Discourses against the Jews

ADVERSUS JUDÆOS. — MONITUM.

in the year 386, as we stated in the Note to the homilies *On the Incomprehensible*, and it will be plainer from what is to be said shortly. As to what time of the year he began to deliver these sermons, he himself testifies a little after the beginning of the first homily with these words: "The feasts of the wretched and miserable Jews are about to arrive, continuous and consecutive, the trumpets, the feast of Tabernacles, the fasts." The feasts of the wretched and miserable Jews are continuous and frequent, the trumpets, the feast of Tabernacles, the fasts. By these, undoubtedly, the month of Tisri or September is denoted, on the fifteenth day of which the feast of Tabernacles, or the Feast of Booths, began. In that month, moreover, more feasts occurred among the Jews than in any other of the whole year, as you may see in Buxtorf, Leusden, and others, which Chrysostom also indicates when he says "continuous and consecutive." That the aforementioned words declare, and those to be brought forward immediately testify, that Chrysostom anticipated this solemnity by a few days. Therefore, it appears he delivered the first homily in the month of August.

The second homily, that is, the one which begins thus, "The lawless and impure," he delivered ten or more days having elapsed from the first, five days before the fast of the Jews arrived, as he himself declares at the beginning: "Their lawless fast, then, is upon us in five days; but I, having anticipated it by ten days or more, made my exhortation so as to keep your brothers safe." Their illicit fast therefore presses upon them in five days; but I gave the exhortation to you ten or more days ago, so that I might protect your brothers. But do not doubt that this is the very one he delivered as the second against the Jews; see how he speaks there of the first, no. 3: "Have you not heard in the former discourse the Word clearly proving to us that demons dwell both in the very souls of the Jews and in the places where they gather?" Did you not hear in the former sermon how clearly it was demonstrated in the discourse that the souls of the Jews themselves, and the places where they gather, are inhabited by demons? That very thing—namely, that both the souls of the Jews and the places of the same are inhabited by demons—he proves conspicuously and at length in the first homily against the Jews, no. 6, so that it is certain beyond any doubt that that one is the first against the Jews, and this one the second, which we lament has reached us in a mutilated state. We certainly left nothing undone to edit it sound and whole; we took care for the homily to be sought for by the work of friends in manuscript copies throughout almost all the libraries of Europe, but all attempts were in vain. Savile, as we said above, had placed this homily eighth, but Fronto Ducaeus had banished it to the fifth volume, far from the others, as if its place were uncertain.

We place without hesitation the third homily against those who fast at the first Passover, the beginning of which is: "Again, some necessary and urgent business, interrupting the sequence of what was previously said, draws the discourse to itself and leads us away from the struggles against the heretics. For we were preparing to discourse again to your love concerning the glory of the Only-Begotten." That is: Again, some necessary and urgent business, interrupting the series of things recently said, turns the discourse to itself, and leads us away today from the contests undertaken with the heretics. For we were indeed prepared to speak again to your charity concerning the glory of the Only-Begotten. Furthermore, he declares in these words that he is now interrupting for the second time the course of the Homilies against the Anomoeans, which he said he did for the first time at the beginning of Homily I against the Jews. For when he had delivered his first discourse against the Anomoeans, or *On the Incomprehensible*, he was forced to stop the course, not only to contend against the Jews, which he performed in two homilies, but to receive certain spiritual fathers, as he calls them, who had come to Antioch, and afterwards to celebrate the many feasts of the martyrs that were occurring. By all these things, I say, he was interrupted in the struggle begun against the Anomoeans, so that it was no small interval of time that passed between the first homily against the Anomoeans and the third. Since, however, he delivered the first homily against the Jews in the month of August of the year 386, as we said above, and the second about the beginning of September—ten, he says, and more days after the first—and he spent a great part of September in receiving those spiritual fathers and in celebrating the feasts of the martyrs, and then at the end of the month of September resumed the fight with the Anomoeans, which he interrupted again before September was over or at the beginning of October, urged, as he says, by the necessity of having another contest against the Jews. Whether he delivered this third against the Jews after the second discourse against the Anomoeans, or after the third or after the fourth, is clearly uncertain: nor does it seem anything certain can be established on this matter.

But that we may not assign this third homily against the Jews to long after September, Chrysostom himself seems to prohibit it in the homily on the day of the Nativity of Christ, which he delivered in the year 386, on the twenty-fifth day of December: "But the time then," he says, "was of the feast of Tabernacles and the fast: for those words mean just that, 'Afflict your souls,' and that [happened] from the Jews toward the end of the month of Gorpieus, that is, September."

which you yourselves attest, was celebrated. For at that time we undertook many and lengthy sermons against the Jews, accusing their untimely fast. Therefore, at the time we have established, he held these three sermons against the Jews. Yet he does not say that these many and lengthy homilies were held in the month of September in such a way that he delivered none before and none after September. For when he says, "For then we held many and lengthy sermons against the Jews," he marks the time approximately, and does not restrict all those homilies to the month of September: for Chrysostom is not accustomed to marking the signs of the times with such scruple, as we have observed elsewhere. But when he says, "many and lengthy sermons" (πολλούς καὶ μακροὺς λόγους), he seems to indicate these three homilies, and perhaps others besides, which have perished through the injuries of time: for it almost happened that the second homily also perished, as it was found in only one codex and mutilated in a great part of it. Indeed, it seems certain that some of the homilies he mentions here have perished: for in the third [homily] he says: "As we have demonstrated, when many sermons have been held by me on this subject, πολλούς ἀλλήλους λόγους": he would not have spoken thus if he had only held two sermons on this matter. But beware of thinking with Fronto Ducaeus that the five homilies following are signified by these words of Chrysostom, "long and lengthy sermons," for he held those long after the Homily on the Nativity of Christ, held in the year 386, from which those words are excerpted, as we shall presently make clear with unambiguous arguments.

It remains for us to meet certain doubts proposed by Tillemont regarding the time of this homily. What Chrysostom says in this homily, that the first day of Unleavened Bread happened this year on Sunday, that indeed happened in the year 387. Yet do not infer from that that this homily was pronounced in the same year 387, as we count from the first day of January: for besides the fact that the year in the Greek Church begins from the month of September, nothing is more frequent among Greek Fathers and writers than that they say something occurs "this year" when the interval of time between the events is less than one year. Wherefore, Chrysostom might very well have said in the month of September, 386, that the first day of Unleavened Bread "this year" falls on a Sunday, speaking of the first day of Unleavened Bread of the year 387. Therefore, if Tillemont, who thinks it probable that this sermon was initiated shortly before Lent or in Lent itself of the year 387, relies on this manner of Chrysostom's speaking, he is clearly wandering from the mark. He draws another argument from these words, ταῖς μὲν ταύταις ἡμέραις, "these 40 days," by which he suspects that the homily was held in Lent itself. However, it does not seem that he derives much support from this: for by these words can be signified "these 40 days of which I am speaking," and not "these 40 days in which we are currently living." Certainly, Chrysostom seems to contradict this opinion when, at the beginning of this homily, he says that he is compelled to interrupt again the series of sermons against the Anomoeans, and from the manner of beginning he indicates that he held this third sermon against the Jews a short time after the second, which second [homily] must undoubtedly be referred to the month of September, as we saw above. And indeed, since Chrysostom says in his homily on the Nativity of Christ in the year 386 that he had instituted many long and lengthy sermons against the Jews in the month of September, we assign this third homily more congruously to that time, after he had held either the second one against the Anomoeans, or another one of the following ones: for it is not certain which of them preceded this third one against the Jews.

But besides this, if we posit that this homily was delivered in Lent, it will undoubtedly be the Lent of the year 387; yet in that Lent, why would he have interrupted his course of homilies against the Anomoeans to hold this one against the Jews? And how could these things happen in the Lent of 387, throughout which Chrysostom preached about the overturned statues, being then entirely occupied with describing and lamenting the calamities of the Antiochenes, to which he was attempting to apply a healing hand? To understand the force of this argument better, I would have you consider that in the Lent of 387, twenty-one homilies were delivered, which still survive, and which are entirely concerned with lamenting the calamities of the Antiochenes, and in their introductions, for the most part, the preceding homilies are discussed. Wherefore, if the controversies concerning the glory of the Only-Begotten and against the Anomoeans had been flourishing then, and if this [homily] against the Jews had been held then, he would undoubtedly have mentioned it in some introduction. Moreover, who would think that in the city’s extreme perils and misfortunes, Chrysostom would have stirred up controversies against the Anomoeans and Jews, which required both the leisure and the calm mind of the auditors? [586] Tillemont raises another, much more difficult question, which challenges his own opinion as well as ours, which is of this kind. The title of this homily is, Εἰς τοὺς τὰ πρῶτα πάσχα νηστεύοντας, "In those who fast on the first Passover." But that in this very year those who followed the Jewish calculation for the Passover were to fast during the Passover itself, Chrysostom declares thus in number 5: "For see, the first day of Unleavened Bread falls this year on the Lord’s day, and it is entirely necessary that

OF OUR HOLY FATHER JOHN CHRYSOSTOM, ARCHBISHOP OF CONSTANTINOPLE, DISCOURSES AGAINST THE JEWS

First Discourse

^A I wished to restore to you today the remainder of the subject upon which I spoke to you previously, and to demonstrate more clearly how incomprehensible God is. For regarding this, on the past Sunday, we made those many and long discourses, when we also brought forward as witnesses Isaiah, and David, and Paul. For the one cried out, "Who shall declare his generation?" (Isa. 53:8), and the other gave thanks to Him for His incomprehensibility, saying, "I will give thanks to Thee, for terribly wast Thou made wonderful; wonderful are Thy works" (Ps. 138:14); and again, "Thy knowledge is become wonderful from me; it is strengthened, I shall not be able to attain to it" (Ps. 138:6). But Paul, not stooping to an investigation of His very essence, but only to His providence, or rather, having taken but a small part of that providence—which He manifested regarding the calling of the Gentiles—seeing it as a sea boundless and incomprehensible, thus cried out: "O the depth of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are His judgments, and His ways past finding out!" (Rom. 11:33). And while the demonstration through these was sufficient, I was not satisfied with the prophets, nor did I stop at the apostles, but I ascended into heaven, and showed you the choir of angels saying, "Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will among men" (Luke 2:14). You heard the Seraphim again, struck with awe and crying out with trembling, "Holy, holy, holy, Lord of Sabaoth; the whole earth is full of His glory" (Isa. 6:3). I added also the Cherubim crying out, "Blessed is His glory ^B from His place" (Ezek. 3:12). Below, three witnesses; above, three witnesses, declaring the inaccessibility of the glory of God. The proof, therefore, was indisputable, and there was much applause, and the theater was warmed, and the assembly was fired up. I for my part rejoiced, not because I was being praised, but because my Master was being glorified. For that applause and that praise demonstrated the love of God in your souls. And just as affectionate servants, when they hear someone praising their own master, are inflamed with longing for the person speaking because of their affection for the master, so too did you act then; by the excess of your applause, you showed your great affection for the Master.

I wished indeed, therefore, even today to strive further in these contests. For if the enemies of the truth do not take their fill of blaspheming the Benefactor, how much more ought we to have an insatiable desire for the glorification of the God of all! But what am I to do? Another, most grievous disease calls our tongue toward healing, a disease planted in the body of the Church. It is necessary first to root this out, then to take thought for those things outside; first to heal those who are our own, and then to attend to those who are strangers.

What is this disease? The feasts of the miserable and wretched Jews are about to approach, one after another: the trumpets, the tabernacles, the fasts. And many of those who are ranked with us and claim to hold the same opinions as we do, some attend the spectacle of these feasts, while others even join in the celebrations and partake in the fasts. And this evil custom I wish to drive from the Church now. For while some...

can perform their discourses against the lawless at another time, and no harm would come from the delay, yet if we do not heal those who are suffering from the Jewish malady now, when the feasts of the Jews are near and at the doors, I fear that through untimely habit and great ignorance some may partake of their transgression, and my discourses upon these matters would then be in vain. For if, without having heard anything, they should fast with them today, after the sin has been accomplished, we would be applying the medicine in vain. Therefore I am eager to forestall them. Physicians do this too; they attend to urgent and acute illnesses first. At all events, this struggle too is related to the previous one. For since the matters of impiety are related for the lawless and the Jews, our conflicts regarding the former become the same as those for the present. For indeed, what the Jews accused Him of, the Lawless also accuse Him of. And what did those men accuse Him of? That He called God His own Father, making Himself equal to God. These men also accuse Him of this, or rather, they do not merely accuse Him, but they erase the statement itself along with the understanding of it, if not with their hand, at least in their intention.

^B β'. Do not wonder if I have called the Jews wretched. For they are truly wretched and miserable, having thrust away and cast aside with great eagerness such great goods as have come into their hands from the heavens. The sun of righteousness rose for them; and they thrust away the ray and sit in darkness. We, on the other hand, who have been reared in darkness, have drawn the light to ourselves and have been freed from the gloom of error. They were children of the holy root, but they were broken off; we did not partake of the root, and yet we brought forth the fruit of piety. They read the prophets from early childhood, and they crucified Him who was prophesied; we did not hear the divine oracles, and yet we worshipped Him who was prophesied. For this reason they are wretched, that when goods were sent to them, they rejected them while others snatched them and drew them to themselves. They were called to adoption, yet they fell into the kinship of dogs; we, being dogs, have been able, through the grace of God, to put off our former irrationality and rise to the honor of sons. How is this clear? "It is not," He says, "good to take the bread of children and cast it to the little dogs"; Christ was speaking to the Canaanite woman, calling those people children, and those from the nations dogs. But look how the order was reversed after these things: they became dogs, and we became children. "Look out for the dogs," Paul says concerning them, "look out for the evil workers, look out for the mutilation; for we are the circumcision." Do you see how those who were formerly children became dogs? Do you wish to learn how we, who were formerly dogs, have become children? "But as many as received Him," he says, "to them He gave the power to become children of God." There is nothing more miserable than those who run everywhere against their own salvation. For indeed, when they ought to have kept the Law, they trampled upon it; and now when the Law has ceased, they contend to keep it. What could be more pitiable than those who provoke God not only by the transgression of the Law, but also by the observance of the Law? Therefore he says, "Stiff-necked and uncircumcised in heart, you always resist the Holy Spirit; not by merely transgressing the ordinances, but even by acting when you ought not."

"Stiff-necked." And well did he say, stiff-necked; for they did not bear the yoke of Christ, although it was kind, and contained nothing burdensome or heavy. "For learn from me," He says, "that I am meek and lowly in heart; and, Take my yoke upon you, for my yoke is kind, and my burden is light." But nonetheless they did not bear it because of the stiffness of their neck; and not only did they not bear it, but they also crushed and broke it. "For from of old," He says, "you have broken your yoke, you have torn off your bonds." It is not Paul who says these things, but the prophet who cries out, calling the symbols of authority a yoke and a bond, because they rejected the dominion of Christ, saying, "We have no king but Caesar." You have broken the yoke, you have torn off the bond, you have cast yourself out of the heavenly kingdom, and you have subjected yourself to human authorities. But look for yourself at how accurately the prophet hinted at their headstrong nature. For he did not say, "You have put off the yoke," but, "You have broken the yoke," which is the sin of animals that are leaping and refractory, rejecting authority. But whence has this stiffness come? From gluttony and drunkenness. Who says this? Moses himself: "Israel ate and was filled and grew fat, and the beloved kicked." For just as animals, whenever they partake of an abundant manger, having turned to obesity, become more combative and difficult to restrain, and do not endure a yoke, or reins, or the hand of a driver; so also the crowd of the Jews, having been brought down into the most extreme wickedness by drunkenness and obesity, have leaped, and did not receive the yoke of Christ, nor did they draw the plow of the teaching. This is what another prophet also meant by saying, "As a heifer that leaps, Israel has leaped." Another called him "an untaught calf." And such animals, being not at all suitable for work, become suitable for slaughter. This is what has happened to them, and having made themselves useless for work, they have become suitable for slaughter. For this reason Christ also said, "My enemies, who did not want me to reign over them, bring here and slaughter them." Then you ought to have fasted, O Jew, when drunkenness was working these terrible things in you, when gluttony gave birth to impiety, not now; for now the fast is untimely and abominable. Who says these things? Isaiah himself, crying out with a loud voice: "This is not the fast I have chosen, says the Lord." Why? "Because you fast for judgments and fights, and you strike those under your hand with fists." But if, when you were striking your fellow servants, your fast was abominable, when you slaughtered the Master, is your fast acceptable then? And how could that have reason?

The one who fasts ought to be restrained, contrite, humbled, not intoxicated with anger; but you strike your fellow servants? At that time, therefore, they fasted for judgments and fights; but now they do so for lasciviousness and the most extreme licentiousness, dancing in the marketplace with bare feet; the subject is that of those fasting, but the form is that of those who are drunk. Hear how the prophet commands us to fast: "Sanctify a fast," he says; he did not say, "Hold a procession of the fast"; "Proclaim a healing, gather the elders." But these men, having gathered choruses of effeminate men, and having committed much prostitution—

drag the entire theater and those from the stage into the synagogue; for there is no distance between a theater and a synagogue. I know that some condemn the boldness of my speech, because I said, "There is no distance between a theater and a synagogue." But I condemn their boldness if they do not think so. For if I am asserting this from my own resources, then convict me; but if I am stating the pronouncements of the prophet, then accept the judgment.

γʹ. I know that many stand in awe of the Jews and think that their way of life is now venerable; therefore, I am eager to tear out this destructive assumption by the roots. I said that the synagogue is in no better state than a theater, and I adduce the testimony from the prophet; the Jews are not more trustworthy than the prophets. What, then, does the prophet say? "A harlot’s look became yours; you grew shameless before all." Where a harlot stands ^B, the place is a brothel; or rather, the synagogue is not only a brothel and a theater, but also a den of thieves and a lodging for wild beasts. For he says, "My house became for me a lair of a hyena," not merely of a beast, but of an unclean beast. And again, "I have forsaken my house, I have abandoned my inheritance." But when God abandons, what hope of salvation remains? When God abandons, that place becomes a dwelling-place for demons. But they will certainly say that they, too, worship God; but may it never come to pass that one says this! No Jew worships God. Who says these things? The Son of God. "For if you had known my Father," He says, "you would have known me also; but you do not know me, nor do you know my Father." What testimony could I bring forward more trustworthy than this?

If, therefore, they do not know the Father, and they crucified the Son, and they repelled the help of the Spirit, who would not confidently declare that the place is a dwelling-place for demons? God is not worshiped there, God forbid; but that place is henceforth a site of idolatry; yet, nevertheless, some pay attention to those places as if they were holy.

And I do not say these things as a conjecture, but having learned them by the very experience. For even three days ago (believe me, I do not lie), I saw a certain elegant and noble woman, modest and faithful, being compelled by someone base and dull-witted—someone who appeared to be a Christian (for I would not call one who dares such things a sincere Christian)—to enter into the places of the Hebrews and there to take an oath concerning matters that were in dispute for him. As the woman, having approached, called for assistance and asked to stop the lawless violence (for it was not lawful for her, having shared in the divine mysteries, to go to that place), I, being inflamed by zeal, and burning with it, and having risen up, did not allow her any longer to be dragged into that illegality; I snatched her from this unjust abduction. And since I questioned the one who was dragging her as to whether he was a Christian, and he confessed it, I pressed him severely, accusing him of dullness and the uttermost folly, and I told him that he was in no better state ^C if, while claiming to worship Christ, he were to drag someone to the dens of the Jews, of those who crucified Him; and I extended a long discourse to him: first, that it is not lawful at all to swear, nor to impose the necessity of oaths, instructing him from the divine Gospels; then, that it was not only ^D not necessary to drag a believer and one who has been initiated into the mysteries to this, but not even any uninitiated person. And when I had cast out through many and long arguments the erring suspicion of his soul, I asked the cause for which, having abandoned the Church, he was dragging people to the synagogues of the Hebrews. He said that many had told him that the oaths sworn there were more fearful. At these things I groaned, and I was inflamed with anger, and after these things I laughed again. For, seeing the wickedness of the devil, I groaned, as to how he had the power to persuade men; but when I considered the slothfulness of those being deceived, I was burned with anger; and when I looked at the extent of the folly of those being deceived, I laughed. And I am telling these things to you and narrating them, because you are inhumanly and callously disposed towards those who both do and suffer such things; and even if you see one of your brothers falling into such lawless acts, you think that the misfortune is alien, not your own, and you think to defend yourselves to those who complain, saying, "But what is it to me? And what common business do I have with him?"—uttering words of extreme inhumanity and Satanic cruelty. What are you saying? Being a man, and sharing in the same nature, or rather, if one must speak of a community of nature, having one head, Christ, do you dare to say that you have nothing in common with your own members? How then do you confess Christ to be the head of the Church? For the head is naturally suited to connect all the members, and to turn them towards itself with precision and to bind them fast. But if you have nothing in common with your member, then you have nothing in common with your brother, nor do you have Christ as your head. The Jews frighten you as if you were little children, and you do not perceive it. For just as some, showing fearful and ridiculous masks to those children 592 (for it is not naturally fearful, but because of the pettiness of the mind it appears so) stir up much laughter; so too do the Jews mock the less mature of the Christians. For how could the things among them be fearful, being full of much shame and laughter, the things of those who have offended, the things of the dishonored, the things of the condemned?

