be said concerning the appellation; but that we may ascend precisely to the second term, I will set aside the inquiry concerning the name, and we will proceed to that proof. For as Paul provided us with much abundance, so too will this term, if we should wish to examine it with the proper diligence, provide us with a like or even greater abundance of contemplation. And just as one taking a single stone from an royal crown or from a golden necklace, could buy splendid houses, and valuable fields, and herds of servants, and many things more than these—having sold that pearl; so too it is with the divine words, if you wish to unfold the sense of one term, it will provide you with much matter of spiritual abundance; not as one bringing houses, or lands, or acres of earth, but as one instilling occasions of piety and philosophy into the souls of those who attend. Consider, therefore, this very thing, "Called," how it leads us into a history of spiritual matters.
But it is necessary first to learn what it is, this very thing, "Called," and second, to examine for what reason he wrote thus when addressing the Corinthians and Romans (Rom. 1, 1) alone, and no one else. For he does not do this simply or at random. For if we do not simply make the inscriptions of our letters, but when writing to those of lower rank, we write, "So-and-so to so-and-so," but when to those of equal honor, we call the receiver of the letter master in the inscription; and when they far exceed our own worth, we add many other names that bear greater respect and honor—if we exercise such care and do not write to all with one manner, but make the appellations suitable to the diversity of the persons receiving them; much more did Paul not simply or at random write to some in this way and others differently, but with some spiritual wisdom. That he did not call himself "called" in the prologue of the Epistles when writing to anyone else, we are able to learn by going through the beginnings of the Epistles. For what reason he did this, it would be ours, then, to say, after we have first shown what "called" is, and what Paul wished to teach us by this term. What is it, then, that he wishes to teach us by calling himself "called"? That he did not himself approach the Master first, but obeyed when called; he did not himself seek and find, but was found when wandering; he did not himself first look up to the light, but the light sent forth its own rays toward his eyes, and having blinded the outer eyes, thus opened the inner ones. Wishing, therefore, to instruct us that he does not account any of his accomplishments to himself, but to the God who called him, he calls himself "called." For He who opened the gates of the stadium to me, he says, and the course itself, He is also the cause of the crowns; he who provided the beginning and laid the root, he also provided me the opportunities for the fruits that blossomed for me. For this reason, also having said elsewhere, *I have labored more abundantly than they all*, he added, *yet not I, but the grace of God which is with me* (1 Cor. 15, 10). Therefore, the name "Called" is not an indication of nothing.
but of the fact that Paul does not consider any of his right actions to be his own, but attributes all things to the Lord God. And this, of course, Christ kept teaching His disciples, saying, *You did not choose me, but I chose you* (John 15, 16). A And the Apostle hints at this same thing in the same Epistle, when he says: *Then I shall know, even as I have been known* (1 Cor. 13, 12). For now, he says, it is not I who first knew, but I was known first. For while he was persecuting and ravaging the Church, Christ called him, saying, *Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me?* (Acts 9, 4). Therefore, he calls himself "Called." B Why then did he write to the Corinthians in this way? Corinth is the metropolis of Achaia, and it abounded in spiritual gifts, and with good reason, because it was the first to possess the tongue of Paul. And just as a vine, which is cultivated by an excellent and diligent farmer, flourishes with many leaves and is always laden with many fruits, so indeed that city, since it had first experienced the teaching of Paul, like an excellent farmer, and had enjoyed his wisdom for a long time, blossomed with all good things. C Nor did it abound only in spiritual gifts, but also secular commodities were supplied to it in abundance. For it excelled other cities in the wisdom of profane learning, and in riches, and in power. And it was puffed up by these things, and carried off into pride, and through pride it was divided into various parts. D The nature of arrogance is such: it destroys the bonds of charity, and tears away one's neighbor, and causes the one who has been taken by it to live apart by himself. And just as a wall that has swollen destroys the building, so a soul puffed up cannot endure to be joined with another; which is what happened to Corinth then: they were at odds with one another and were dividing the Church into many parts; and having set over themselves countless other teachers, they were distributed into factions and classes, destroying the dignity of the Church. For the dignity of the Church is when those who are gathered preserve concord and peace among themselves in the best way.
On the fact that the Corinthians were the first to be cultivated by the teaching of Paul, that they were rich in spiritual gifts and excelled in secular commodities, and for that reason were lifted up into pride and torn from one another, and that these had attached themselves to these, and those to those.