δ'. But our things are not like this, but truly fearful and full of shuddering. For where God is, who has authority over life and death, that place is fearful; where there are countless discourses concerning immortal punishments, concerning the rivers of fire, concerning the worm that does not die, concerning the bonds that cannot be broken, concerning the outer darkness. But those others know nothing of these things even in a dream, living for the belly, gaping at present things, being in no better state than swine and goats, according to the principle of their licentiousness and the excess of their gluttony; they only know how to be gluttonous and to be drunk, to be chopped to pieces for dancers, to be wounded for charioteers. Are these things, then, tell me, of such a nature as to be venerable and fearful? And who would say this? Whence, then, did they seem to us to be fearful, unless one were to say that even those of the servants who have been dishonored, and those who have been stripped of their authority, and those who have fallen from their master's house, are fearful to those who are in good repute and possess the confidence of belonging? But these things are not so, they are not so; since even a guest-house is not more venerable than the royal courts, or rather, the place of the synagogue is more dishonorable than any guest-house.

^A For it is not merely a den of thieves and merchants, but also a dwelling-place of demons; or rather, not the synagogues alone, but the very souls of the Jews themselves. And this, toward the end of my discourse, I shall attempt to demonstrate. I beseech you, therefore, to hold this discussion especially in your memory. For we are not speaking now for the sake of show or for applause, but for the healing of your own souls. For what argument remains to us, when, though there are so many physicians, some are still suffering? The apostles were twelve, and they took hold of the inhabited world; the greater part of the city is Christian, and yet some are still suffering from Judaism. And what defense could we have, we who are in health? ^B For they who are suffering are indeed worthy of blame; yet we are not free from accusation, since we look on while they are in their sickness. For it was impossible that, enjoying so much zeal from us, they should remain in that infirmity. For this reason I speak these things in advance now, so that each one of you may draw in his brother, and even if it be necessary to impose compulsion, even if to use force, even if to insult, even if to contend, do everything so as to snatch him from the snare of the devil and from communion with the Christ-killers. If you saw someone being dragged off in the marketplace, tell me, having been condemned by a just verdict, and then you were powerful enough to snatch him from the hands of the executioner, would you not have done everything to deliver him from that abduction? You now see your brother, not being dragged by the executioner, but by the devil toward the pit of destruction, unjustly and impiously, and do you not endure to offer even a contribution so as to snatch him from that lawlessness? ^C And what forgiveness could you hope for? But he is stronger and more powerful than you. Turn him over to me; I would choose rather to lose my head than to let him enter the sacred portals, if he remains contentious and persists in those things. For what is there in common for you with the free woman, with the Jerusalem above? You have chosen the one below; serve with her. For she too serves with her children, according to the word of the Apostle. Do you fast with the Jews? Then strip off your sandals with the Jews, and walk barefoot in the marketplace, and share in their indecency and laughter. But you would not choose this; for it is shameful, and you would blush. So, to share their outward appearance causes you shame, but to share in their impiety causes you no shame? And what forgiveness will you have, being a Christian by halves? Believe me, I would sooner lose my head than look on any of those who are suffering from such things, if I see them; but if I be unaware, God will surely give forgiveness. Let each of you think these things over for himself, and let him not consider the matter a triviality. Do you not see what the deacon constantly cries out during the mysteries? "Acknowledge one another." ^D How does he entrust to you the exact examination of your brothers? Do this also in their case; when you recognize someone judaizing, restrain him, make it known, so that you yourself may not share in the danger. For even in the military camps outside, if someone is caught acting like a barbarian and holding Persian sentiments in the midst of the soldiers, it is not he alone who is in danger, but also every one of those who knew of it but did not reveal him to the commander. Since, therefore, you too are a camp of Christ, with accuracy investigate and look into whether any of the aliens has mingled among you, and make it known, not that we may kill, as do they, nor that we may punish and take revenge, but that we may deliver him from his error and impiety, and make him our own in his entirety. But if you do not wish this, but knowing it, you conceal it, know well that you will suffer the same punishment as he. For Paul subjects not only those who do evil deeds, but also those who consent to them, to punishment and retribution. And the prophet also leads not only those who steal, but also those who run with them, under the same judgement; and rightly so. For one who is aware of the one committing evil deeds, and covers for him and hides him, provides for him greater occasion for sloth, and makes it possible for him with greater ease to practice wickedness.

v. But I must return again to those who are suffering. Consider, therefore, with whom those who are fasting now are holding communion: with those who cry out, "Crucify, crucify"; with those who say, "His blood be upon us and upon our children." If some had been caught and condemned for treason, would you have dared to approach and hold communion with them in words? I think not. How, then, is it not absurd to flee with such great zeal those who have become wicked against a human being, while making those who have insulted God himself our associates, and for those who worship the Crucified to celebrate with those who crucified Him? For this is not only madness, but also extreme [594] frenzy. But because there are some who think that the synagogue is a venerable place, it is necessary to say a few things to them as well. For what reason do you revere that place, when you ought to despise, abhor, and flee from it? The law is stored up in it, they say, and the prophetic books. And what of that? Must, then, where such books are, the place also be holy? Not at all. I, for this very reason, most of all hate the synagogue and turn away from it, because, having the prophets, they disbelieve the prophets; because, reading the scriptures, they do not accept the testimonies, which is the act of those who insult them all the more. For tell me, if you saw a man esteemed, brilliant, and illustrious brought into a tavern or a den of thieves, and then insulted there and beaten and enduring the utmost outrage, would you admire the tavern or the cave, because that wonderful and great man stood inside being insulted? I do not think so, but for this very reason you would most of all have hated and turned away from it. Consider this also in the case of the synagogue. For they have brought the prophets and Moses with them into it, not that they might honor them, but that they might insult and dishonor them. For when they say that they do not know Christ, nor have they spoken anything concerning His coming, what greater insult could there be to those holy ones than this, when they even accuse them of not knowing their own Master, and say that they are participants in their own impiety? Therefore, for this reason, one ought to hate both them and the synagogue all the more, because they act outrageously toward those holy ones. But why do I speak about books and places? In the time of persecutions, the executioners lay hold of the bodies of the martyrs, they tear them, they scourge them. Are their hands, therefore, holy, because they have laid hold of the bodies of the holy ones? God forbid! So, hands that have laid hold of the bodies of the holy ones remain profane for this very reason, because they laid hold of them wickedly; and those who [original-script column: see facsimile]

have laid hold of them in this way, even if they were not the public executioners of the martyrs, will they be worthy of reverence because of this? And how could such things not be the height of senselessness? For if bodies being held wickedly not only do not sanctify those who hold them, but even make them more defiled, much more would writings read with unbelief never be able to benefit those who read them. This very thing, in fact, proves them to be more impious, that they hold the books with such a frame of mind. For they would not be worthy of such condemnation if they did not possess the prophets; they would not be so unclean and profane if they did not read the books. But now they are deprived of all forgiveness, because while possessing the heralds of the truth, they stand against them and against the truth with a hostile mind. Thus, for this reason, they would be even more profane and accursed, because while possessing the prophets, they hold a mind hostile to them. For this reason, I exhort you to flee and run away from their assemblies. This is no small harm to the weaker brothers, no small pretext for madness to those [men]. For when they see you, who worship the Christ crucified by them, pursuing and honoring their ways, how will they not think that everything they have done has been done in the best possible way, and that our things are worth nothing, when you, who are the champions and healers of these things, run to those who destroy them? "If someone sees you," he says, "who have knowledge, reclining in the idol temple, will not his conscience, being weak, be built up to eat things sacrificed to idols?" And I say: If someone sees you, who have knowledge, going off to a synagogue and observing the trumpets, will not his conscience, being weak, be built up to marvel at Jewish matters? He who falls does not only give an account for his own fall, but he is punished because he also causes others to stumble; just as he who stands is honored not only for his own virtue, but because he also leads others to the same zeal. Flee, therefore, both from the assemblies and their places, and let no one be ashamed of the synagogue because of the books, but rather let him hate it and turn away from it for these reasons: because they hold the holy ones in insult, because they do not believe in their words, because they accuse them of the utmost impiety.

^C 3. And so that you may learn that the books do not sanctify the place, but the disposition of those who gather makes it profane, I will recount to you an ancient history. Ptolemy Philadelphus, having collected books from everywhere, and having learned that among the Jews there are writings philosophizing about God and about the best polity, summoned men from Judea, had the books translated by them, and deposited them in the temple of Serapis; for the man was a Greek; and to this day the translated books of the prophets remain there. What then, will the temple of Serapis be holy because of the books? God forbid! Rather, those [books] possess their own holiness, but they do not impart it to the place, because of the defilement of those who gather there. The same thing, therefore, must be thought about the synagogue. For even if an idol does not stand there, yet demons dwell in the place. And I am not saying this only about the synagogue here [in Antioch], but also about the one in Daphne; for the pit there, which they call Matrona’s, is more wicked. For I have heard that many of the faithful go up there and sleep in that place. But may it never be that one should call these people faithful. To me, both the temple of Matrona and the temple of Apollo are equally profane. But if anyone judges my boldness, I in return will judge his furthest madness. For tell me, where demons dwell, is it not a place of impiety, even if no cult-statue stands there? Where Christ-killers gather, where the cross is driven away, where God is blasphemed, where the Father is ignored, where the Son is insulted, where the grace of the Spirit is nullified—nay rather, where these demons themselves are present—is not the harm even greater from this? There, indeed, the impiety is naked and manifest, and it would not easily draw one in, nor will it deceive one who has a mind that is sound and sober; but here, while saying that they worship God, and that they turn away from idols, and that they have and honor the prophets, by these very words they construct the bait, and easily cast the simpler and foolish ones into their own snares. So that the things of impiety are equal for them and the Greeks, but the things of deceit are seen to be more grievous among these [men]. For even among them stands an "invisible altar of deceit," upon which they do not sacrifice sheep and calves, but the souls of men. Furthermore, if you marvel at their things, what common ground is there between you and us? For if the things of the Jews are solemn and great, ours are false; but if these are true, as indeed they are true, then those are full of deceit. I do not mean the Scriptures—God forbid! For they led me by the hand to Christ—but their current impiety and madness. But it is time, at last, to show that demons also dwell there, not only in that very place, but also in the very souls of the Jews. "For when the unclean spirit," he says, "goes out, it travels through waterless places, seeking rest; and if it does not find it, it says, 'I will return to my house,' and coming it finds it unoccupied, swept, and adorned; and it goes and takes with it seven other spirits more wicked than itself, and it enters and dwells in it, and the last state of that man becomes worse than the first." Thus it will be also with this generation.

Do you see that demons dwell in their souls, and the current ones are more grievous than the former? And very naturally so. For then, indeed, they were impious toward the prophets, but now they insult the Master of the prophets himself. To men, therefore—tell me—who are demon-possessed, and possess so many unclean spirits, and have been reared in slaughters and murders, do you gather together, and do you not shudder? For is there a need to share in conversation with these, and to impart a mere word, and not rather turn away from them as from a common blight and disease of the whole world? Have they not overrun every form of wickedness? Have not the prophets spent all their many long discourses on the accusations against them? What tragedy, what manner of lawlessness have they not hidden behind their own murders? They sacrificed their own sons and their own daughters to the demons; they ignored nature, they forgot the pangs of childbirth, they trampled upon the raising of children, they destroyed the laws of kinship from their very foundations, they have become wilder than all beasts. These things...

indeed show them to be soul-less, and careless of their own salvation, so as to shield their offspring; yet these people, with no necessity compelling them, slaughtered those born of them with their own hands, so that they might propitiate the enemies of our life, the avenging demons. What ought one to be more struck by in them: their impiety, or their cruelty and inhumanity? That they sacrificed their sons, or that they sacrificed them to demons? But for the sake of licentiousness, did they not also go beyond the most shameless of brute beasts? Hear the prophet, what he says concerning their intemperance: "They became like neighing horses; each man neighed after his neighbor’s wife." He did not say, "Each man desired his neighbor's wife," but with the most vivid vocalization of brute beasts, he revealed the madness that arises in them from licentiousness.

7. What else do you wish me to say? Of their robberies, their greed, their betrayals of the poor, their thefts, their profiteering? But even the whole day would not suffice us for this account. But perhaps their feasts have something venerable and great? They have themselves shown these, too, to be unclean. Hear then the prophets, or rather hear God, with what excess He turns away from them: "I have hated, I have rejected your feasts." God hates, and you participate? And He did not say "this or that feast," but all of them together. Do you wish to see that He also hates the worship through cymbals and the lyre and the harps and other instruments? "Remove from Me the sound of your songs," He says, "and the psalm of your instruments I will not hear." God says, "Remove them from Me," and you run to hear the trumpets? But are these sacrifices and offerings not abominable? "If you bring me fine flour, it is futile; incense is an abomination to Me. Incense is an abomination, and is not the place also an abomination?" And when is it an abomination? Before they had committed the capital sum of their evils, before they had slain their own Master, before the cross, before the deicide, it was an abomination; and now, is it not so much more? And yet what is sweeter-smelling than incense? But God judges offerings not by the nature of the gifts, but by the disposition of those who offer them. He looked upon Abel, and then upon his gifts; He saw Cain, and then averted his eyes from his sacrifices. For upon Cain, He says, and upon his sacrifices, He did not look. Noah offered up to God sacrifices of sheep and calves and birds, and the Scripture says that "the Lord smelled a sweet savor," that is, He accepted what was offered. For there are no noses in God, but the Divine is bodiless. And yet what was brought up from there was the fat and smoke of burning bodies; and of such fat there is nothing more foul-smelling. But in order that you may learn that God looks to the disposition of those who offer—and thus accepts or rejects the sacrifices—He calls the fat and the smoke a "sweet savor," but the incense an "abomination," because the disposition of those who brought it was full of much foulness. Do you wish to learn that, along with the sacrifices, and the instruments, and the feasts, and the incenses, He also rejects the temple because of those who enter it? He showed it most of all through deeds, at one time delivering it to barbarian hands, and later destroying it to the end; yet even before its destruction, He cries out through the prophet and says, "Trusta not in lying words, for they will not profit you, saying, 'The temple of the Lord, the temple of the Lord is this.'" The temple, He says, does not sanctify those who enter, but those who enter make the temple holy. And if the temple did not profit them then, when the Cherubim were there, when the Ark was there, how much less now, when all those things have been removed, when the abandonment by God has become complete, when the cause for hostility is greater? How much madness and how much folly would it be, then, to make these people—those who have been disgraced, those who have been betrayed by God, those who have provoked their Master—your companions in festivals? If someone killed your son, tell me, would you endure to look at him? Would you endure to hear him addressed by name? Rather, would you not flee from him as from an evil demon, as from the devil himself? They killed the Son of your Master, and you dare to enter into the same place with them? And the one who was killed so honored you as to make you his brother and fellow-heir; but you dishonor him so much as to honor and propitiate his murderers and those who crucified him by sharing in their feasts, and to meet in their profane places, and to step upon their unclean thresholds, and to share in the table of demons—for that is what I am persuaded to call the fasting of the Jews after the deicide. Indeed, how do they not propitiate demons, the very gods who work things contrary to God? But do you seek healing from demons? When Christ permitted them to enter into the pigs, they immediately plunged them into the sea; and will they spare human bodies? Would that they did not kill, would that they did not plot! They cast [us] out of paradise, they deprived [us] of the glory from above, and will they heal the body? These are laughter and myths. Demons know how to plot and to harm, not to heal. They do not spare the soul, and will they spare the body, tell me? They strive to cast you out of the kingdom, and will they choose to deliver you from diseases? Have you not heard the prophet saying, or rather God through the prophet, that they cannot do good, nor can they do evil? But if they were able and willing to heal—which is impossible—you must not exchange an imperishable and eternal loss for a small and perishing gain. Will you heal the body, so that you may destroy the soul? Your trade is not a good one; you provoke God, the Creator of the body, and you call upon your own enemy for healing! And how will some superstitious person not easily drag you to worship the gods of the Greeks on account of this medical science itself? For they, too, many times through their art have removed diseases and restored the sick to health. What then, must one participate in impiety because of this? Heaven forbid. Hear what Moses says to the Jews: "If a prophet arises among you, dreaming a dream and giving you a sign or a wonder, and the sign or the wonder comes to pass which he spoke, and he says to you, 'Let us go and worship other gods, whom your fathers did not know,' you shall not listen to the voice of the prophet, or the dreamer of that dream." And what he says is this: If any prophet, he says, arises and performs a sign, or raises a corpse, or cleanses a leper, or heals a blind man, and after performing the sign calls you to impiety, do not be persuaded because of the outcome of the sign. Why? "For the Lord your God is testing you, to see if you love Him with all your heart."

^A

On the subject which follows: that the Church, having been scattered everywhere, was nevertheless preserved by the invincible power of Him who said, "On this rock I will build my Church, and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it," and concerning other predictions of Christ.

14. They journeyed throughout the entire inhabited world; for they had as an ally and helper the invincible power of Him who said, "On this rock I will build my Church, and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it." Count, then, how many tyrants since that time have arrayed themselves against it, how many have stirred up most grievous persecutions, and how the entire preceding time was ordered when the faith was still a new shoot, when the minds of men were yet more fragile. ^B

This serves as a proclamation in advance of the truth of His providence, His goodness, and the greatness, the breadth, and the surpassing majesty of His care.

15. The kings were pagans: Augustus, Tiberius, Gaius, Nero, Vespasian, Titus, and after them all those up to the times of the blessed King Constantine; and all of these, some less and some more fiercely, warred against the Church—but war against it they all did. And if any of them appeared to be at peace, this very fact—that the kings were manifest in their impiety—became a cause of wars, as others flattered them and sought favor by warring against the Church. But nevertheless, all these plots and assaults were scattered more easily than a spider's web, dissolved faster than smoke, and passed away swifter than dust. For through the very things they plotted, they produced a great choir of martyrs and left behind those immortal treasures of the Church—those pillars, those towers—which, not only living but even after they had departed this life, became a cause of great profit to those who came after. Do you see the power of the prediction, "And the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it"? From these things, believe concerning the future, and that none of them shall survive. ^C For if, when it consisted of but a few, when the affair seemed to be an innovation, when the teaching was newly established, when the wars were of such a kind and battles were being fanned into flame from every side, they did not prevail and did not overcome it, how much more shall that be the case now that it has taken hold of the entire inhabited world and every place, even mountains, and glens, and hills? For it has also taken hold of the sea and all the nations dwelling under the sun, and of impiety there remain only a few sparks; and altars, and temples, and idols, and all those things have been abolished, along with their festivals, and mysteries, and smoke, and the stench of fat, and the foul public spectacles. How, then, could such a great and mighty affair, despite so many obstacles, have achieved such a brilliant end and an outcome bearing witness to the truth, if there were not a divine and invincible power in Him who foretold and accomplished these things? No one could gainsay these things unless one were very much among the raving and deranged, and bereft of the mind according to nature. Not only these things, but also other predictions proclaim His invincible power. For He foretold future events with complete truth and brought them to a final completion; and it is impossible for any of the things spoken by Him to fail, but it is easier for the earth and heaven to vanish than for any of the words and predictions of His to be proven falsely spoken. ^D Therefore, He Himself, revealing this very thing even before the outcome of events, declared so clearly regarding the things spoken by Him, saying: "Heaven and earth shall pass away, but my words shall not pass away." And quite reasonably so. For they are not mere words, but the words of God, the creators of works: thus He made the heaven, thus the earth, thus the sea, thus the sun, thus the hosts of the angels, thus the other invisible powers. And making this clear, the Prophet said: "He spoke, and they were made; He commanded, and they were created," saying these things regarding the entire creation at once—that which is above, that which is below, the sensible and the intellectual, that which is in a body and that which is incorporeal. He showed, therefore, what I had previously said, and the prediction regarding the Church.

16. Come, then, let us also take up another prediction, one shining more brightly than the sun, and being clearer than a ray of light, lying before the sight of all, and extending to all generations after this, just like the former. For such are most of His predictions. For they are not limited to a short time, nor are they accomplished in a single generation, but they provide to all men, both those who exist and those who shall exist later, and those after them, and to all who extend even to the consummation, the ability to learn of their own truth from the day they were spoken until the consummation of the age; it stands firm and immovable, flourishing, shining, maturing with each passing day, growing, and advancing to greater power, providing to all who are from that time until the second coming of Christ the greatest benefits to be drawn from it, and to pluck its unspeakable profit. For those before us, and those before them, and those before them further yet, recognized its power, seeing the wars coming against it, and the dangers and the troubles, the tumults and the waves and the storms; yet seeing it not being submerged, not being conquered, not being mastered, not being quenched, but flourishing, growing, and rising to a greater height. And this, too, which I am about to say now, is of such a kind as to show His power and the truth of the things spoken. And what is this? Having entered once into the Jewish temple, then flourishing and shining everywhere with gold and beauty and the greatness of the structure, possessing also all other sort of luxury, that from art, that from material, and with the disciples being astonished, what does He say? "Do you not see all these things? Amen, I say to you, there shall not be left here one stone upon a stone," revealing the tearing down that would come after this, the total destruction, the desolation, the ruin that now exists in Jerusalem; for those brilliant and conspicuous structures have all become a ruin. Do you see in both His great and unspeakable power, in that He builds up and increases those who serve Him, and in that He humbles those who have offended against Him, and destroys them, and uproots them from the foundation? For the temple was not at all of such a kind, nor was it so widely celebrated, and enjoying such great service. For the Jews who dwelt everywhere on earth, and even to the very ends of the earth, arrived there in the olden days, bringing gifts and sacrifices and offerings and first-fruits and many other things, adorning the temple with the wealth of the inhabited world; and all the Jews and proselytes from everywhere flowed together there, and the name of the place was great, reaching to the very extremities of the inhabited world. But one word of Christ made all those things to vanish and perish, and caused them to be like dust from the midst; and where it was not permitted for all Jews, or rather not even for all the priests, but for one alone who had obtained the high priesthood to enter, and this only once a year with vestments and crowns and a miter and other strange attire, now it is permitted even for fornicators and the effeminate and the debauched and adulterers to tread, and there is no one who prohibits this; for that word, having come to pass, destroyed and abolished everything; and only so much of the temple remains as to show where the temple was in the olden days.

Consider, then, of how great power this is! For if they were able to do so many things, and of nations and kings...

^A that are not present, that they might hear the voice of Paul, I know well that they will easily fall into the nets of salvation, and will lay aside all Jewish error. For it is not Paul who is speaking, but Christ who moves his soul. So when you hear him shouting and saying, "Behold, I, Paul, say to you that if you are circumcised, Christ will profit you nothing," do not think that the voice is Paul’s alone, but that the meaning and the dogma are of Christ, who is sounding within him.

But perhaps someone might say, and is the harm of circumcision so great as to make the whole economy of Christ unprofitable? Yes, such is the harm of circumcision—not from its own nature, but from perversity. There was once a time when the law was useful and necessary; now, however, it has ceased and is void. If, therefore, you drag it in out of season, you make the gift of God unprofitable for yourself. For this reason "Christ will profit you nothing," because you do not wish to approach. For if someone ^B who has been caught in adultery and the most shameful crimes were living in prison, and then, when the judgment was about to be brought against him and the condemning sentence was to be carried, a letter from the king should come, releasing all those who inhabit the prison without any logic or examination, but the man did not wish to enjoy the gift, and chose instead to be contentious, to be brought to trial, and to render an account, he will no longer be able to enjoy the grace; because he has made himself accountable to the court, the sentence, and the inquiry, he has willingly cast himself out of the king’s gift. Thus it has also come to pass regarding the Jews. ^C And consider this: has not the whole nature of men been caught in the most shameful evils? "For all have sinned," he says; and just as if in a prison, they were locked up under the curse of lawlessness; the sentence of the judgment was about to be carried out against them; a letter of the King came from the heavens, or rather the King Himself came, and without examination or receiving an account, released all from the bonds of sin.

β'. Those, therefore, who have rushed forward all enjoy the gift, being saved by grace; but those who wish to be justified by the law will also fall from grace. For they will not be able to enjoy the King’s philanthropy, as they are contentiously seeking to be saved on their own, and they will drag the curse of the law upon themselves, because by the works of the law no flesh will be justified. For this reason he says, "If you are circumcised, Christ will profit you nothing." For he who is contentious to be saved by the works of the law ^D has nothing in common with grace. This, therefore, Paul himself was hinting at when he said: "If by grace, it is no longer by works, since grace is no longer grace; but if by works, it is no longer grace, since a work is no longer a work." And again: "For if righteousness were through the law, then Christ died for nothing." And again: "You who are being justified in the law, you have fallen from grace." You have been put to death to the law, you have become dead, you are no longer under that yoke, nor under the necessity of that one. Why, then, are you contentious to provide yourself with trouble, in vain and to no purpose? But also because

^A Paul has put his own name here, and did not say simply, "Behold, I say unto you." He wished to remind them of the earnestness he had displayed regarding Judaism. For if I were, he says, from the Gentiles and ignorant of Jewish matters, perhaps someone might say that because I had not shared in that way of life, being ignorant of the power of circumcision, I cast it out from the dogmas of the Church. For this reason he has placed his name there, bringing to their memory those things which he performed for the sake of the Law; as though he were saying: I do not do this out of an hatred for circumcision, but in the knowledge of the truth. I, Paul, say this; Paul, that man who was circumcised on the eighth day, of the stock of Israel, a Hebrew of the Hebrews, of the tribe of Benjamin, as touching the Law a Pharisee, as touching zeal persecuting the Church, the man who used to enter into houses and drag off men and women, and deliver them into prison—all of which could persuade even those who are quite insensibly disposed that I have not laid down this law out of any enmity, nor out of ignorance of Jewish matters, but out of the knowledge of the truth which surpasses it—of Christ. And I testify again, he says, to every man who gets circumcised, that he is a debtor to keep the whole Law. Why did he not say: "But I command," or "But I enjoin," or "But I say," but rather, "I testify"? In order that through this word he might remind us of the judgment that is to come; for where there are witnesses, there is a courtroom and a verdict. He therefore strikes fear into the listener, reminding him of the royal throne, and showing that these words will be witnesses against him on that day, when each person gives an account of the things he has done, and of what he said and what he heard. The Galatians heard these things then, but let those who now suffer from the Galatian malady hear them too, even if they are not present; but let them hear through you, with Paul crying out and saying: "And I testify to every man who gets circumcised, that he is a debtor to keep the whole Law."

Do not tell me that circumcision is just a single commandment; that one single commandment places upon you the yoke of the whole Law. For when you introduce yourself into the dominion of the Law through a part, it is necessary to obey also in the remaining things which it commands; and if you do not fulfill them, it is inevitable that you be punished and draw the curse upon yourself. And just as with a bird that has fallen into a snare, even if only its foot is caught, the whole remaining body is captured; so too, he who fulfills even one commandment of the Law, whether it be circumcision or fasting, has surrendered his entire authority over himself to the Law through this one act, and he will not be able to escape, as long as he wishes to be obedient to it even in part. We do not say these things accusing the Law—God forbid!—but desiring to show the surpassing wealth of the grace of Christ. For the Law is not contrary to Christ; for how could it be, given that it was bestowed by Him, and serves as a pedagogue to lead us to Him? Rather, because of the untimely contentiousness of those who do not use it for its intended purpose do we find ourselves forced to say all these things. For they are the ones who are insulting the Law, they who command people to depart from it altogether and come to Christ, and yet are clinging to it [the Law] again. For I myself confess, and would never deny, that the Law benefited our nature greatly. But you, while clinging to it out of season, do not allow the magnitude of its benefit to appear. For just as the greatest eulogy of a pedagogue ^B would be that the youth who has been trained by him no longer needs his guardianship, having advanced to a greater virtue; so too, the greatest praise for the Law would be that we no longer have need of his assistance. For this very thing has come to pass for us through the Law: that our soul has become more fit for the reception of a higher philosophy. So, he who still sits beside it, and is unable to see anything greater than what is written there, has gained nothing great from it. But I, having left that behind and having run toward the higher dogmas of Christ, should be able to honor it all the more, because it made me such that I have been able to transcend the smallness of what is written in it and ascend to the height of the teaching which has come to us from Christ.

The Law benefited our nature greatly, but only if it brings us sincerely to Christ; for if this is not the case, it has actually harmed us, having deprived us of greater things by our preoccupation with lesser things, and by keeping us still caught in the ten thousand wounds of our transgressions. For if there were two physicians, one weaker and the other more powerful, and the one applying medicines to the wounds were unable to deliver the sick person from the pain of them once and for all... (lacuna)...

^C ...your brother, leave your gift before the altar, and go; first be reconciled to your brother, and then come and offer your gift. He did not say, "Shorten the sacrifice, and then go away," but, "Leave it remaining unoffered, and having gone away, be reconciled to your brother." And he did not do this only here, but also elsewhere again. For if a man has an unbelieving wife, that is, a Greek, he is not forced to cast her out; for "If any man," he says, "has an unbelieving wife, and she is consenting to dwell with him, let him not cast her out." But if she is a harlot and an adulteress, he is not forbidden to cast her out; "For whoever," he says, "shall put away his wife, except for the cause of fornication, causes her to commit adultery." So that in the case of fornication, it is permitted to put her away. Do you see the philanthropy of God and his care? If the woman is a Greek, he says, do not cast her out; but if she is a harlot, I do not forbid you to do this. If she commits impiety against me, he says, do not cast her out; but if she insults you, there is no one who forbids you to cast her out. Then, even though God uses such honor towards us, shall we not deem Him worthy of the same, but instead overlook Him being insulted by our own wives, and that too, knowing that a most grievous punishment and retribution awaits us when we overlook the salvation of our wives? For this reason He made you the head of the woman, and for this reason Paul also commanded, "If they want to learn anything, let women ask their own husbands at home," so that, just as a teacher and guardian and protector, you might lead her into godliness. But you, when the time of the assembly calls you to the church, do not rouse them when they are slothful; yet when the devil calls them with his very trumpets, you do not restrain them when they are ready to obey, but you overlook them being caught by the accusations of impiety, and towards...

harlots and effeminate men and the whole chorus of the theater are accustomed to converge there. And why do I speak of the fornications that take place? Do you not fear that your wife might return from there having taken hold of a demon? Have you not heard in the previous discourse how the argument clearly demonstrated to us that demons inhabit both the very souls of the Jews and the places in which they gather? How then, tell me, do you dare, after dancing with demons, to return to the assembly of the apostles? And how do you not shudder, after having gone away and fellowshipped with those who shed the blood of Christ, to come and share in the sacred table, and partake of the precious blood? Do you not shudder, do you not fear, committing such unlawful things? Do you have no reverence for the table itself? These things I have addressed to you, these things you must address to those who are yours, and they to their own wives: Build into one another. And if the one suffering from such a malady is a catechumen, let him be barred from the vestibules of the temple; but if he is a believer and initiated into the mysteries, let him be driven away from the sacred table. For not all sins require exhortation and counsel, but there are some that are naturally corrected by a short and very sharp cut. And just as some wounds yield to milder medicines, while those that are putrid and incurable, and spreading to the rest of the body, require the point of the iron and flame; ^B so too, in the case of sins, some require longer exhortation, while others require sharp rebukes. Therefore, Paul also commanded not to exhort everyone, but also to rebuke sharply, saying thus: "For which cause rebuke them sharply" (Tit. 1. 13). I shall therefore rebuke them sharply now, so that, having been put to shame by what has passed and having condemned themselves, they may no longer receive the harm that comes from that unlawful fast. For these reasons I, too, abandoning exhortation for now, testify and shout: "If any man love not the Lord Jesus Christ, let him be anathema" (1 Cor. 16. 22); and what greater proof of not loving the Lord could there exist, than when one has those who killed him as partners in their feast? It is not I who have anathematized these, but Paul; or rather, not even Paul, but Christ, who speaks through him, and who in the preceding said, that "Whosoever are justified by the law are fallen from grace" (Gal. 5. 4). Say these words to them, and read to them the sentences, and with all diligence having saved them, and having snatched them from the gullet of the devil, bring them to us on the day of the fast, so that, having rendered the remaining part of the promise which you owe, we may with one consensus and with one mouth, together with our brethren, glorify God and the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, for to Him is the glory to the ages. Amen.

ON THOSE WHO FAST FOR THE FIRST PASSOVER

1. Again, some necessary and urgent business, having interrupted the sequence of what was said before, draws the discourse to itself, and distracts us today from the struggles against the heretics. For while we were preparing again to speak to your love concerning the glory of the Only-Begotten, the untimely contention of those desiring to fast for the first Passover compels us to occupy our entire teaching today in their healing. ^C For the good shepherd not only drives away the wolves, but also heals the sick sheep with all care; for what is the gain, when the flocks escape the mouths of the beasts, but are consumed by sickness? So too, an excellent commander does not only beat back the siege engines, but before this, he reconciles the city to itself, knowing that there will be no gain from the victory outside, as long as internal civil wars remain. And that you might learn that there is nothing equal to sedition and contention for destruction, hear what Christ says: "A kingdom divided against itself shall not stand" (Matt. 12. 25). And yet, what is stronger than a kingdom, where there is an income of money, and arms, and walls, and fortifications, and such a number of soldiers, and horses, and ten thousand other things that provide great strength? And yet such power is dissolved when it is seditious against itself. For nothing is so naturally disposed to work weakness as contention and strife; just as nothing produces such strength and power as love and concord. Which Solomon, therefore, perceiving, said: "A brother helped by a brother is like an established city, and a kingdom secured by a cross-bar" (Prov. 18. 19). Do you see how great is the strength of concord? How great is the harm of contention? A kingdom that is seditious is dissolved, but two who are together on the same path, and bound to one another, are more unbreakable than any wall. And I know indeed that, by the grace of God, most of this flock of ours has been freed from this sickness, and the disease has devolved upon a few; ^D nevertheless, not for this should the healing be neglected. For even if there were only ten, and if five, and if two, and if only one who is suffering, not even then ought we to despise him. For even if he is one, and lowly, and cast aside, yet he is a brother, for whom Christ died. And great to Christ is the account of the lowly: "Whosoever shall offend," he says, "one of these little ones who believe in me, it is better for him that a millstone be hung about his neck, and he be drowned in the sea" (Matt. 18. 6); and again: "In as much as you have not done it to one of these little ones, you have not done it to me" (Id. 25. 45); and again: "It is not the will before the Father of you who is in the heavens, that one of these little ones should perish" (Id. 18. 14). How then is it not absurd, if Christ makes such care for the little ones, that we should be negligent of them? [607] Do not say this, that he is one, but that one being neglected will pass the disease on to the rest; for "A little leaven," he says, "leavens the whole lump" (Gal. 5. 9). And this is what ruins and overturns all things, that we neglect the little ones. For this reason great ulcers come to be, just as great…

^A scandals originate; and it is a matter of no small account that they find the attention they require.

This, then, is what we say to them first: that nothing is worse than strife and fighting and rending the Church asunder, and cutting into many pieces that tunic which even the robbers did not dare to tear apart. Do not the other heresies suffice, that we must needs tear ourselves apart? Do you not hear Paul saying: "But if you bite and devour one another, take heed that you are not consumed by one another"? You are walking outside the flock, tell me, and do you not fear the lion prowling about outside? For your enemy, he says, wanders about like a lion, roaring and seeking whom he may devour. Behold the wisdom of the shepherd: he neither let him stay inside among the sheep, lest he strike terror into the flock, nor did he drive him outside, in order to gather all within through fear of the beast. Do you not revere the Father? Fear the enemy; if you cut yourself off from the flock, he will surely receive you. For Christ could have driven him away from the outside, but to prepare you to be sober and to be ever striving, and to flee constantly to the mother, He allowed him to roar outside, so that those within, hearing his voice, might be more closely knit together and might flee to one another. Mothers act the same way; out of deep affection, they often threaten their wailing children that they will throw them into the mouths of wolves—not that they might be thrown, but that they might cease their fretfulness. For this reason Christ did all things, that we might live in peace, that we might be bound one to one another.

^B 2. For this reason, also, although Paul had many and great things to complain of to the Corinthians, he made no complaint before this; but though he had to accuse them concerning fornication, and concerning pride, and concerning lawsuits before outsiders, and concerning banquets in idol temples, and that women were not covering their heads while the men were doing so, and—along with all these—concerning the neglect of the poor, and the arrogance which sprang up in them from the spiritual gifts, and concerning the resurrection of the body; though he had to rebuke them for all these things and concerning their strife and factionalism among one another, he passed over all other matters and corrects this one first. And if I do not seem to be troublesome, I will make this clear from the very words of Paul himself, that while he had all those things to complain of, he corrected nothing before this. For that they were committing fornication, hear what he says: "It is actually reported that there is fornication among you." That they were puffed up and high-minded: "Some are puffed up, as though I were not coming to you." That they were litigating before outsiders: "Dare any of you, having a matter against another, to go to law before the unrighteous?" That they were eating food sacrificed to idols: "You cannot partake of the table of the Lord and the table of demons." And concerning the women not being covered, while the men were the opposite, hear how he rebukes them, saying: "Every man praying or prophesying, having his head covered, dishonors his head; but every woman praying or prophesying with her head uncovered, dishonors her head." And that they were neglecting the poor, he also made this clear, saying: "One is hungry, and another is drunken"; and again, "Do you despise the Church of God, and shame those who have nothing?" But since all were springing at the greater gifts, and no one would accept the lesser, he says: "Are all apostles? Are all prophets?" And that they were also doubting concerning the resurrection: "But someone will say," he says, "How are the dead raised? And with what body do they come?" Nevertheless, having so many things to accuse them of, he said nothing to them before that of the division and the strife; but immediately, beginning the epistle, he says something like this: "Now I plead with you, brethren, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that you all speak the same thing, and that there be no divisions among you." For he knew, he knew clearly, that this was the matter that was urgent. ^C He who fornicates, if he continually enters the church, and the arrogant man, and he who has any other failing, will quickly be pushed away by the constant enjoyment of teaching and will return to health. But he who has torn himself away from this assembly and has withdrawn from the teaching of the fathers, and has fled the infirmary, even if he seems to be in good health, will quickly fall into illness. And just as a top-notch physician first quenches the fever and then treats the ulcers and the wounds, so also did Paul; first he removed the dissension, then he healed the wounds of each member. For this reason he discusses this before all else, that they should neither be at odds with one another, nor claim as their own leaders, nor rend the body of Christ into many parts. And he was saying these things not only to those, but also to those who, following them, suffer from the same illnesses as they; whom I for my part would gladly ask: what in the world is Pascha, what in the world is the Quadragesima? And what is the Jewish one, and what is our own? And for what reason did the one take place once in the whole year, while this one is celebrated at every assembly? What do the unleavened breads signify? And many other things greater than these that contribute to this very subject itself. And then you would know well their untimely strife, seeing that, not even being able to give a reason for what they are doing, they neither learn from others as if they were wiser than all—which is an act of extreme condemnation—nor do they know themselves, nor do they follow those who are appointed, but simply, by an irrational habit, entrust their own affairs to themselves and are carried over precipices and cliffs.

3. But what is their wise argument when we speak against them? "You," they say, "did you not fast this fast before?" This is not for you to say to me, but it would be fair for me to say to you, that we, too, fasted in this way before, but nevertheless we preferred agreement over the observance of times. And what Paul said ^D to the Galatians, this I also say to you: "Become as I am, for I also have become as you." And what is this? He was persuading them to abandon circumcision, to despise Sabbaths and days and all the other legal ordinances. Then, since they were terrified and afraid lest they undergo the punishment and penalty for transgression, he leads them from his own actions to confidence, saying: "Become as I am, for I also have become as you." For did I not come from the Gentiles? he says, for did I not...

live in ignorance of the legal system and the punishment prescribed for those who transgress the law? I was a Hebrew of Hebrews, according to the law a Pharisee, according to zeal persecuting the Church. But whatever gains I had, these I have counted as loss for Christ; that is, I departed from them completely. Become, therefore, as I am; for I also have become as you. Amen.