Therefore, in order that you may understand that they were the first to be cultivated by the teaching of Paul, hear how Paul indicates this same thing: *For if you have many pedagogues in Christ, yet not many fathers. For in Christ Jesus, through the gospel, I have begotten you* (1 Cor. 4, 15). And he who begets brings the begotten into the light first. And again, *I planted, Apollos watered* (1 Cor. 3, 6), showing that the teaching was first sown by him. Furthermore, that they overflowed with spiritual gifts is certain from this: *I give thanks to God for the grace of God which is given to you in Christ Jesus, that in everything you have been enriched in Him, so that you are behind in no grace* (1 Cor. 1, 4-8). And indeed, that they were participants in profane wisdom, he has sufficiently declared to us in those many long discourses in which he inveighs against that wisdom. For since in no other epistle is he found to have done this easily, here he attacks them with a lengthy accusation: and with good reason. For since tumor and pride arose from this place, he applied the blade there also, saying: *For Christ did not send me to baptize, but to preach the gospel: not in wisdom of word, that the cross of Christ may not be made void* (1 Cor. 1, 17). See how sharply he accuses profane wisdom, because it seems not only to contribute nothing to piety, but also to become an impediment and obstacle. For just as clear bodies and beautiful, fair faces, if they admit any outward addition of adornment, diminish the glory of their beauty, because paints, and pigments, and other such allurements and artifices draw the praise of form away to themselves; whereas if you add nothing to them, you reveal their beauty more, while their form alone competes and thrives with complete praise and commendation: so it happens in religion and the spiritual bride; if you add something external to her, whether riches, or power, or the force of erudition, you ruin her glory, and do not allow her integrity to appear, but you divide her glory into many parts; but if you allow her alone to compete simple and naked, with all human things removed, then her entire beauty will appear most of all, then her unconquered virtue will shine forth, when needing neither riches, nor wisdom, nor power, nor nobility, nor any other human things, she might overcome and subdue all things, while through base, rejected, needy, poor, unlearned men, she proves superior to impious orators, philosophers, tyrants, and the whole world.
Human wisdom is confounded.
Therefore, Paul also used to say: *I did not come by the loftiness of speech, announcing to you the testimony of God* (1 Cor. 2, 1); and, *God chose the foolish things of the world, that he might confound the wise* (1 Cor. 1, 27). He did not say simply, "foolish things," but, "the foolish things of the world"; nor did he mean that "the foolish things of the world" are altogether foolish before God: but many of those who seem to be unwise here are wiser than all others before God; just as, indeed, many who are pressed here by poverty are more opulent than all before God. Forasmuch as even Lazarus, when he was the poorest of all in the world, was the richest of all in the heavens (Luke 16, 20 sqq.). Therefore, he calls them the foolishness of the world, whose tongue is not eloquent, who are not imbued with profane wisdom, who do not excel in eloquence. And these, says he, God chose, that He might confound the wise. But by what means, I ask, are they confounded by these? By the very experience of things. For when you have questioned a widow sitting outside and begging, even one often mutilated in the members of her body, about the immortality of the soul, about the resurrection of bodies, about the providence of God, about the retribution for merits, about the account to be rendered there, about the tremendous judgment, about the goods stored away for those who have acted rightly, about the punishments which God has threatened to sinners, about all other things; and when she has answered with great accuracy, with great confidence and security; whereas the philosopher, and he who is much...
153 pride, after the many and long cycles of his speech, after the many and untimely pieces of chatter, is unable to open his mouth or utter a word regarding these things; then you will know well how *God chose the foolish things of the world that He might put the wise to shame* (1 Cor. 1. 27). For the things which they, through arrogance and pride, were unable to find, because they had separated themselves from the instruction of the Spirit and ascribed everything to their own reasonings—these things the poor, the rejected, and the deprived of external education have learned with precision, having attached themselves to the instruction from the heavens. D He does not stand here merely accusing external wisdom, but he adds even more than these things, saying: *The wisdom of this world is foolishness with God* (1 Cor. 3. 19); and advising those who hear, he says again with all harshness and severity: *If any man thinks himself to be wise in this age, let him become a fool, that he may become wise* (1 Cor. 3. 18); and again: *It is written, I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, and will set aside the understanding of the prudent* (1 Cor. 1. 19); and again: *The Lord knows the thoughts of men, that they are vain* (1 Cor. 3. 20).