And why do I speak of myself? Three hundred fathers, and even more, gathered in the region of Bithynia and established these laws. And do you despise all of them? For it is one of two things: you either condemn them of ignorance, as if they did not know the truth precisely, or of cowardice, as if they did know it but feigned otherwise and betrayed the truth. For when you do not hold to what they decreed, these conclusions follow inevitably. ^A That they displayed great wisdom and courage at that time, all that occurred makes clear. For the faith issued at that time demonstrates their wisdom, as it stopped the mouths of the heretics and, like an unbreakable wall, repelled all their schemes; and the recently ended persecution and the war against the Churches demonstrate their courage. ^B For just as certain heroes, having set up thousands of trophies and received many wounds, return from the Churches’ struggle at that time bearing the marks of Christ and having many punishments to recount, which they endured for their confession. For some had to speak of mines and the hardships therein, others of the confiscation of all their property, others of famines, others of constant lashes; others had their sides scraped, others their backs broken, others their eyes gouged out, and others had some other part of their body taken away for the sake of Christ. And from these athletes the entire assembly was composed at that time, and along with the faith they also decreed this, that we should celebrate this feast commonly and in unison. ^C Do those, therefore, who did not betray the faith in such difficult times, do they now intend to feign observance of days? See what you are doing in condemning so many fathers, so courageous and wise. For if the Pharisee, by condemning the tax collector, lost all the good things he had, what forgiveness will you have, what defense, when you rise up against so many teachers, friends of God, and that unjustly and with great stupidity? Did you not hear Christ Himself saying, "Where two or three are gathered in my name, there am I in the midst of them"? If where two or three are, Christ is in the midst, where three hundred and many more were present, Christ was present much more, and He was directing and legislating everything. ^D And you condemn not only them but the entire world, or do you praise their judgment? Or do you think the Jews are wiser than the fathers throughout the world, even though they have fallen from the ancestral polity and perform no festival? For that there are no unleavened breads among them, nor a Passover (for I also hear many saying that the Passover is after the unleavened bread), but that there is no unleavened bread among them, listen to the lawgiver saying: "You shall not be able to sacrifice the Passover in any of your cities which the Lord your God gives you, but in the place where the Lord your God shall choose that his name be called." Regarding Jerusalem, saying: Do you see how, after gathering the feast into one city, He later tore down the city itself, so that He might lead them away from that polity even against their will? That God foresaw what would follow is clear to everyone. Why then did He drive them there from the entire world, foreknowing that the city would be destroyed? It is not unknown that, wishing to bring it to an end, God destroyed it; and to those Jews who followed him, about whom the prophet says: "And who is blind, but my servants, and deaf, but those who rule over them?" For toward whom did those men not prove ungrateful and insensible? Toward the apostles, toward the prophets, toward their own teachers? And what need is there to speak of teachers and prophets, when they even slaughtered their own children? For they sacrificed their sons and their daughters to demons. They forgot their nature, they trampled on kinship, they forgot their children, they forgot God Himself who created them. For, He says, "You forsook God who begot you, and forgot God who feeds you." They forsook God, and were they to keep festivals? And who would say this?

Since Christ also performed the Passover with them for this reason—not so that we might act along with them, but so that He might bring truth upon the shadow. For He also endured circumcision, kept the Sabbath, performed festivals, ate unleavened bread, and did all these things in Jerusalem. But we are subject to none of these, but Paul cries out: "If you be circumcised, Christ shall profit you nothing." And again, concerning the unleavened bread: "Therefore let us keep the feast, not with old leaven, nor with the leaven of malice and wickedness, but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth." For our unleavened bread is not flour kneaded together, but a sincere polity and a virtuous life.

4. Why then did Christ do this at that time? Because the ancient Passover was a type of what was to come, and it was necessary for the truth to be added to the type, by first showing the shadow, then bringing the truth to the table; but once the truth was brought, the shadow is henceforth concealed, and no longer has its time. Do not, therefore, bring this forward, but show me this: that Christ commanded us to do likewise. For I show the opposite, that He not only did not command us to observe days, but also released us from this necessity. Listen then to what Paul says: whenever I say Paul, I mean Christ; for it is He who moves the soul of Paul. What then does he say? "You observe days, and months, and seasons, and years. I am afraid of you, lest I have labored in vain among you." And again: "As often as you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord's death." And by saying "as often," he made the one who approaches the master.

^A of his days and freed him from the [strict] observance of days. For Pascha and the Forty Days are not the same thing; rather, Pascha is one thing, and the Forty Days is another. For the Forty Days happens once a year, but Pascha occurs on the third day of the week; and sometimes it is the fourth, or rather, as often as we wish. For Pascha is not a fast, but the offering and the sacrifice that takes place at every assembly. And that this is so, hear Paul saying: "Christ, our Pascha, was sacrificed for us," and: "As often as you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord's death." Therefore, as often as you approach with a pure conscience, you celebrate Pascha—not when you fast, but when you partake of that sacrifice. For "as often as you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord's death." And Pascha is the proclaiming of His death. For the offering that takes place today, and that which was performed yesterday, and that which occurs every day is similar and the same as the one which happened on that day of the Sabbath; and that one is no more solemn than this, nor is this one less significant than that, but it is one and the same, equally awesome and salvific.

Why, then, one might ask, do we fast for these forty days? In olden times, many approached the mysteries simply and as it happened, and especially at this season, during which Christ delivered them. Consequently, the fathers, recognizing the harm resulting from this negligent approach, gathered together and established forty days of fasting, prayers, listening [to Scripture], and assemblies, so that having been cleansed in these days with diligence—both through prayers, and through almsgiving, and through fasting, and through vigils, and through tears, and through confession, and through all other things—we might thus, according to our ability, approach with a pure conscience. And that they accomplished something great by establishing us in a habit of fasting through this concession is evident from this: for even if we were to remain shouting and preaching fasting throughout the entire year, no one would pay attention to what is said. But if the season of the Forty Days arrives, even if no one is exhorting or advising, even the most sluggish person is aroused, receiving the advice and exhortation from the season itself. If, therefore, a Jew or a Greek asks you, "For what reason are you fasting?" do not say, "Because of Pascha," nor "Because of the Cross," for you give him much of a handle against you. For we do not fast because of Pascha, nor because of the Cross, but because of our own sins, since we are about to approach the mysteries; for Pascha is not a matter of fasting or mourning, but of joy and gladness. For the Cross abolished sin, ^B became a purification for the world, a reconciliation of long-standing enmity; it opened the gates of heaven, made friends of those who were hated, brought us back to heaven, seated our nature at the right hand of the throne, and provided us with ten thousand other good things. It is not, therefore, for us to mourn or to be downcast, but to exult and rejoice for all these things. For this reason Paul also says: "But far be it from me to boast, except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ." And again: "But God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us." And John says something like this: "For God so loved the world." In what way? Tell me. And passing over everything else, he set forth the cross. For having said, "So God loved the world," he added, "that he gave his only begotten Son, that he might be crucified, that every one who believes in him might not perish but have eternal life." If, therefore, the Cross is a matter of love and a boast, let us not say that we mourn because of it; for we do not mourn for it—far be it!—but for our own sins. For this reason we fast.

5. ^C The catechumen, at any rate, never celebrates Pascha, even if he fasts every year, because he does not communicate in the offering; just as, on the other hand, he who does not fast, if he approaches with a pure conscience, celebrates Pascha, even if he partakes of the communion today, tomorrow, or at any time whatsoever. For the best approach is judged not by the observance of times, but by a pure conscience. We, however, do the opposite. We do not cleanse the mind, but if we happen to approach on that [particular] day, we think we are celebrating Pascha, even if we are full of ten thousand sins. But this is not so, it is not; rather, even if you approach on the very Sabbath with an evil conscience, you have fallen from communion and have gone away without celebrating Pascha. Just as, on the other hand, if you communicate today, having washed away your sins, you have celebrated Pascha precisely. It was necessary, therefore, for you to maintain this precision and vigor not in the observance of times, but in the approach. And just as you choose now to endure everything rather than change the custom, so you ought to have disregarded this, and chosen to suffer and do anything, so as not to approach with sins. For that God has no regard for times and such observance, hear Him judging: "You saw me hungering," He says, "and you fed me; thirsting, and you gave me drink; naked, and you clothed me." And to those on the left He reproaches the opposites of these. And again, having brought in another, He punishes him for bearing grudges: "Wicked servant," He says, "I forgave you all that debt; did you not have to pity your fellow servant, as I also pitied you?" Again, He shut the virgins out of the bridal chamber because they had no oil in their lamps; another [was cast out] because he entered not having a wedding garment, but was clothed in filthy rags, having put on fornication and impurity. But that anyone ever celebrated Pascha in this month or that month, no one was ever punished or accused. And why do I speak of us, who have been freed from every such necessity and who live up in the ^D heavens, where there are no months, and sun, and moon, and cycle of years? For not even among the Jews themselves, if one were to wish to examine it precisely, will one see much account taken of the time, but rather the place of Jerusalem itself being preferred. For since people came to Moses and said, "We are unclean because of a dead soul—how

shall we not be deprived of the gifts of the Lord?" He says, "Stand there, and I will inquire concerning you of God." And then, when he had brought it before Him, He brought down a law, saying that if anyone is unclean by a dead soul, or is on a long journey, and is not able to keep the Passover in the first month, he shall keep it in the second. Thus, for the Jews, the observation of the time is set aside so that the Passover may be kept in Jerusalem; but you do not prefer the concord of the Church to the time, but in order that you may seem to observe days, you behave insolently toward the mother of us all, and divide the holy assembly? And how could you be worthy of pardon, choosing to commit such great sins for the sake of nothing?

And what need is there to speak about the Jews? For it is clear from this that it is not even possible, even if we were firmly resolved and eager, to keep absolutely that day on which He was crucified. For even if the Jews were not transgressors, and were not ungrateful, and were not senseless, and were not stubborn and contemptuous, and had not fallen away from the ancestral polity, but were even now keeping it accurately, not even so would it be possible for us, following them, to grasp the day itself on which He was crucified and celebrated the Passover. And how, I ask? When He was being crucified, it was then the first day of unleavened bread, and it was a Friday—and it is not possible for both of these to always coincide. Behold, now, in the present year, the first of the unleavened bread falls on a Sunday, and there is an absolute necessity to fast the week, and with the Passion having passed, and the Cross having occurred, and the Resurrection having come to pass, we remain fasting. And this has often happened, that after the Cross and after the Resurrection, while the week was not yet finished, the fast was being observed; thus there is no observation of time.

Do not, therefore, let us contend, nor let us say, "I have fasted for such a long time, and shall I now change?" For this very reason, change—since you have been separated for so long a time from the Church, return at last to your mother. No one says, "Because I have remained in enmity for such a long time, I am ashamed to be reconciled now." For shame is not in changing for the better, but in remaining in unseasonable contention. This also destroyed the Jews, who, always seeking the ancient custom, were drawn away into impiety.

And why do I speak of fasting and the observation of days? Paul kept the law, and endured much sweat, and many journeys, and sustained many other hardships, and surpassed all his contemporaries in the accuracy of that polity; but yet, after arriving at the peak of that polity, when he perceived that he was doing everything to his own destruction and hurt, he immediately changed. And he did not say to himself, "What is this? I am losing such great zeal? I am wasting such great labor?" But for this very reason he changed all the more quickly, so that he might not remain again in the same loss, and he despised the righteousness that is in the law, so that he might receive that which is from faith; and he cries out, saying, "Whatever was gain to me, I have counted as loss for the sake of Christ."

If you offer your gift, He says, at the altar, and there remember that your brother has something against you, go, first be reconciled to your brother, and then come and offer your gift. What are you saying? If your brother has something against you, He does not permit you to offer the sacrifice until you are reconciled to him; but when the Church is entire, and such numbers of fathers have something against you, do you dare and endure to approach the divine mysteries without having dissolved this unseasonable enmity? And how could you be able to celebrate the Passover, being so disposed? I do not say these things to those people alone, but also to you who are healthy, so that as many as you see who are such, you may, with great accuracy and gentleness, instruct them and bring them back, and lead them back to their mother. Even if they resist, even if they leap about, even if they do anything else, let us not grow weary until we persuade them; for there is nothing equal to peace and accord. For this reason, even the father who enters does not first ascend this throne until he has prayed for peace for you all, and when he stands, he does not first begin the teaching to you until he has given peace to all. And the priests, when they are about to bless, having first prayed for this for you, thus begin the blessing. And the deacon, too, commanding to pray together with the others, commands this in the prayer, to ask for the angel of peace, and that all things set before us be peaceful, and when he dismisses you from this assembly, he prays this for you, saying, "Go in peace," and there is absolutely nothing at all that can be either said or done without this. For this is our nurse and mother, who warms us with much accuracy. By peace, I do not mean that which comes from a mere salutation, nor that which comes from the sharing of tables, but the peace according to God, that which comes from spiritual accord, which many are now tearing apart, destroying our matters for the sake of unseasonable contention, and inflating those of the Jews, deeming them more trustworthy teachers than their own fathers, and trusting the Christ-killers regarding the Passion; what could be more irrational than this? Do you not know that that was a type, but this is the truth? For see how great is the difference. That prevented bodily death, this has dissolved the wrath which was being carried against the whole world; that set them free from Egypt at that time, this has liberated us from idolatry; that drowned Pharaoh, this has drowned the devil; after that, Palestine, after this, heaven.

Why, then, do you sit by the lamp, the sun having appeared? Why do you wish to be fed on milk, solid food being given to you? For this reason you were fed on milk, that you might not remain in the milk; for this reason the lamp appeared to you, that you might be guided to the sun. Do not, therefore, now that the more perfect things have arrived, run back to the former things, nor let us observe days and times and years, but everywhere let us follow the Church with accuracy, preferring love and peace above all. For even if the Church were in error, it would not be as great an achievement to have the accuracy of the times as it would be a condemnation to be the cause of this division and schism.

But now I have no argument regarding the time, since neither is it a matter for God, as I have already demonstrated, and on this account I have expended many words. Rather, I seek one thing only: that we might do all things in peace and harmony, so that while we and the whole body of the people are fasting, and the priests are offering the common intercession for the world, you might not remain in your house drunk. Consider how this is a work of diabolical energy, ^A and how the sins are not one, nor two, nor three, but by far more numerous. It tears you away from the flock, and it makes you condemn so many gathered fathers; it casts you into contentiousness; it pushes you toward the Jews; and it sets a stumbling block before you again, both to your own people and to strangers. For how shall we be able to reproach them for remaining in their house, when you run to them? And these are not the only sins; but also [it is a] great harm that could occur, when you enjoy neither Scriptures, nor synods, nor blessings, nor common prayers during those fasts, but instead pass all this time with an evil conscience, fearing and trembling lest you be caught, like some foreigner and alien, when it is necessary with boldness, with pleasure, with gladness, with all freedom, jointly with the Church to perform all things. For the Church does not know an accuracy of times; ^B but because from the beginning it seemed good to all the fathers to come together, even though they were divided, and to fix this day, honoring the harmony everywhere and loving the unity, it accepted what was enjoined. For that it is impossible for us, or you, or anyone else whatsoever to seize upon the Sunday for this, has been sufficiently demonstrated in what went before. Let us not, therefore, fight with shadows, nor by contending over indifferent matters cause ourselves harm in the greater ones. For, to fast at this time or that time is no crime, but to tear the Church apart, and to be disposed contentiously, and to cause divisions, and to be perpetually depriving oneself of the synod, is unforgivable and worthy of accusation, and holds much punishment. It was therefore possible to say more than these things; but for those who are attentive, even the things mentioned are sufficient, and for those who are not attentive, not even if more than these were said ^C will there be any gain. Therefore, ending the discourse here, let us all together pray for our brothers to return to us, and to embrace peace, and to depart from the untimely contentiousness, and laughing at this coldness, to receive some high and great frame of mind, and to be released from the observation of the days, so that with one accord we may all with one mouth glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, to whom is the glory and the power, now and always, and unto the ages of ages. Amen.

BY THE SAME, AGAINST THE JEWS, ON THE TRUMPETS OF THEIR PASSOVER. SPOKEN IN ANTIOCH IN THE GREAT CHURCH.

Fourth Homily.

1. Again the wretched and, of all men, the most miserable Jews are about to fast, and again it is necessary to secure the flock of Christ. Since even shepherds, as long as no beast is causing trouble, lie beneath an oak or pine tree and pipe on their reeds, having left the sheep to graze with complete abandon; ^D but when they perceive a wolf-incursion happening, they quickly drop the reed and take up the sling, and leaving the pipe, they arm themselves with clubs and stones; and standing before the flock, and having uttered a great and exceeding loud cry, often with their voice before the strike they have driven off the beast. Thus, indeed, we too: in the days before, just as in some meadow, we were frolicking with the interpretation of the Scriptures, and we did not touch on any combative discourse, for there was no one to trouble us. But since today the Jews, who are more savage than all wolves, are about to surround our sheep, it is necessary to box and to fight, so that nothing of ours becomes prey to the beast. And do not wonder if, though the fast itself is coming in ten and more days, we are already arming ourselves from this point, and fortifying your souls, since even diligent farmers, when they have a neighbor-torrent washing away the fields, not at the time of winter, but before that, block the banks, and raise up mounds, and drive trenches, and prepare for it in every way. For to attack when it is resting and settled is easy, but when it is growing and being carried along with great force of water, it is no longer as easy to meet it. For this reason they anticipate its onsets long before the time, devising every safety from every side. So too, soldiers, and sailors, and farmers, and harvesters are accustomed to do. For they, too, before the time of battle, brighten their breastplates, and inspect their shields, and prepare their bridles, and feed their horses with great care, and attend to all other things. And sailors, before letting the ship down into the harbor, repair the keel, and renew the sides, and rub down the oars, and sew the sails, and make ready all the other equipment of the vessel. Harvesters likewise, before many days [pass], sharpen their sickle, and prepare the threshing floor, and the oxen, and the wagon, and whatever else might be fulfilled for them for the harvest. And one might see all men making preparations for matters before the time, so that when the time of the matters arrives, the completion of the works may be easy for them.

Following these, we too, before many days, are safeguarding your souls; exhorting...

you to flee from this defiled and illicit fast. Do not tell me that they are fasting; show me instead if they are doing this according to the will of God. For if it is not this, the fast is more lawless than any drunkenness. For it is not necessary to consider only what is done by them, but also to inquire after the cause of these happenings. ^A For that which is done according to the will of God, even if it appears base, is the best of all; but that which is done against the will of God and does not please Him, even if it is deemed the best of all, is of all things the most base and lawless. Even if one commits murder in accordance with the will of God, this murder is better than any kind of philanthropy; and if one spares and shows philanthropy contrary to what pleases Him, this mercy would become more unholy than any murder. For it is not the nature of things, but the decrees of God that make the same things either good or base.

β'. And that you may learn that this is true, listen: Ahab once captured a certain king of the Syrians, and contrary to what pleased God, he saved him, and caused him to enjoy seating of honor, and sent him away with great honor. ^B Then a certain prophet, having arrived, said to his neighbor, “In the word of the Lord, strike me, pray.” And the man did not wish to strike him. And he said to him, “Because you have not obeyed the voice of the Lord, behold you depart from me, and the lion will strike you.” And he went away from him, and the lion found him, and struck him. And he finds another man, and said, “Strike me, pray.” And the man struck him, and scraped him, and covered his face. What could be more paradoxical than this? The one who struck the prophet was saved, ^C and the one who spared him was punished, so that you may learn that when God commands, one must not examine the nature of what is happening, but only obey. For in order that the first man, having felt shame for the prophet, would not spare him, he did not say to him simply, “Strike me,” but, “In the word of the Lord”; that is to say, “God has commanded; seek nothing further. It is the King who is the lawgiver; stand in awe of the dignity of Him who commands, and obey with all readiness.” But he did not yield; for this reason he suffered the ultimate penalty, to instruct those who came after through what he suffered, that whatever God commands, one must in all things yield and obey. Then, when that second one struck him and wounded him, he bound his own head with a bandage, and hid his eyes, and rendered himself unrecognizable. For what reason then did he do this? He was about to rebuke the king, and to pass judgment against him because of the salvation of the king of the Syrians. Since, therefore, that man, being impious, was always hostile ^D toward the prophets, in order that he, seeing him, might not drive him away from his sight, and then having driven him away, might not receive the correction, he hid both his own face and the narrative of the matter, so that he might also prevail by speaking, and in the things he wished, he might receive the king’s own assent. For when the king was passing by, he cried out to him and said, “Your servant went out to the battle of the war, and behold, a man brought a man to me, and said to me, ‘Guard this man for me; and it shall be if he escapes, your life shall be for his life, or you shall pay a talent of silver.’ And it happened as your servant was looking here and there, and behold, he was not.” And the king of Israel said to him, “Behold, you are judge before me; you have murdered.” And he hastened, and took the bandage from his eyes, and the king of Israel recognized him, that he was one of the sons of the prophets, and he said to him, “Thus says the Lord: Because you have sent away a man destined for destruction from your hand, your life shall be for his life, and your people for his people.” Do you see how not only God, but also men possess this judgment, not attending to the nature of things, but to the end and the causes? Behold, therefore, the king also says to him, “You are judge before me; you have murdered. You are a murderer,” he says, “since you let the enemy go.” For because of this, the prophet also covered himself with the bandage, and as if it were another’s matter, he introduced the case, so that with an upright judgment the king might bring forth the decision; which indeed also came to pass. For since he had condemned him, removing the bandage, the prophet says, “Because you have sent away a man destined for destruction from your hand, your life shall be for the life of his life, and your people for his people.” Do you see what kind of penalty he gave for the philanthropy? And instead of untimely mercy, what punishment he endured? And he, having saved, is punished, while another, having murdered, is praised. Thus Phinehas, having committed two murders in one moment of time, and having killed a man with a woman, is honored with the priesthood; thus he not only did not defile his hand with blood, but also made it cleaner. When, therefore, you see the one who struck the prophet being saved, and the one who did not strike him perishing, and the one who spared being punished, and the one who did not spare being approved, everywhere before the nature of things, examine the decrees of God; and if you find something happening according to what pleases Him, accept only that.

γ'. Using this canon, let us also examine this fast. For if we were not about to do this, but, bringing the naked facts by themselves into the middle, we were merely observing them, great will be the confusion, and great the noise. For indeed, robbers are flayed in their sides, and grave-robbers and sorcerers; but also martyrs suffer the same thing, and the things occurring are the same, but the will and the cause, with which it happens, is not the same, and because of this, the difference between these and those is great. Just as, therefore, in the case of those, we examine not only the tortures, but before those, the intention and the cause from which the tortures arise; and because of this we love the martyrs, not because they are tortured, but because they are tortured for Christ; and we turn away from the robbers, not because they are punished, but because they are punished for wickedness; so indeed here also, cast your vote on the things occurring; and if you see them fasting for the sake of God, approve of what is happening; but if you see them doing this contrary to the will of God, rather turn away from and hate them more than those who are getting drunk and giving advice and partying. But concerning this fast

we must not seek only the cause, but also the place and the time. But before directing our words to the Jews, we shall gladly discourse with our own members—those who appear to have taken their stand with us, but who cultivate the practices of the former, and who have undertaken the entire struggle on their behalf—men whom I see to be deserving of greater condemnation in this regard than all the Jews together. And this is something that not only the wise and the prudent, but even those who possess any measure of reason and intellect, would agree with us upon. For there is no need of sophistry, or of fabrication, or of long-winded arguments to prove this; rather, it suffices to ask some simple question to catch them by their own answer. What, then? I shall ask each one of those who suffer from this ailment: "Are you a Christian? Why, then, do you emulate the things of the Jews? But are you a Jew? Why, then, do you trouble the Church?" Does not the Persian hold to the things of the Persians? Does not the barbarian emulate the things of the barbarians? Does not one who dwells in the Roman territory follow our own polity? If one of those who dwell among us be caught favoring the things of the others, is he not immediately punished without argument or examination, even if he has a myriad of excuses? If any one be found using the Roman laws among them, will he not suffer the same thing again? How is it, then, that you, shifting to that lawless polity, think yourself worthy of salvation? Can the distance between us and the Jews be small? Is our dispute about trivial matters, such that you might imagine it to be one and the same? Why do you mingle things that cannot be mingled? They crucified Christ, whom you worship. Do you see how great the distance is? How is it, then, that you, while claiming to worship the Crucified One, run to those who put Him to death? Do I introduce this, for such is the nature of the crime and the character of the accusation? Does not Scripture itself use this very method against them? Hear what Jeremiah says to those very people: "Go to Kedar and see; send to the islands of Kittim, and know if such things have happened. What things? If nations change their gods, and they are not gods; but you have changed your glory, from which you shall not profit." He did not say: "You have changed your God," but, "your glory." ^C Now, what he says is this: Those people, he says, by worshipping idols and serving demons, have such a conscience regarding their error that they do not even choose to abandon those things and desert to the truth; but you, who worship the true God, having abandoned the ancestral piety, have deserted to things not your own; and you have not displayed as much conscience regarding the truth as they possess regarding this error. For this reason he says: "If such things have happened, if nations change their gods, and they are not gods; but you have changed your glory, from which you shall not profit." He did not say, "You have changed your God"—for God is not changed—but, "You have changed your glory." You have not wronged Me, he says; for no harm has come to Me; you have dishonored yourselves; you have not diminished My glory, but your own. Grant me, therefore, this much, to say to our own people—if indeed we ought to call those our own who favor the things of the others. Go to the synagogues and see if the Jews have changed their fast, if ^D they have fasted the Passover with us, if they have ever eaten on this day. And this is not a fast, but lawlessness and sin and transgression; yet, even so, they have not changed. But you have changed your glory, from which you shall not profit, and have deserted to their ways. When did they fast the Passover? When have they celebrated a festival of martyrs with us? When have they communicated with us on the day of the Epiphany? They do not run to the truth, and yet you run to lawlessness—and I call it lawlessness because these things are done at a time that is not fitting. There was a time when it was right for these things to be observed, but now it is not. For this reason, that which was once lawful is now unlawful.

§4. Grant me to say to them the words of Elijah. For he, too, seeing the Jews acting impiously, and at one time attending to God, but at another time serving idols, speaks in this way: "How long will you limp on both your legs? If the Lord is our God, follow behind Him; but if Baal is Lord, follow behind him." This I, too, now say to them: "If you think Judaism to be the truth, why do you trouble the Church? But if Christianity is the truth, as indeed it is, remain and follow behind it." You share in the sacraments, tell me, you worship Christ as a Christian, you ask for good things from Him—and do you celebrate festivals with His enemies? With what purpose, then, do you come to the church at all? For those who claim to favor our side, while emulating the things of the others, this argument is sufficient; but since I also desire to direct my words to those others, grant me the time to present a longer instruction and to show how the Jews, by fasting now, dishonor the law and trample upon the commandments of God, always doing everything in opposition to those things that seem pleasing to Him. For when He wished them to fast, they were gluttons; but when He wishes them not to fast, then they strive to fast; when He willed them to offer sacrifice, they ran to idols; when He does not wish them to celebrate festivals, they are eager to celebrate. For this reason Stephen said to them: "You always resist the Holy Spirit." This one thing, he says, you have been eager for: to do everything contrary to what God commands; just as they do now as well. Whence is this clear? From the law itself. For even concerning the Jewish festivals, the law commanded them to observe not only the time, but also the place. For when discoursing with them concerning this Passover, it says something like this: "You shall not be able to perform the Passover in any of the cities which the Lord your God gives you." But just as on the fourteenth of the first month, so also in Jerusalem He commands them to perform it; and similarly for Pentecost, He enclosed it within both time and place, having commanded them to celebrate it after seven weeks, and again having added that it be "in the place which the Lord your God shall choose." Thus also for the feast of Tabernacles. But let us see, of both of these—of the time and of the place—which is more necessary when it is not permitted to keep both?

^A What I mean is this: He commanded the Passover to be celebrated in the first month and in Jerusalem, in a determined time and place. Let us suppose, therefore, two men celebrating the Passover, and let one transgress the place but keep the time, while the other keeps the place but transgresses the time. Let the one who keeps the time but transgresses the place do so in the first month, and somewhere far outside of Jerusalem; and the one who keeps the place but transgresses the time, let him perform the Passover in Jerusalem, but not in the first month, rather in the second. Then let us see which of these two is the one who is accused, and which is the one who is approved, the one who transgressed the time but performed it in the place, or the one who abandoned the place but kept the time. For if the one who transgressed the time in order to perform it inside the city appears worthy of acceptance, while the one who kept the time but abandoned the place is [subject to] accusations and charges as though he had acted impiously, it is evident that these also act against the law by not performing it in the place, even if they say ten thousand times that they are keeping the time.

Whence, then, will this be evident? From Moses himself. For since they celebrated the Passover outside, it is said that some approached Moses, saying: "We are unclean by the dead body of a man; why should we be kept back from presenting the gift of the Lord at its appointed ^B time among the children of Israel?" And Moses said to them: "Wait here, and I will hear what the Lord will command concerning you." And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying: "Speak to the children of Israel, saying: Any man who becomes unclean by the dead body of a man, or is on a long journey, among you or in your generations, he shall keep the Passover in the second month." What he means is this: Whoever is, he says, abroad during the first month, let him not perform it outside the city, but in the second month, so that he may arrive at Jerusalem, and let him transgress the time so that he may not fall [by being separated] from the city. From this he shows that the observance of the place is more necessary than the observance of the time. What then could they who perform it outside the city have to say? For when they transgress the more necessary thing, not even the observance of the lesser can avail to apologize for them. So that even if they seem ten thousand times not to transgress the time, they commit the ultimate lawlessness.

And this is evident not only from this, but also from the prophets. For when those men appear—having neither sacrificed, nor sung the hymn on a foreign land, nor fasted such a fast as this—what excuse could these men have? And yet, those men, expecting to receive back their manner of life, nevertheless remained obedient to the Law and fulfilling the things of the Law; for this is what the Law said. But these men, not even having any hope of receiving back their former manner of life (for where can they show this from the prophets?), do not even then endure to keep quiet. And yet, if even they did expect to receive it back, even so they ought to have imitated those saints, and fasted, and not done any other such thing.

5. For that those men did none of these things, hear what they said to those who were asking. For since the barbarians were pressing upon them, forcing and compelling them to use their instruments, saying: "Sing us the hymn of the Lord," they, clearly understanding the law which does not permit these things to be done outside, ^C said: "How shall we sing the Lord’s hymn in a foreign land?" And again, the three children in Babylon said: "There is not, in this time, a prince and prophet, nor a place to offer before You, and to find mercy." Yet there was a great deal of space there, but because the temple was not there, they remained not sacrificing. And again to others, God said through Zechariah: "Have you fasted a fast for me for seventy years?"—speaking of the [time of the] captivity. How then do you fast now, tell me, when your ancestors neither sacrificed, nor fasted, nor celebrated feasts? For that they did not even perform the Passover, it is especially evident from these things as well. For where there was no sacrifice, there was no feast either, since it was necessary for all these to be performed in such a way.

But in order that we may also provide the proof of the matter itself, hear what Daniel says: "In those days, I, Daniel, was mourning for three weeks; I ate no bread of desire, and wine and meat did not enter into my mouth, and I did not anoint myself with oil in those weeks. And it happened on the twenty-fourth day of the first month, I saw the vision." Here pay close attention to me with accuracy; for from these things it is clear that they did not perform the Passover. And how, I will tell you. To fast during the days of unleavened bread is not permitted for the Jews; but this man did not partake of anything at all for twenty-one days. And whence is it evident, one says, that the twenty-one days were during the days of unleavened bread? From what he said, that [it was] on the twenty-fourth day of the first month. And yet the Passover ends on the twenty-first. ^D For beginning from the fourteenth of the first month, then having feasted for seven days, they meet at the twenty-first. But yet, even after the Passover had passed, he remained fasting. For beginning from the third day of the first month, then having completed twenty-one, he passed beyond the fourteenth, and after that, seven and three more days. How then are these not accursed and polluted, when those saints while in a foreign land did none such of the things of the Law, while they do the opposite out of contentiousness and strife?

For if some were sluggish and irreverent when saying and doing these things, perhaps one might consider not keeping [the law] to be the result of that sluggishness. But if they were God-loving and reverent, and gave their own souls for the things that seemed right to God, it is evident that they did not fail to keep the Law out of sluggishness, but because of being persuaded by the Law itself that it is not right to keep all these observances outside of Jerusalem. And another thing also is agreed upon from this: that the observances of sacrifices and of sabbaths and of new moons, and of all such things, the then manner of life required as an additional matter; and neither those [things] kept towards

^A virtue could contribute anything great, nor did the leaving of them undone have the power to make a virtuous man base, or to diminish anything of the philosophy in the soul. These men, at least, having demonstrated upon earth a way of life rivaling the philosophy of the angels, while performing none of these things—neither offering sacrifice, nor observing a feast, nor demonstrating such a fast—so pleased God that they even overcame nature itself, and drew the entire world, through the events that happened to them, unto the knowledge of God. For what could be equal to Daniel? Or what to the three youths, who, having received beforehand the greatest commandment in the Gospels, and the sum of all good things, already demonstrated it through their deeds? *"For greater love than this,"* He says, *"no one has, that one should lay down his soul for his friends."* But they laid down their soul for God. And not only on account of this are they admirable, but because they did not do this for any reward. Therefore they said, that *"There is a God in heaven able to deliver us; and if not, be it known to thee, O king, that we do not worship thy gods."* The reward is sufficient for us, they say, because we die for the sake of God. And they did these things, and demonstrated such virtue, while observing none of the things customarily required.

^B Ϛ΄. And for what reason, he says, did God command these things, if He did not want them to be done? And if He wanted them to be done, for what reason then did He destroy your city? For He ought to have done one of two things: either, wishing them to remain, not to have commanded to sacrifice in one place, while He was going to disperse you throughout the whole world; or, wishing you to sacrifice only there, [624] not to have dispersed you throughout the whole world, and to have made only that one city, in which alone it was required for the sacrifice to be offered, inaccessible.

What then? Is He at war with Himself, he says, having commanded to sacrifice in one place, but again having shut off that place? By no means; rather He is even very consistent with Himself; for He did not wish to give the sacrifices to you from the beginning; and of this I bring forward the prophet as a witness, saying thus: *"Hear the word of the Lord, rulers of Sodom; attend to the law of God, people of Gomorrah"*—not conversing with the Sodomites and those living in Gomorrah, but with the Jews. And He calls them so, because by the imitation of wickedness they drew to themselves the kinship to them. So, at least, He calls them dogs, and neighing horses, not because they changed into the nature of them, but because they pursued the lasciviousness of these animals. *"What is the multitude of your sacrifices to me? says the Lord."* But those in Sodom never appeared offering sacrifices; but the discourse is directed to these [Jews], calling them by the name of those, because of the reason which I stated: *"What is the multitude of your sacrifices to me? says the Lord. I am full of burnt offerings of rams, and fat of lambs, and blood of bulls and goats I do not desire; not even if you come to appear before me. For who required all these things from your hands?"* You heard a most clear voice saying that He did not require these things from you from the beginning? For if He required these things, He would have first brought the ancient ones, all who shone before them, into this way of life. How then, he says, did He permit it just now? By condescending to your weakness. And just like a physician, seeing a man suffering from fever, and being one who is difficult and impatient, desiring ^C to drink cold water, and threatening, if he does not receive it, that he will tie a noose, or throw himself down from cliffs, wishing to prevent the greater evil, he gives the lesser, wishing to lead him away from a violent death; so also God did. For since He saw them maddened, suffocating itself, desiring sacrifices, and prepared, if they did not receive them, to desert to idols—or rather, not only prepared, but already having deserted—He permitted the sacrifices. And that this is the cause, it would be evident even from the time itself. For after the feast which they celebrated to the evil demons, then He permitted the sacrifices, as if saying: "You are mad, and you wish to sacrifice; well then, offer [them] even to Me." But yet, even having permitted this, He did not let it go until the end, but through the most wise method He led them away again. And just like that physician (for nothing prevents using the same example [625] again), having gratified the desire of the patient, and having brought a cup from his own house, ordered him to enjoy the cold water in it alone, and when the patient was persuaded, he secretly ordered those who were providing it to break the cup itself, in order that he might unknowingly and secretly lead him away from that desire; so also God did; having permitted [them] to sacrifice, He did not allow this to happen in any [other] place of the world, but in Jerusalem alone. Then, since they sacrificed for a short time, He destroyed the city, so that, just as the physician by the breaking of the vessel, so also God, by the razing of what was in the city, might lead them away from the matter even against their will. For if He had said openly, "Depart," they would not have easily endured to depart from the madness concerning the sacrifice; but now, through the necessity concerning the place, He led them away unknowingly from the madness concerning the matter. Let, then, the physician be God, and the cup be the city, and the one suffering the sickness be the people of the Jews, and the cold water be the permission and authority of the sacrifices. As, therefore, the physician healed the sick one of this untimely request by making the vessel disappear; so also God led them away from the sacrifices, having destroyed the city itself, and having made it inaccessible to all. For if He did not want to arrange this, for what reason did He confine such worship to one place, He who is present everywhere and fills all things? And for what reason did He gather the worship into sacrifices, and the sacrifices into a place, and the place into a time, and the time into one city, and then razed that very city? And what is especially wonderful and marvelous, the whole world is given to the Jews-

where it is not permitted to sacrifice, but Jerusalem alone has become inaccessible, where it was once permitted to sacrifice. Would not the reason for that destruction be clear and evident even to the most senseless? For just as a builder, having laid foundations, raised up walls, vaulted a ceiling, and joined that vault into one central bond—if he were to remove that stone, he would dissolve the whole bond of the structure; so also God, having made the city a kind of bond of worship, then overturned it, and destroyed the whole remaining edifice of that polity.

7. Now, let the struggle against the Jews remain for the time being. For today we have skirmished against them, having said only as much as was sufficient for the safety of our brothers, or rather, even much more. But it is necessary henceforth to exhort you who are present, that you should take great care of our members, so that you do not say: "What does it matter to me? Why should I meddle and busy myself?" Our Master died for us, and you do not even utter a word? And what forgiveness will you have? What defense will you obtain? How will you stand at the judgment seat of Christ with confidence, tell me, while you disregard the destruction of so many souls? Would that it were possible for me to know those who are running there, and I would not have needed you, but we would have made the correction with the utmost speed. Whenever it is necessary to correct a brother, even if it is necessary to lay down your life, do not decline; imitate your Master. And if you have a servant, or a wife, hold them at home with great strictness. For if you do not allow them to go to the theater, how much more must you do this regarding the synagogue? For this is a greater lawlessness than that; there it is a sin that is done, but here it is impiety. And we say these things, not that you should leave off going to the theater—for that too is an evil—but that you should prevent this one all the more. Why do you run to see, in the synagogue of the God-fighting Jews, men sounding trumpets, tell me? When you ought to be sitting at home, lamenting for them and weeping, because they fight against the command of God, because they have the devil dancing along with them. For as I said before, that which is done against the will of God, even if it was at some time permitted, is later a lawlessness and a cause for ten thousand punishments. The Jews used to sound the trumpets once, when they had the sacrifices, but now it is not granted to them to do this. Hear, then, even why they received the trumpets: "Make for yourself, He says, trumpets of beaten silver." Then, speaking of their need, He added: "And you shall sound them over your burnt offerings and over the sacrifices of your peace offerings." Where, then, is the altar? Where is the ark? Where is the tent of the holy of holies? Where is the priest? Where are the cherubim of glory? Where is the golden censer? Where is the mercy-seat? Where the bowl? Where the libation vessels? Where the fire that was brought down from above? Have you abandoned everything, and do you keep only the trumpets? Do you see that they are playing rather than worshipping? But just as we accuse them because they are acting lawlessly, so also—and to a much greater degree—do we accuse you, because you associate with those who act lawlessly, and not only with those who run with them, but also with those who have the authority to forbid them, and yet are not willing to do so. Do not say to me: "What do I have in common with him? He is a stranger and unknown." As long as he is a believer, and shares with you in the same mysteries, and attends the same Church, he is closer than brothers and relatives and acquaintances and everyone else. Just as, therefore, not only those who steal, but also those who have the power to stop them and do not do so, are given the same punishment as those [who steal]; so also, not only those who act impiously, but also those who are able to lead them away from impiety but are not willing, whether out of laziness or negligence, are punished likewise. For even he who buried that talent returned it whole to his own master; but nevertheless, because he did not increase it, he was punished. And so you, even if you yourself remain pure and blameless, if you do not increase your talent, nor lead another perishing brother back to salvation, you will suffer the same things as that man. What great thing do I ask of you, beloved? Let each of you rescue one of my brothers, let him investigate and busy himself, so that for the coming assembly we may arrive with much confidence, bringing gifts to God—gifts more precious than all else, having led back the souls of those who have wandered away. And if it is necessary to be insulted, if it is necessary to receive blows, if it is necessary to endure anything else whatsoever, let us do everything to win them back. For we endure those who kick and insult and revile us, we are not stung by the insults, but we desire only one thing to see: the health of the one who is acting so shamefully. A sick man has often torn the clothes of the physician, but the physician has not for that reason ceased from the treatment. How then is it not absurd that those who take such great care of bodies should [be so diligent], while, when so many souls are perishing, we are indifferent, and think it no terrible thing that our own members are rotting? But Paul is not like that. But how? "Who, he says, is weak, and I am not weak? Who is scandalized, and I am not aflame?" Receive this fire yourself; and if you see a brother perishing, even if he reviles, even if he insults, even if he strikes, even if he threatens to become an enemy, even if he threatens anything else, bear everything generously, so that you may gain his salvation. If he becomes your enemy, God will be your friend, and He will reward you with great goods on that day. May it come to pass, by the prayers of the saints, that both those who have wandered are rescued, and that you gain the catch, and that those blasphemers themselves, having been delivered from their impiety, acknowledge Christ who was crucified for them, so that we all with one accord and with one mouth may glorify God and the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, to whom be glory and power, together with the holy Spirit, for all ages of ages. Amen.