6. That the Corinthians had a share of wisdom is evident from these things; but that they were puffed up and proud is likewise manifest from this very Epistle. For having accused the one who had committed fornication, he added, saying: *And you are puffed up* (1 Cor. 5. 2). And that they were contending with one another out of arrogance, he also made clear, saying: *For when there is among you strife, and jealousy, and divisions, are you not carnal, and walking according to man?* (1 Cor. 3. 3). What, then, was the manner of their strife? They were cutting themselves into many leaders, and for this reason he says: *I say this, that each one of you says, I am of Paul, and I of Apollos, and I of Cephas* (1 Cor. 1. 12). He was saying this, not because they were attaching themselves to Paul, Cephas, and Apollos, but because he wishes to hide those who had become the causes of the faction by means of these names, so that by not making them manifest, he might not make them more contentious and lead them into greater shamelessness. For that they were not attaching themselves to Paul, Peter, and Apollos, but to certain others, this also is evident from what follows. For after reproaching them for this division, he again added, saying: *These things, brethren, I have figuratively transferred to myself and Apollos for your sakes, that you may learn in us not to think beyond what is written, that none of you may be puffed up on behalf of one against the other* (1 Cor. 4. 6). For many of the unlearned, having no elevation of their own, nor even the ability to harm their neighbors, by setting up certain leaders for themselves, have used their advantages for arrogance against others; and the wisdom of those who taught them became to them a pretext for the arrogance of others—which was the height of vainglory: for those who have nothing of their own to boast of, to make use of the superiorities of others for contempt against their brethren. Since, therefore, they were lifted up into arrogance and were divided, and were cutting themselves into many parts, and were proud of their teaching, as if they had found it of themselves and from their own resources, and not as having received from above and from the grace of God the doctrines of truth, wishing to quell their swelling, immediately from the opening he called himself "called," saying as it were: "If I, the teacher, found nothing of myself, nor did I approach God first by myself, but, being called, then obeyed, how are you, the disciples, and having received the doctrines from me, able to be proud, as if you had become the inventors of these things?" For this reason he also says further on to them: *For who makes you different, and what do you have that you did not receive? And if you also received it, why do you boast as if you had not received it?* (1 Cor. 4. 7). This "called," therefore, is nothing else but a lesson of humility, a destruction of pride, and the curbing of all arrogance; for there is nothing, nothing that can so hold us together and keep us, as humility, and being moderate, and being restrained, and never at any time imagining anything great about ourselves.
Christ, being aware of this, and beginning that spiritual teaching, began the exhortation first from humility, and opening His mouth, He introduced this law first, saying: *Blessed are the poor in spirit* (Matt. 5. 3). For just as someone who is about to build a great and magnificent house lays a foundation equivalent to it, so that it might be able to sustain the weight that is to be added afterward; so too did Christ, raising that great building of philosophy in their souls, lay down the exhortation of humility as a kind of foundation, keel, secure footing, and a stable, immovable base, knowing that this being rooted in the minds of the hearers, all other parts of virtue can be built with security. Just as, therefore, with this lacking, even if someone accomplishes all the rest of virtue, he has labored in vain and to no purpose, like that one who built his house upon the sand (Matt. 7. 26-27), who endured the labor but did not enjoy the profit, since he did not lay a secure foundation; so he who undertakes any good thing without humility, has lost and ruined everything. By humility, I do not mean that which is in gestures, nor that which is on the tongue, but that in the mind, that from the soul, that in the conscience, which God alone can see. This advantage is sufficient, and often appearing even by itself, to make God propitious. And this the publican showed; for having nothing good, nor being able to appear from accomplishments, by saying only, *Be merciful to me the sinner* (Luke 18. 13), he departed justified above the Pharisee; although those words were not of humility, but only of gratitude. For it is humility when someone, being conscious of great things in himself, imagines nothing great about himself; but gratitude is when, being a sinner, he confesses this very fact. If then he who acts with no conscience of anything good, because he confessed that which he was, thus drew God into favor, of what boldness will they partake who have many accomplishments of their own to speak of, but who forget all of those, and count themselves among the last?