Fifth Homily against the Jews

^A 1. Whence, I ask, is there a greater gathering for us today? You have responded entirely to the demand of the promise, and you have come to receive the refined silver which I promised to pay out. For the words of the Lord, he says, are pure words; silver refined, a trial ^B to the earth. Blessed is God, who has implanted in you such a desire for spiritual hearing. For just as wine-lovers and drinkers, rising up every day, busy themselves and inquire about drinking bouts, and symposia, and dinners, and carousals, and drunkenness, and bowls, and mixing-vessels, and cups; so also you, rising up every day, busy yourselves, inquiring where there is exhortation, and counsel, and consolation, and teaching, and a word tending to the glory of Christ. Because of this, we ourselves also apply ourselves to this subject more readily, and we fulfill what we promised with all gratitude.

The battle against the Jews, then, has reached its proper end; the trophy stands, the crown has been completed for us, and we snatched the prize even from the [628] former discourse. For what we were eager to demonstrate was that the things now being done by them are a certain lawlessness and transgression, and a battle and war of men against God; and this, with God, was demonstrated with all precision. For even if they were to expect to recover their city, and to return to their former way of life, and to see the temple standing—which will never be—not even so would they have any excuse regarding the things now being done by them. For if the three youths, and Daniel, and all the others who spent time in captivity, were expecting to recover their own city, and after seventy years to see the soil of their fatherland, and to live by the former laws—yet, even having a clear and acknowledged promise, they did not dare, before the promise and the return, ^C to do any of the lawful things which these men are doing now; so also you will be able to muzzle the Jew.

Question him, for instance: "Why do you fast, not having the city?" And if he should say, "Because I expect to recover the city," say to him: "Therefore, until you recover it, be quiet." For those saints of old, until they returned to their own fatherland, did not dare to do any of the things that you are doing now. Hence it is clear that you are acting lawlessly now, even if you are intending to recover the city, as you say, and you are violating the covenants with God, and you are insulting the way of life itself. Against the silencing of the shamelessness of the Jews, then, and the showing that they are acting lawlessly, the things previously said for your love were sufficient.

But since we have been eager not only for this—to sew their mouths shut—but also to instruct the Church more significantly in its own doctrines, come, let us prove from abundance this point also once again: that the temple will no longer rise, nor will they return to their former way of life. For thus you will know the apostolic doctrines more precisely, and they, being ^D more impious, will be caught. And we shall provide as a witness of these things not an angel, not an archangel, but the Master of the entire world himself, our Lord Jesus Christ. For having entered into Jerusalem, and having seen the temple, he said that Jerusalem would be trampled by many nations, until the times of many nations are fulfilled, speaking of the time until the consummation. And again, he threatened these things regarding the temple, saying to the disciples: "There shall not be left stone upon stone in this place, until it be destroyed," foretelling the total destruction and the desolation that is unto the end.

But the Jew surely evades the testimony, and does not endure what has been said. "For," he says, "he who says these things is my enemy: I crucified him, and how should I accept his testimony?" This, indeed, is the wondrous part, O Jew, that even if you crucified him, after he was crucified he then tore down your city, then he scattered your people, then he dispersed the nation everywhere, teaching that he was resurrected and lives, and is now in the heavens. For since you did not wish to know his power through his acts of kindness, he taught you his unconquerable and invincible strength through the punishments and the torments. But not even so do you believe, nor do you consider him to be God, and [629] Master of the entire world, but a man—one of the many. Come, then, let us conduct the examination as though he were a man. How are we to conduct the examination as though he were a man? When we see some men who are truthful in all things, and in no way lying anywhere, even if they happen to be enemies, and we have the mind, we accept the things said by them; just as, therefore, when we see those who are lying, even if they tell the truth in some things, we do not readily accept even those things.

2. Come, then, let us see what the character of Christ is, and what his manner. For he did not only predict and announce this in advance, but he also foretold many other things of the things about to happen long after a long time. Let us bring those prophecies into the middle, therefore, and if you see him lying in those, do not accept this either, nor consider it trustworthy; but if you see him being truthful in all things, and that this prophecy has also reached its end, and the ineffable time bearing witness to the truth of the things previously said, do not be shameless any longer, nor contend against facts which are clearer than the sun. What, then, did he also predict? Let us see. A woman came to him, having an alabaster jar of very expensive ointment, and she poured the oil. The disciples complained at what had been done, saying: "Why was this not sold for three hundred denarii..."

and given to the poor?" ^A Since He rebukes them, He speaks in a way such as this: "Why are you troubling the woman? For she has done a good work. For I say to you, wherever this Gospel is preached in the whole world, even what she has done shall be spoken of in memory of her." Was He, then, lying or did He speak the truth? Did the prophecy reach its end, or did it fail? Question the Jew; even if he behaves with ten thousand times the shamelessness, he will not have the power to look against this prediction. For we hear the woman being spoken of in all the churches, and there stand listening, consuls, generals, men, women, illustrious people, famous people, brilliant in every city; and wherever one may arrive in the civilized world, with all quietness, everyone hears of the accomplishment of the woman, and there is no part of the civilized world that has been ignorant of what took place. And yet, how many kings have done many and great things for the cities, and have won wars, and have set up many trophies, and have saved nations, and have restored cities, and have acquired ten thousand revenues; yet, nevertheless, they have been silenced along with their own accomplishments. And many queens, and great women, having benefacted their subjects in ten thousand ways, are not even known to some by name. But this lowly woman, having only poured out oil, is sung of everywhere in the civilized world, and such a multitude of time has not extinguished her memory, nor will it ever extinguish it; and yet, the work itself is not brilliant; for what was it, to pour out oil? Nor was the person famous; for she was a woman cast aside; nor were the witnesses many; for she did it in the midst of the disciples; nor was the place manifest; for she did not do this having gone out into a theater, but in a house, with only ten people present. ^B But yet, neither the lowliness of the person, nor the fewness of the witnesses, nor the obscurity of the place, nor anything else had the power to erase her memory; but the woman is now more brilliant than all queens and all kings, and no time has surrendered what happened to oblivion. Whence? Tell me; who brought this about? Was it not God, who was then being served, everywhere spreading this fame? Do these things, then, belong to human power, tell me, to announce such things beforehand? And who, possessing sanity, would say this? To predict something of the things done by Him is indeed wonderful and paradoxical; but to predict even the things done by others, and to make them become worthy of belief and manifest to all, is by far greater and more wonderful. Again He predicted to Peter: "Upon this rock I will build my Church, and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it." What, therefore, tell me, do you have to lay hold of in what was said, O Jew, and show this prediction to be false? But the testimony of the facts will not endure it, even if you yourself are ten thousand times contentious. How many wars, then, were fanned against the Church? ^C And many armies were prepared, and weapons were moved, and every kind of torment, and punishment was devised, and frying pans, and catapults, and cauldrons, and furnaces, and pits, and precipices, and the teeth of wild beasts, and seas, and confiscations, and ten thousand other tortures not even expressible in speech, nor bearable in action, and not only from those outside, but even from one's own kin. For a certain civil war held everything then, or rather, a war more grievous than any civil war. For not only were citizens pitted against citizens, but also kinsmen against kinsmen, and domestic against domestic, and friend against friend; but yet, none of these things destroyed the Church, nor made it weaker; and that which is truly wonderful and paradoxical is that all these things were put in motion in its very beginnings. For if, indeed, these evils were brought upon it then, when it had taken deep root, and when the proclamation had been planted everywhere in the civilized world, it would not have been so wonderful that the Church was not overturned; but it is that which possesses the height of every wonder, that at the beginning of the teaching, when the faith had just been planted, and when the mind of those who were hearing was more tender, so many wars should be joined together, and that our affairs should not only suffer no loss, but should even increase all the more. For in order that you may not say that the Church now stands because of the peace provided by kings, when it was smaller, when it seemed to be weaker, then God permitted it to be warred upon, in order that you might learn that even its safety now comes not from the peace of kings, but from the power of God.

3. And that this is true, consider how many leaders wished to introduce schools among the Greeks, and to set up a foreign way of life, such as Zeno, Plato, Socrates, Diagoras, Pythagoras, and ten thousand others; but yet, they were so far from prevailing, that they are not even known by name to the many. But Christ did not write only a way of life, but He planted it everywhere in the civilized world. How much is Apollonius of Tyana said to have done? But in order that you may learn that all those things were a lie and a phantasy, and that there was nothing true, it has been extinguished, and has met its end immediately. And let no one think it to be an insult to Christ that in the discourses concerning Him we recall Pythagoras and Plato, Zeno and the one from Tyana; for we do not do this from our own opinion, but by condescending to the weakness of the Jews, who think Him to be a mere man; since Paul also did this; for having entered into Athens, he did not discourse to them from the prophets nor from the Gospels, but he made his appeal from the altar; not because he thought the altar more worthy of belief than the Gospels, nor because the writings lying there of the prophets were more precious, but because he was discoursing to Greeks who believed in none of our things, he won them over from their own dogmas. Therefore he says: "I became to the Jews as a Jew, to those without law as one without law, not being without law to God but under the law to Christ." So also the Old Testament, conversing concerning God to the Jews, does so saying this: "Who is like to thee among the gods, O Lord?" What are you saying, O Moses? For is there altogether a comparison? By way of comparison, he says, I did not speak this, but because I am discoursing to Jews, who have a great opinion concerning demons, by condescending to their weakness [631], ^D

he introduced this manner of teaching. Since, therefore, our argument is also directed toward the Jews, who think Christ is a mere man and some kind of lawbreaker, for this reason we have conducted the examination starting from those who were admired among the Greeks. But if you wish, let us attempt these proofs also from those among them who undertook such a thing, and who gathered disciples, and were proclaimed as leaders and champions, only to be extinguished immediately. Thus, at any rate, did Gamaliel refute them. For when he saw them raging and desiring to shed the blood of the disciples, wishing to restrain them from their unquenchable madness, he ordered the apostles to be put outside for a little while, and he spoke to them in this way: "Take heed to yourselves as to these men, what you are about to do. For before these days Theudas rose up, claiming himself to be somebody; and four hundred men followed him; and he was destroyed, and all who obeyed him were dispersed. And after him rose up Judas the Galilean, who led away a considerable crowd; and he also perished, and his disciples were destroyed. And now I say to you, take heed to yourselves, for if this work is of men, it will be overthrown; but if it is of God, you will not be able to overthrow it, lest you be found even to be fighting against God." 632 Whence, then, will it be clear that if it is of men, it will be overthrown? You have had experience, he says, from Judas and Theudas. Therefore, this one too, who is preached by these [the apostles], if he is of such a sort as those men, and does not perform everything by divine power, wait a little while, and the very outcome of the events will prove it to you, and through the end you will know clearly whether he is a man who is a deceiver, as you say, and a lawbreaker, or God, who holds all things together and manages human affairs by an ineffable power. And this is exactly what happened. They waited, and by the very events the divine and unconquerable power was made manifest, and this sophistry, which had also been produced for the deception of the many, was turned back upon the head of the devil. For when he saw Him appearing, desiring to cast a shadow over His presence and the true economy, he brought in certain deceivers, whom we mentioned, so that He too might be thought to be one of them. And what he did at the cross, having prepared two robbers to be crucified with Him, this he also accomplished at the time of His presence, hastening by the juxtaposition of the lie to shade the truth. But he did not prevail even there, nor here; rather, he showed this very thing most of all, the power of Christ. For tell me, why, when there were three who were crucified, in the same place, at the same time, by the same judges, those men were silenced, while this one alone is worshipped? Again, why is it that when many have introduced a new way of life and have had disciples, the names of those men are not known even to this day, while this one is worshipped everywhere in the inhabited world? For things are made most apparent by comparison. Compare now, O Jew, and learn the excellence of the truth. What deceiver has gained so many Churches everywhere in the inhabited world, and has extended his worship from the ends of the world to the ends, and has had all 633 submitting to him, and this when there were a myriad things hindering it? There is no one. Therefore, it is clear that Christ was not a deceiver, but a Savior, and a Benefactor, and a Protector, and a Champion of our life.

I will go on to the subject proposed, having added one more prophecy.

^A It would have been sufficient, therefore, that what has been said already serves as proof for us that the temple will never be rebuilt. But since the abundance of the truth is great, I will leave the Gospels and turn to the prophets, whom they seem to believe in most; and from those as well I will make it manifest that they will never recover the city nor the temple. And yet, I had no obligation to prove that it will not be rebuilt; nor was this my task, but theirs, to prove the opposite: that it will be rebuilt. For I have the constitution of time testifying for me and contending alongside me; while those men, defeated by the very outcome of events and having nothing in deeds to show for what they say, but boasting simply and in vain, are the ones who are rightfully expected to provide that testimony. ^B For what I say, I demonstrate as having come to pass through the deeds themselves, and that the city fell 634 and has not been rebuilt for so long a time; but what they say remains in their mere empty words. And they ought to have shown that the city will be rebuilt again, since this is how we observe proofs being made even in courts of law. For when some people dispute with each other over anything at all, and one of the parties provides the written proofs for what he says, and then the other challenges these assertions, that man is thereafter compelled to produce witnesses or other irrefutable evidence that things are not as the documents claim—if, that is, he is not the one producing the documents. Thus, it was necessary for the Jews now to do the same, and to bring into our midst a prophet who says that the city will certainly be rebuilt. For that, if the present captivity were destined to have an end, there would be every necessity for the prophets to announce this beforehand, is manifest to anyone who has peered even slightly into the prophetic books.

For it is an ancient custom among the Jews for the prophets to herald beforehand into the future the evils or goods that would befall them. For what reason and why? Because of their great stubbornness and shamelessness. For since they would immediately forget the benefits of the God who had done these things, and would ascribe the events to demons, and would credit those [demons] for their successes—just as when they went out of Egypt, the sea having been parted, and having witnessed the other miracles, they forgot the God who had done these things and attributed the events to non-gods, saying to Aaron, "Make us gods who will go before us"—so too they are seen saying to Jeremiah, "The word that you spoke to us in the name of the Lord, we will not listen to you, but we will certainly do every word that shall go out of our mouths, to sacrifice to the queen of heaven, and to pour out libations to her, just as we did, we and our fathers, our kings, and our rulers; and we were filled with bread, and we were prosperous, and we saw no evil. But since we left off sacrificing to the queen of heaven and pouring out libations to her, we have all run short, and have perished by the sword and by famine." ^C Lest, therefore, they attribute any of the events to the idols, but rather believe that both the punishments and the blessings reach them always from God—the former because of their sins, the latter because of His philanthropy—the prophets would herald the future to them from of old. And that you may know that this is the cause of the prophecy, hear what the most loud-voiced Isaiah says: "I know that you are stubborn toward the Jewish people, and your neck is an iron sinew"—that is to say, unyielding—"and your forehead is bronze," that is, shameless. Thus, it is our custom often to call those who do not know how to blush "bronze-faced." "And I declared to you," he says, "what is about to come upon you before it happens, and I made it heard to you." Then, stating the reason for the prophecy, he added: "Lest you say, 'The idols made them for me, and the carved and molten images commanded me.'" And again, since they are contentious and arrogant people, and even after 653 the outcome are shameless as if they had not heard in advance, the prophets were not only heralding things that would come to pass, but were even taking witnesses of the things taking place. ^D Thus, again, the same Isaiah says: "Make me faithful men as witnesses, Uriah the priest and Zechariah the son of Berechiah." And not only this, but he even wrote the prophecy into a new scroll and set it aside, so that after the event, the writings themselves might bear witness against them, that it was foretold to them from above and a long time before. For this reason he does not just write on a scroll, but on a "new" scroll, capable of lasting the length of time and not being destroyed easily, but of awaiting the outcome of the events written in it. And that this is true, and that God was announcing beforehand to them all the things that would come to pass, I will provide the proof not only from this, but also from the very evils and goods that befell them.

v. The Jews, then, endured three most grievous slaveries, and God brought none upon them without a prophecy; rather, God prepared for all of them to be told to them in advance, predicting with precision the place, the time, the person, the kind of affliction, the return, and all other things. And I will tell of the first prophecy, the one in Egypt. For as He conversed with Abraham, He says something like this: "Know that your seed shall be a stranger in a land not its own, and they shall enslave it, and afflict it four hundred years. But the nation to which they shall be enslaved, I will judge, says God. And in the fourth generation they shall return here with great possessions." See how He stated the count of the years: four hundred years; [and] the manner of the slavery, that they will not simply enslave, but also "afflict." Hear, then, how Moses later explains the affliction: "The straw is not given to your servants," he says, "and they tell us to make the bricks." And they were whipped every day, so that you might know what it is, "They shall enslave and afflict," and, "The nation to which they shall be enslaved, I will judge"—referring to the drowning of the Egyptians, that which happened through the Red Sea, which Moses, writing in the odes, said as follows: "Horse and rider He threw into the sea." Then also the manner of the return, that they shall go out here with "great possessions." "Ask," he says, "each from his neighbor and fellow-guest for gold and silver vessels." For because they had enslaved for a long time, and had not received their wages, God prepared for them to be paid even against their will. And the prophet cries out, saying: "And He brought them out with silver

and gold, and there was no one weak among their tribes." This is one servitude, accurately predicted; come, let us lead the argument to another. Which one? The one in Babylon. For Jeremiah also predicted this with precision, saying thus: "Thus saith the Lord: When seventy years are about to be fulfilled for Babylon, I will visit you, and I will establish my good words to you, to bring you back to this place; and I will turn away your captivity, saith the Lord, and I will gather you from all nations, and from all the places where I have scattered you there, and I will restore you to the place from whence I removed you." Do you see how here too He mentioned the city, and the number of the years, and from where He intends to gather them, and where He will gather them? For this reason, Daniel did not offer his supplication for them before, but only when he saw the seventy years fulfilled. And who says these things? Daniel himself, speaking thus: "And I, Daniel, was doing the works of the king, and I was marveling at the vision, and there was no one to understand. And I understood in the books the number of the years, as the word of the Lord came to Jeremiah the prophet, for the fulfillment of the desolation of Jerusalem (seventy years). And I set my face to the Lord God, to seek prayer and petition in fasting, and sackcloth, and ashes." Do you hear how this servitude, too, is predicted, and that the prophet dared not bring a petition and supplication to God before the appointed time, so that he might not approach in vain and to no purpose, and so that he might not hear what Jeremiah heard: "Do not pray for this people, and do not ask concerning them, for I will not hearken to you"? But when he saw that the verdict had been fulfilled, and the time calling for the return, then he prays, and not simply, but in fasting and in sackcloth and in ashes. And what is customary to happen among men, this he also performed toward God. For we, too, when we see certain servants of ours casting themselves into prison after many and great sins, do not immediately, nor in the preliminaries, nor at the start of the punishment, offer up a petition; but after leaving them for a few days to be sobered, then we approach the masters, having also the alliance of time. This is what the prophet also did. For since they had paid a penalty—not worthy of their sins, but yet, they had paid it—he then finally approaches God to plead on their behalf. And if you wish, let us hear the prayer itself: "For I made confession," he says, "and said: O Lord, the God, the great and marvelous, who keepest thy covenant and thy mercy for them that love thee, and for them that keep thy commandments." What are you doing, O Daniel? Are you acting as an advocate for men who have sinned and offended, and mentioning to Him those who keep His laws? Are those, then, who transgress His commandments worthy of pardon? "But I do not say these things for their sake," he says, "but for the sake of the ancestors from of old, for the sake of Abraham, for the sake of Isaac, for the sake of Jacob." "To those," he says, "He promised and gave His word, who also kept His commandments." Since, therefore, he has no ground for salvation, ^A for this reason I remember the ancestors. And so that you might not imagine that he says these things about them—when he had said, "Who keepest thy covenant and thy mercy for them that love thee and for them that keep thy commandments"—he immediately added: "We have sinned, we have acted lawlessly, we have done wrong, we have acted impiously, we have turned aside from thy commandments and from thy judgments, and we have not hearkened to thy servants the prophets." For the only apology left for those who are sinning [637] is to confess their sins. But note for me the justice of the man, and the thoughtlessness of the Jews. For he, having no evil conscience of himself, condemns himself with much severity, saying: "We have sinned, we have acted lawlessly, we have done wrong"; but they, being full of ten thousand evils, did the opposite, saying: "We have kept thy commandments, and now we bless the aliens, and they who do lawless deeds are rebuilt." For just as it is the custom for the righteous after their righteous deeds to be modest, so it is the custom for the wicked after their sins to be elated. He who had no such awareness of himself said, "We have acted lawlessly, we have turned aside from thy commandments"; but they, who were conscious of ten thousand sins of their own, said that "we have kept thy commandments." I say these things so that we may flee the one and emulate the other.

On the punishment they received

but looking upon the affliction and the pressure, and hearing the cry—thus too deliver us from our present evils for the sake of thy loving-kindness alone; ^A for we have no other claim to salvation. Having said these things, and having lamented sufficiently, he finally introduces the city, like some captive woman, and says: "Cause thy face to shine upon thy sanctuary; incline, O my God, thy ear, and hear; open thy eyes, and see our desolation and that of thy city, on which thy name has been called." For because he had gone around to the people and saw no one able to render God propitious, he flees to the buildings, and puts forward the city itself, and proposes its desolation, and by these means, having concluded his discourse, he made God propitious; and this is clear from what follows. But as I was saying—for it is necessary again to return to the subject at hand; and, indeed, these things I added not simply nor in vain, but so that you might rest your mind for a little, weary as it is from the continuous struggles. Come, then, let us return to where we left off in saying these things, and let us show the evils, foretold from above, that were to overtake the Jews, with all precision. The discourse has already demonstrated both these captivities as having come upon them according to prophecy, and ^B not simply, nor unexpectedly. But it remains finally to add the third, and to speak concerning this one which is now holding them, and to show clearly how not a single prophet promised that there would be any release or departure from the evils holding them. What, then, is the third? That of Antiochus Epiphanes. For since Alexander, king of the Macedonians, having slain Darius, king of the Persians, had brought the rule to himself, when he had died, four kings rose up after him; then, one of these four becoming Antiochus a long time later, he both burned the temple, and defiled the holy of holies, and took away the sacrifices, and subdued the Jews, and destroyed their entire polity.

ζ. And all these things were foretold with all precision, and to the very day, by Daniel, both when it will be, and how, and by whom, and in what manner, and where it will end, and what shift it will take. You will know more clearly by hearing the vision itself, which the prophet reported to us through a parable, calling the king of the Persians, Darius, a ram, and the king of the Greeks, Alexander—I mean the Macedonian—a goat, and the four that rose up later after him, four horns, and he calls Antiochus himself the last horn. But it is better to hear the vision itself. For he says: "I saw in a vision, and I was at Ulai"—calling a certain place thus in the Persian tongue—"and I lifted my eyes, and I saw, and behold, a ram standing before the Ulai, and it had high horns, and the one was higher than the other, and the high one was rising later. ^C And I saw the ram butting towards the sea and the north and the south, and all the beasts did not stand before him, and there was no one delivering from his hand; and he did according to his will, and was magnified; and I was understanding." He speaks of the Persian power, and the dominion which ran over the whole earth. Then, discoursing about the Macedonian Alexander, he says: "And behold, a goat of the goats was coming from the west over the face of all the earth, and it did not touch the earth; and there was a conspicuous horn for that goat between his eyes." Then, telling the symbolism of the battle of Alexander against Darius which occurred, he also tells of the victory which was absolute. "And the goat came," he says, "as far as the ram that had the horns, and grew fierce, and struck the ram"—for it is necessary to cut it short—"and destroyed both his horns, and there was no one delivering the ram from his hand." And after these things, telling of the death of Alexander and the succession of the four kings: "And when he had waxed strong," he says, "his great horn was broken, and there rose up other four horns under it towards the four winds of heaven." From then on, having finally come to the kingdom of Antiochus, and showing that he is from one of those four, he says somewhat as follows: "And out of one of them came forth one strong horn, and it was magnified exceedingly towards the south and towards the east." And showing that he destroyed the Jewish polity, he says: "And because of him the sacrifice was troubled in a transgression. And it came to pass, and it prospered for him. And the holy place shall be desolate, and sin was given upon the sacrifice." For the altar having been destroyed, and the holy things having been trampled underfoot, he set up an idol inside, and performed illegal sacrifices to the demons, and righteousness was cast to the ground. And he did so, and he prospered. Then again, a second time, he speaks of this very kingdom, that of Antiochus Epiphanes, and the captivity, and the capture, and the desolation of the temple, and he adds the time. For starting from the kingdom of Alexander, and again towards the end of the book, and having recounted all the things in between—as many as the Ptolemies and the Seleucids, having clashed with one another, did, and what their generals wrought, the enslavements, the victories, the campaigns, the naval battles, the infantry battles—proceeding to Antiochus, he ends again and says: "And arms shall rise from him, and they shall profane the sanctuary, and shall take away the daily sacrifice"—calling the continuous daily sacrifices "the daily"—"and they shall give the abomination into it, and those who act lawlessly against the covenant"—that is, those of the Jews who transgress—"they shall bring into slips, and shall have them with themselves; and they shall take away, and the people who know their God shall be strong." He speaks of the events under the Maccabees, the events under Judas and Simon and John; "and the wise of the people shall understand unto many, and shall be weak in sword and in flame"—again recounting the burning of the city—"and in captivity, and in plundering of days; and when they are weak, they shall be helped with a little help"—showing that between those evils they shall be able to breathe and ^D to recover from the dire things that have overtaken them—"and many shall be added to them in slips, and from those who understand they shall be weak." These things he said, showing that many—even of those who stood firm—shall fall. Then he says also the cause for which God allowed them to be in such evils. What is this, then? "To refine them," he says, "and to choose, and to whiten until the time of the end." For because of these things, he says, God allowed it, so as to purify them and to show the tested ones among them. Then, recounting the power of the king, he…

adds that "He shall speak great words against the God of gods, and shall prosper until the indignation be accomplished": ^A revealing that it was not by his own volition, but on account of the wrath of God against the Jews, that he prevailed in this manner. When Daniel has described through many other things all the evils that he will inflict upon Egypt and Palestine, how he will return, who is calling him, and what cause is compelling him, he speaks next of the change of the seasons, and that after the Jews have passed through all these things, they will obtain a certain relief, an angel having been sent for their aid. "For at that time," he says, "shall Michael stand up, the great prince that standeth for the children of thy people, and there shall be a time of trouble, such as never was since there was a nation upon the earth even to that same time; and at that time thy people shall be delivered, every one that shall be found written in the book," that is, those who are worthy of salvation.

8. But the question has not even now been demonstrated to us. And what is this? That he also defined times for them during these evils, just as there were four hundred years, and after these, seventy. Let us see, therefore, if he defines any time here as well. Where, then, is this to be found? In the things that are to be said hereafter. For since he heard of many and great evils—the burning, the subversion of the polity, the captivity of his own people—he desired finally to learn the end of them, and if there would be any change of these calamities. And inquiring, he said thus: "O my Lord, what shall be the latter end of these things?" And he said, "Go thy way, Daniel: for the words are closed up and sealed" (hinting at the obscurity of the things spoken) "until the time of the end." Then he tells also the cause of the concession of the evils: ^B "till many are purified and made white and tried; but the wicked shall do wickedly: and none of the wicked shall understand; but the wise shall understand." Then foretelling the time during which these distresses are to hold sway, he says: "From the time of the change of the daily sacrifice." The "daily sacrifice" was called the perpetual sacrifice; for that which is perpetual is that which is frequent and continuous. For it was a custom for the Jews to sacrifice to God both in the evening and in the morning, every single day; wherefore he called that sacrifice the "daily sacrifice." Since, then, Antiochus came and abolished this custom, and changed it, the angel says that "from the time of the change of the daily sacrifice," that is, from the time of the abolition of this sacrifice, [there shall be] one thousand two hundred and ninety days, which is three years and a half and a little more. Then, signifying that there will be a suspension of these evils and a relief, he added: "Blessed is he that waiteth, and cometh to the thousand three hundred and five and thirty days." To the thousand two hundred and ninety, he added forty-five. For since the encounter happened to take place in a month and a half of a month, in this the victory was pure, and the complete relief from the impending evils; and by saying that "Blessed is he that waiteth and cometh to the days [of] one thousand three hundred and thirty-five," he indicated the relief. And he did not say simply, "he that cometh," but "He that waiteth and cometh." For since many of the ungodly saw the change, he does not beatify those simply, but those who witnessed [for the truth] during the times of the evils, and did not betray their piety, and then attained to the relief. ^C For this reason he did not say simply, "He that cometh," but "He that waiteth and cometh." What could be clearer than this? Do you see how the prophet announced beforehand with all precision not only up to years and months, but even to a single day, both the captivity and the relief from the captivity? And that I do not say these things by conjecture, let us bring forward yet another witness of these things, whom they consider most trustworthy—I mean Josephus, who also wrote the tragedy of their calamities, and paraphrased the entire Old Testament; who, having lived after the coming of Christ, and having spoken of the captivity that was foretold by Him, discoursed also concerning this captivity that took place, interpreting the vision of the prophet, that which concerned the ram and the goat and the four horns, and that of the one which came up after those. And that no one may suspect the things said by us, let us also set forth his own words.

For, having praised and admired Daniel with all superlativeness, and having preferred him to all the other prophets, he came also to this vision, and he says thus: "He left behind writings, by which he made known to us the accuracy and unchangeableness of his prophecy." ^D For he says that, in Susa, the metropolis of Persia, he went out into the plain with some of his companions; but an earthquake and shaking of the earth having occurred suddenly, he was left alone, his friends having fled. And that he fell upon his face, and was raised upon his two hands, and one touched him and meanwhile commanded him to stand up, and to see the things that were to happen to the citizens after many generations; and upon his standing up, a great ram was shown to him, having many horns grown out, and the last of them having one higher. Afterwards, he looked [642] towards the west, and beheld a goat carried through the air; and it having charged against the ram, and having struck him with its horns twice, it cast him down upon the earth and trampled him. Then he saw the goat higher, having grown a very large horn from its forehead; upon which being broken, four others sprouted up, turned towards each of the winds; and from them, he wrote, another smaller one also grew [and] increased. And the God who was showing these things was saying to him that his nation would wage war, and would destroy the city with might, and would plunder the temple, and would stop the sacrifices; and [that this would] happen for one thousand two hundred and ninety days.

These things Daniel wrote down that he saw in the plain in Susa; but the vision of the phantom signified to him that God, who declared the ram to mean the kingdoms of the Persians and Medes, and the horns to be the ones going to reign; and the last horn to mean the last king who is to

excel all these in wealth and glory. And that the goat signifies that one from the Greeks will be the king, who, having engaged twice with the Persian, will prevail in the battle and take away all his dominion. And it is further declared, through the first great horn which was on the forehead of the goat, the first king; and the sprouting of the four after that one had fallen, and the turning of each to the four ends of the earth, indicate the successors after the death of the first king, and the division of the kingdom among them—that neither his children nor his relatives would rule over the world for many years. That there would be one king from among these who would wage war against their laws, and who would take away their established polity, and would plunder the temple, and prevent the sacrifices from being performed for three years. And indeed, it happened to our nation to suffer these things under Antiochus Epiphanes, just as Daniel saw many years before and wrote down the things that were to happen.

What, then, could be clearer than this? But it is time, if we do not seem to be troublesome, to come to the matter in question: the present captivity and this contemporary slavery, for which we set all this in motion. But arise for me now; for this is no trivial struggle that we are in. For it is absurd that, when we are seated at the Olympic games, we should endure from the middle of the night until high noon, waiting to see upon whom the crown will fall, and with bare head receive the burning sun, and not depart before the contests have rendered their judgment; yet now, when we are struggling not for such a crown, but for the crown of incorruption—for the contest is one of the soul—that we should become sluggish and weary. That the three previous captivities were foretold—the one lasting four hundred years, another seventy, another three and a half—this has been sufficiently proven by us from that point. Come then, let us speak also of this one. For that the prophet also foretold this, I will again provide as my witness Josephus himself, who held those views. Since he had said those things, listen to what he says after them: "In the same manner Daniel also recorded the rule of the Romans, and that Jerusalem would be taken by them and the temple would be laid waste." And you, mark for me how, even though the man who wrote these things was a Jew, he nevertheless could not endure to emulate your contentiousness. For having said that Jerusalem would be taken, he did not dare to add and say that it would rise again, nor to write down a set time; but since he saw that the prophet had not defined a time, although he had spoken above, regarding the victory of Antiochus and the desolation, both of days and years that the captivity was to last, he said nothing of the sort regarding the Romans. But that Jerusalem would be laid waste and the temple as well, he wrote; but that [the time] of the desolation would have a limit, he no longer added, since he saw that not even the prophet had added this. He says that all these things, having been shown to him by God, he wrote down and left behind, so that those reading them and observing the events coming to pass would marvel at the honor given to Daniel by God. Where then did Daniel say that the temple would be laid waste? Let us then consider it. Since he performed that prayer in sackcloth and ashes, Gabriel came to him and says, "Seventy weeks have been cut off for your people and for the holy city." Behold, here too a time is mentioned, he says—a time, not of the captivity, but the time after which the captivity—the [new] captivity—was to meet them again. For it is one thing to speak of the time the captivity was to last, and another to speak of the time after which it was to meet and befall them. "Seventy weeks," he says, "have been cut off for your people"—no longer for "my people," although the prophet had said, "Make your face shine upon your people"; but God from then on alienates himself from them because of the daring crime that was to come. Then he states the cause: "until the transgression is completed, and to bring sin to an end." What is "until the sin is brought to an end"? Many, he says, are the sins they commit; but the culmination of evils will be then, when they kill their Master. This is what Christ also says: "Fill up the measure of your fathers." You killed slaves, he says; add to this the blood of the Master. See how the meanings harmonize. Christ said, "Fill up"; the prophet says, "To be brought to an end" in sin, and "To seal up sins." What is "to seal up"? So that nothing else remains to be left over. "And to bring in everlasting righteousness." And what is this everlasting righteousness, if not that which was given by Christ? "And to seal up vision and prophet, and to anoint the Most Holy"—that is, to bring the prophecies to a stop from then on; for this is what it means to seal—to stop the anointing, to stop the visions. For this reason Christ said, "The Law and the prophets were until John." Do you see how perfectly he threatens desolation here, and a retribution for sins and injustices? For God threatened not to overlook, but to pursue their sins.

10. And when, then, did this happen? When were the prophecies totally taken away? When was the anointing abolished, never to return again? Even if we were silent, the stones [644] would cry out, so brilliant is the voice of these events; for we could not name another time in which they suffered these things, than this long and great one and the one going to last even longer. Then, speaking again more precisely, he says: "And you shall know and understand: from the going forth of the word to return, and to build Jerusalem, unto Christ the leader, there shall be seven weeks, and sixty-two weeks."

Here, pay close attention to me with exactness; for the whole question is here. "Seven weeks, and sixty-two weeks"—four hundred and eighty-three years; for here he does not mean weeks of days, nor of months, but weeks of years. For from Cyrus to Antiochus Epiphanes and that captivity, there are three hundred ninety-four years. 899 Declaring, therefore, that he is not speaking of that desolation of the temple, but of the one after it—the one in the time of Pompey, and Vespasian, and Titus—he moves the time further forward, then teaching us from where we ought to count, he shows that it is not from the day of the return. But from where? "From the going forth of the word, to answer, and to build Jerusalem." It was not built in the time of Cyrus, but in the time of...

Artaxerxes Longimanus. For after the return, Cambyses came back, then the Magi, and after them Darius, son of Hystaspes, then Xerxes, son of Darius, and after him Artabanus; then after Artabanus, Artaxerxes Longimanus, who reigned over Persia. And during his reign, in the twentieth year of his kingdom, Nehemiah went up and raised the city. And Ezra has narrated these things to us accurately. If, therefore, we count four hundred and eighty-three years from that point, we shall certainly arrive at this destruction.

That is why he says, "The square and the wall shall be built." Since, he says, it shall arise and recover its own form, count from that time the seventy weeks, and you will see this captivity no longer having an end. And declaring this same thing more clearly, that the evils possessing them shall have no solution, he says: "After the seventy weeks, the anointing shall be destroyed, and there shall be no judgment in it; and both the city and the sanctuary shall be destroyed together with the coming leader, and they shall be cut off as in a flood; and there shall be no remnant left, nor any root budding again, and even to the end of the war, it shall be cut off by desolations." And again, speaking of this captivity, he says: "Incense and libation shall be taken away; and besides these, upon the temple shall be the abomination of desolation, and even to the completion of the time, a completion shall be given upon the desolation." ^A When you hear "completion," O Jew, what else do you look for?

"And besides these." What is "And besides these"? That is, in addition to those things mentioned—to the abolition of the sacrifice and the libation—there shall be something else, a greater evil. What is this, then? "Upon the temple the abomination of desolation," calling the temple the "holy place," and the "abomination of desolation" the statue which he who razed the city set up within the temple. And "even to the completion," he says, "is the desolation." For this reason Christ, when He came in the flesh after Antiochus Epiphanes, and foretelling the captivity that was about to occur, and showing that Daniel prophesied concerning it, says: "When you see the abomination of desolation, which was spoken of by Daniel the prophet, standing in the holy place; let the reader understand." Since every idol and every likeness of a man was called an abomination by the Jews, by enigmatically indicating that statue, He simultaneously foretold both when the captivity would be and by whom. And that these things were said concerning the Romans, even Josephus, as we demonstrated before, has stated. What argument, then, is left to you, when the prophets appear to have spoken of the other captivities with defined times, but for this one have defined no time, but have even said the contrary, that the desolation shall be until the completion?

And that what has been said is no lie, come, let us provide the testimony from the events themselves. For if they had not attempted to build the temple, they might have had it to say: "If we had wanted to attempt and to take up the building, we would certainly have had the strength and finished it." But now I show you that they attempted it not once, nor twice, but even three times and were broken, just as in the Olympic games, so that the crown of the Church is ^B indisputable.

11. Which ones, then, attempted it? Those who are always fighting against the Holy Spirit, the innovators and rebels; for after the desolation that happened under Vespasian and Titus, these Jews, who gathered together under Hadrian, were eager to return to their former state, not knowing that they were warring against the decree of God, which commanded the city to be desolate forever; and it is impossible for him who wars against God to prevail. Having, therefore, engaged in conflict with the emperor, they again forced him into a state of total desolation. For having razed them, and conquered them, and destroyed all their remnants, so that they might no longer have any grounds for shamelessness, he set up his own statue; then, seeing that it would happen in time that this would fall, so as to inflict upon them an incurable brand of defeat and proof of that shamelessness, he placed his own name upon the remnants of the city. For since he was called Aelius Hadrian, he decreed that the city should also be called by this name; and from that point it is called Aelia to this day, from the name of him who conquered and razed it. Do you see the first attempt of the shameless Jews? See also the one after that.

Again, in the time of Constantine, they attempted the same things. But the king, seeing their attempt, cutting off their ears and placing the symbol of disobedience upon their bodies, led them everywhere like some runaways and scourged slaves, making them conspicuous to all by the mutilation of their bodies, and schooling those everywhere not to attempt the same things again. But these are ancient and old matters; or rather, this is known to those who are still our elders and old men.

But what I am about to say now is clear and evident even to the very young. For it did not happen in the time of Hadrian and Constantine, but in the time of an emperor who lived twenty years ago, in our own generation. For Julian, who surpassed all emperors in impiety, when he was calling them to the sacrifices of idols, and drawing them toward his own impiety; then, when he was putting forward the ancient manner of worship and saying that "Even in the time of your ancestors, God was worshipped in this way," they—even unwillingly—confessed then those things which we have now demonstrated: that it is not possible to sacrifice outside the city, but they are acting lawlessly in performing anything whatsoever on foreign soil. "So if you wish," they said, "to see us sacrificing, give us back the city, raise up the temple, show us the holy of holies, raise up the altar, and we will sacrifice even now just as we did before." And those vile and shameless ones were not ashamed to ask these things from an impious man and a Gentile, and to call his polluted hands to the building of the holy things; and they did not realize that they were attempting impossible things, nor did they understand that if a man had been the one who destroyed those things, it were possible...

^C But since it was God who had overturned their city, it was quite impossible for human power ever to alter the things decreed by divine judgment. For God the holy One has purposed, he says, who shall scatter? And his high hand, who shall turn it back? For just as it is impossible for men to pull down what he has raised up and desires to remain; so too, what he has pulled down and desires to remain in ruins, it is not possible to raise up again. But suppose, O Jews, that the king was granting the temple and was restoring the altar, just as you suspect in vain; would he also have been able to send down fire for you from heaven from above? Since this was not the case, your sacrifice was profane and unclean. For this reason, the sons of Aaron perished, because they brought in strange fire. Yet, nevertheless, blinded to all this, they besought him and implored him to join them and to assist in the building of the temple. And he even spent money, and sent as overseers of the work men from the high command, and moved craftsmen from everywhere, and did and employed everything, quietly and little by little, in order to drive them into sacrificing, hoping easily from that point to come to the worship of idols, and at the same time the mad and foolish man hoped to set aside the decision of Christ, which did not allow that temple to be raised up. But He who takes the wise in their craftiness immediately showed through the works that the judgments of God are more powerful than all things, and that the works of God are stronger than words. For as soon as they touched this unlawful undertaking, and began to lay bare the foundations, and shoveled out much soil, and were at last about to touch the building, fire leaping out from the foundations immediately burned up many men, and also the stones of that place, and stopped not only those who had undertaken the work, but many Jews ^D also, who seeing this, were amazed and shamed. Having heard these things, 647 the Emperor Julian, even though he had such madness concerning that undertaking, fearing lest by proceeding further he might call the fire upon his own head, desisted, defeated along with the whole nation. And now if you go to Jerusalem, you will see the foundations bare; and if you ask the reason, you will hear nothing else but this. And we are all witnesses of this; for in our time, not long ago, these things occurred. And consider the splendor of the victory. For this did not happen in the times of pious emperors, so that some might not say that the Christians had come and prevented it, but when our affairs were being driven out, when we were all in danger of our lives, and all human confidence was being taken away, and Greek affairs were flourishing, and of the believers some were hiding in their homes, others were migrating to the deserts and fleeing the marketplaces; then indeed these things happened, so that no excuse of shamelessness might be left to them.

12. Still then do you dispute, O Jew, and see the testimony from the prediction of Christ, and from that of the prophets, and from the demonstration of the facts, condemning you? But there is nothing to be surprised at; for such is your nation from of old, shameless and contentious, and accustomed always to fight against manifest facts. Do you wish that I arm you with other prophets who clearly say this very thing, that your affairs will have an end, and that ours will flourish, and that the proclamation of Christ will be extended everywhere in the inhabited world, and that a different mode of sacrifice will be introduced, those things among you having been abolished? Hear, then, from Malachi, who came after the other prophets; for I do not bring forward testimony from Isaiah for the time being, nor from Jeremiah, nor from the other prophets who were before the captivity, so that you may not say that these terrible things which they predicted occurred at the time of the captivity; but I bring forward a prophet who was after the return from Babylon, and the restoration of the city, who prophesied clearly concerning your affairs.

For since they returned, and recovered the city, and rebuilt the temple, and were performing the sacrifices, [the prophet] predicting this present desolation which is now [taking place], and the cessation of the sacrifices, in this way says Malachi from the person of God: If I will receive faces from you, says the Lord Almighty; for from the rising of the sun even unto the going down [of the same] my name is glorified among the nations, and in every place incense is offered unto my name, and a pure sacrifice; but you profane it. When did these things happen, O Jew? When was incense offered to God in every place? When a pure sacrifice? You would not be able to name another time, but this one after the coming of Christ; for if it does not predict this time, and does not speak of our sacrifice, but of the Jewish one, then the prophecy will be unlawful. For if, when Moses commanded not to offer sacrifice in any other place, but only in the place which the Lord God shall choose, and was enclosing those sacrifices in one site, the prophet says that in every place 648 incense is about to be offered, and a pure sacrifice, he is opposing and fighting against Moses. But there is no fight and contention; for the one spoke of a different [sacrifice], and the other prophesied of a different one later. Whence is this clear? From both the things said, and from many other signs. And first from the place: for he did not say in one city, as in the case of the Jews, but he predicted that this worship would be performed From the rising of the sun unto the going down of the same. Then from the mode of the sacrifice: for by calling it pure, he showed which one he meant. And also from the persons offering it: for he did not say, In Israel, but, Among the nations. And lest you might think that the matters of this worship would be contained in one or two or three cities, he did not simply say, In every place, but, From the rising of the sun unto the going down of the same; showing that as much earth as the sun beholds, the proclamation will cover just as much. And he calls it a "pure" sacrifice, as the former one being impure, not because of its own nature, but because of the preference of those offering it. For this reason he said: Incense is an abomination to me. But otherwise, even if one were to compare the sacrifice itself with it, he will find the difference to be great and infinite, and so much so, that this one alone is strictly called pure according to the logic of comparison. And what Paul said regarding the law and grace, that the thing which had been made glorious has not been glorified, by reason of the glory that excelleth, this we also confidently [apply] here.

^A If we say that when compared to that [grace], this sacrifice might properly be called the only pure one? For it is presented not by means of smoke and fat, nor by means of blood and sin-offerings, but through the grace of the Spirit. Hear also another prophet foretelling this same thing and saying that the worship of God will not be established in one place, but that all men will henceforth know Him. Sophonias, therefore, speaks somewhat in this way: *The Lord shall appear unto all the nations, and He shall utterly destroy all the gods of the nations, and they shall worship Him, each from his own place.* And yet, this was not permitted; rather, Moses commanded them to worship in one place. When, therefore, you hear the prophets predicting and foretelling that men will no longer be forced to gather from everywhere into one city, nor into one place, but that each one sitting at home will worship the Divine, what other time could you say this is, if not this present one? ^B Hear, then, how both the Gospels and the Apostle harmonize with this prophet. For the prophet said, *The Lord shall appear*; the Apostle says, *The grace of God that bringeth salvation hath appeared to all men, instructing us.* He said, *Unto the nations*; the other says, *Unto all men*. He said, *He shall utterly destroy their gods*; the other said, *Instructing us, that denying ungodliness and worldly desires, we should live soberly and justly.* Again, Christ says to the Samaritan woman, *Believe Me, woman, that the hour cometh when you shall worship the Father neither in this mountain nor in Jerusalem. God is a Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and in truth.* He said these things to [649] relieve us henceforth of the necessity derived from the observance of place, and to introduce a worship that is loftier and more spiritual. It was possible, therefore, along with these things, to show again that there will no longer be sacrifice, nor priesthood, nor king among the Jews. For most especially has all this been demonstrated by the destruction of the city; but nevertheless, it was possible to bring forward prophets explicitly saying this very thing. But I see that you are exhausted by the length of what has been said, and I fear that I may seem to be ^C troublesome in vain and to no purpose. Therefore, promising to speak of this at another time for you, I ask of you for now this one thing: to save your brothers, to deliver them from error, and to lead them back to the truth. For there is no benefit in hearing when the demonstration through deeds does not correspond to what is said. For indeed, the things said were not spoken for your sake, but for the sake of those who are weak, so that they, learning these things from you and having been delivered from their wicked habit, may manifest a sincere and genuine Christianity, and may flee the wicked customs and synagogues of the Jews, both those in the city and those in the suburb, the caves of robbers, the dwelling-places of demons. Do not, therefore, betray the salvation of those people, but by having examined and inquired thoroughly, lead the sick back ^D to Christ, so that both in the present life and in the life to come, we may receive a reward far greater than our achievements, by the grace and loving-kindness of our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom and with whom to the Father be the glory, together with the holy and life-giving Spirit, now and ever, and unto the ages of ages. Amen.

Having spoken a long discourse against the Jews the day before, and having been constrained by hoarseness from the length of what had been said, he now spoke this.

Homily Six

1. Just as wild beasts, as long as they graze in the forests and remain unpracticed in the battle against men, are somewhat tamer and gentler; but when hunters capture them and lead them into the cities, and after shutting them up, stir them into a war against the beast-fighters, and then, having sprung forth, they taste flesh and drink human blood, they cannot easily thereafter desist from this feasting, but run with great eagerness toward this table of desire. This is what we too have suffered. For since we have engaged in the battle against the Jews, and having sprung upon their shameless contradictions, we have overthrown their reasonings, and every height exalting itself against the knowledge of God, and have taken captive their thoughts unto the obedience of Christ, we have somehow acquired a greater desire for the wars against them. [650] But what can I do? You see my voice has become weaker, and is no longer able to suffice for such a length; and I think I am suffering something similar now to what a soldier might, who after cutting down some of the enemy, and having fallen with much anger upon the phalanx of the foe, and having brought down many bodies, then, breaking his sword, would turn back again to his own side in despondency. Or rather, our plight is worse. For it is possible for a soldier whose sword is broken to snatch one from another of those standing by and to use his rage and display his great zeal; but when the voice is exhausted, it is not possible to take a voice from another. What then? Shall we turn back? But the tyranny of your love does not permit it. I revere, too, the presence of the father; I revere also your zeal. Therefore, I will try to attempt things beyond my strength, having cast the whole matter upon his prayers and your love.

Let no one among you judge this discourse to be ill-timed, if, when the martyrs have called us today, we, leaving aside the narration of those struggles of theirs, embark instead against the Jews; for indeed, to them this discourse is more desirable; for they would become no brighter from our praises. For what need would they have of our tongue, whose struggles are above mortal nature, and whose rewards are beyond strength and thought? They mocked the present life, they trampled upon instruments of torture and punishments, they despised death, they were winged toward heaven, they were delivered from the storm of worldly affairs, into

the calm harbor, bringing with them not gold and silver and costly garments, but inviolable treasures—patience, courage, and love. They now join the choir of Paul, winged even before their crowns by the expectation of their crowns, and having already escaped the uncertainty of the future. What need, then, would they have of our words? For this reason, this subject matter is more desirable to them. For from our praises, as I said before, there will be no advantage to their own glory; but from the contests against the Jews, there might be great pleasure for them, and they would most attentively listen to those words which are spoken for the glory of God. For the martyrs especially hate the Jews, because they greatly loved Him who was crucified by them. For the latter said, "His blood be on us and on our children," while the former even shed their own blood for the sake of Him who was slain by them. So they would gladly listen to these words.

^B 2. That the present servitude was going to have an end, and that the prophets would have foretold even this, and would not have remained silent, we have sufficiently demonstrated by showing all the captivities that were brought upon them with prior prediction: the one in Egypt, the one in Babylon, the one under Antiochus Epiphanes; for we have shown that both the time and the place for each of these were proclaimed in advance through the divine Scriptures. But for the present captivity, no prophet has fixed a time; except that Daniel did foretell that it would come, and would lay everything waste, and would change the polity, and after how much time from the return from Babylon it would happen. But that it would have an end, and that these evils would eventually stop, neither he nor any other prophet revealed; but they even foretold the opposite: that this servitude would hold them until the consummation. And the time, so great since then, bears witness to what has been said, and neither a trace nor a beginning of any kindly transition has appeared even until today, and this despite their having attempted many times to raise up the temple. For indeed, once, and twice, and three times—under Hadrian, Constantine, and Julian—they attempted [it] and were hindered; then by soldiers, and later by fire that leaped out from the foundations and held them back from their untimely contentiousness. Hence, I would gladly ask them, "Tell me, for what reason is it that while you spent so much time in Egypt, you recovered your own country, and when again you had been led away to Babylon, you returned to Jerusalem? Again, under Antiochus, having suffered such great evils, you returned to your former state; and again you recovered the sacrifices, and the altar, and the holy of holies, and all things with their former dignity. But now, nothing of the sort has happened; but one hundred, and twice that, and three times, and four times, and many more years having passed—for it is now the five-hundredth year since that time until our own—and we do not see even a shadow of such a change, but their affairs have collapsed completely, and they do not even dream of such a hope as they had before. For if they were to set their own sins forward, and say, 'Because we sinned against God and offended Him, for this reason we do not recover our own land,'—and those who are constantly accusing the prophets, while being shameless and mourning their own murders, were now to confess and condemn their own sins—I would gladly ask each of them again: 'Is it because of your sins, O Jew, that you dwell outside of Jerusalem for so long a time? And what is the common and extraordinary thing? For do you suppose that you live in sin now, but at the beginning stood in righteousness and good works? Did you not, from on high and from the very beginning, engage in countless transgressions? Did not Ezekiel the prophet accuse you of ten thousand things, when he brought in the two harlots, Oholah and Oholibah, saying that you built a brothel in Egypt, and played the whore with the barbarians, and worshipped foreign gods? And what then? When the sea was being cleft, and the rocks were being broken, and such great wonders were happening in the desert, did you not worship a calf? Did you not many times attempt to kill Moses, now by stoning him, now by driving him away, and in ten thousand other ways? Did you not constantly blaspheme against God? Were you not initiated into Baal-peor? Did you not slaughter your sons and your daughters to the demons? Did you not demonstrate every kind of impiety and sin? Does not the prophet say from the person of God to you: 652 "Forty years I was grieved with this generation, and said, They always err in their heart"? How then did God not turn away from you then, but after the child-murders, after the idolatries, after the great lack of knowledge, after the unspeakable ingratitude, He still allowed the great Moses to be a prophet among you, and worked wonders and marvelous signs? And things which happened to none of other men, these things were occurring for you—a cloud spread out for you instead of a roof, a pillar instead of a lamp leading you, and the enemies ceding to you automatically, with the cities almost captured without a shout. You had no need of weapons, nor of battle array, nor of war; but you only sounded the trumpets, and the walls were demolished automatically. A strange and marvelous food was yours, and the prophet cries out, saying: "He gave them the bread of heaven, man ate the bread of angels, He sent them provisions for satiety." For what reason, then, tell me, was it that at that time, while you were acting impiously, idolatrizing, murdering children, stoning the prophets, doing ten thousand terrible things, you enjoyed such great favor, such great protection from God; but now, when you are not idolatrizing, nor killing your children, nor stoning prophets, you live in perpetual captivity? Or was God one then, and another now? Is He not the same One who both ordered those things and is working these now? For what reason then, tell me, when the sins were greater, was your honor before God great; but when you are transgressing less now, He has turned away from you completely, and delivered you to eternal dishonor? For if He turns away from you now because of sins, He ought to have done so much more then; but if He endured your acting impiously then, He should have endured it much more now, when you dare no such thing.

why then did He not endure it? Even if you are ashamed to state the cause, I will say it clearly; or rather, not I, but the truth of the facts themselves.

Because you killed Christ, because you stretched out your hands against the Lord, because you shed the precious blood—for this reason there is no correction for you, nor any pardon, nor any defense henceforth. For in former times, the wrongs committed were against servants—against Moses, and Isaiah, and Jeremiah; even if some impiety occurred then, the sum of evils had not yet been dared. But now you have hidden all those ancient things, and in no way did you leave any excess of lawlessness through your madness against Christ; wherefore you are being punished more severely now. For if this is not the cause of your present dishonor, why did God endure it when you were murdering children in those days, yet now, when you dare nothing of that sort, He turns away from you? ^B Or is it clear that you have dared something much worse and greater than child-murder and every lawlessness, by cutting off Christ?

3. Will you then still endure to call Him a deceiver and lawless one, tell me? Will you not go off and bury yourselves somewhere, looking as you do upon such a manifest truth of facts? For if Jesus was a deceiver, as you say, and lawless, you ought to have been held in high honor because you killed Him. For if Phinehas, by slaying one man, stayed the wrath against the entire nation—for Scripture says, "Phinehas stood and made atonement, and the plague was stayed"—and delivered so many wicked people from the wrath of God by the one slaying of a lawless man, much more ought this to have happened in your case, if the One you crucified were lawless. Why, then, was Phinehas indeed justified for slaying a lawless man, and honored with the priesthood, whereas you, as you say, having crucified a deceiver and someone opposed to God, not only are not held in honor nor praised, but have even suffered worse things than when you were slaughtering your own sons? Is it not clear even to the very foolish that, because you acted lawlessly against the Savior and Guardian of the inhabited world, you are suffering such justice? Although even now you abstain from foul bloodshed and keep the Sabbaths; yet in those days you used to insult the very day itself. And God promised through Jeremiah to spare your city if you would cease carrying burdens on the Sabbath; but behold, now you do this—you do not carry burdens on the Sabbath—and yet not even thus is He reconciled to you. ^C For that sin of yours was greater than all others, so that this talk of yours about your present sins is superfluous. For it is not because of your remaining life, but because of that one daring deed, that you are in these present miseries. So that if this were not the case, God would not have turned away from you to such a degree, even if you had committed ten thousand sins; and this is clear both from all that has been said and from what I am about to say now. And what is this? We heard God saying many times through the prophets to your fathers that "You are indeed worthy of ten thousand evils; but I," He says, "act for the sake of My Name, that it may not be profaned among the nations." And again, "Not for your sake do I act, O house of Israel, but for the sake of My Name." And what He says is this: You were worthy of heavier punishment and chastisement; but lest anyone say that God was weak and unable to save, and therefore abandoned the Jews to the hands of their enemies, I take them in hand and stand by them. So if Christ were lawless, and you crucified Him, and if you had committed ten thousand sins, and things much more grievous than those before, God would surely have saved you on this account, so that His Name might not be profaned, so that He might not be thought of as someone great, nor that anyone should say that you suffered these things because of Him. For if it is evident that He overlooks your sins for the sake of His own glory, much more would He have done this now, and would have accepted this slaughter, and would have wiped away your many sins. But when He appears to be turning away from you to the end, it is clear that through this wrath and this utter abandonment, He shows even to the most shameless that the One who was slain was not some lawless person, but the Legislator Himself, and the Author of ten thousand good things who had come among us. ^D For this reason, you who committed impiety against Him are in insult and dishonor, while we who worship Him, though we were more dishonorable than all of you before, through the grace of God are currently more noble than all of you, and are established in greater honor. And how is it clear, he says, that God has turned away from us? Is there still need of speech and proof? Tell me. When the events themselves shout, and give forth a voice louder than a trumpet—through the demolition of the city, through the desolation of the temple, and through all the other things that have happened to you—do you still seek proof through words? But men, he says, brought these things upon us, not God. But God indeed did these things. And if you reckon these things to men, consider again that even men, if this had not seemed good to God, even if they had dared, would not have had the power to bring them to completion. For when the barbarian king came against all the Persian territory, and expected to take everyone in a single raid, and as it were in a certain seine and nets had them all shut up in the city—did not God, at that very time, when He was merciful, without war and battle and conflict, leaving one hundred and eighty-five thousand soldiers dead among you, thus flee, content if he alone were saved? And God has often judged ten thousand other wars in such a way. So even now, if He Himself had not once for all abandoned you, they who razed your city and desolated the temple would not have had the power, and the desolation would not have remained to such a degree; it would not have remained, despite your having attempted it many times, for the attempt would have been in vain.

4. Not from this alone, but also elsewhere I shall attempt to persuade you that the kings of the Romans did not do what they did to you by their own power, but through the wrath of God and His abandonment. For if it were the work of men that came to pass, it was fitting that your affairs should have stopped at the capture, and that your dishonor should not have proceeded further. For let it be assumed, according to your argument, that men razed the walls, and tore down the city, and overturned the altar...

but did men silence the prophets? Did they destroy the grace of the Spirit? Did they themselves abolish the other holy things among you, such as the voice being carried from the mercy seat, the energy that occurred at the anointing, or the declaration upon the stones of the priest? ^A For indeed, the Jewish polity did not have all its origins from below, but the majority and the more solemn ones from above, from heaven. What do I mean? He allowed sacrifices to take place. The altar, indeed, was below, and the wood, and the knife, and the priest; but the fire, which was to go into those inner sanctuaries and consume the sacrifices, had its origin from above. For it was not a man who brought fire into the temple, but a flame brought down from above; thus it fulfilled the ministry of the sacrifice. And again, whenever it was necessary to learn something, a voice was carried from the mercy seat between the cherubim, and it foretold future things. Again, upon the stones that were on the breastplate of the high priest—which they called the "declaration"—a certain brilliance would occur, and it signified future things. Besides these, whenever it was necessary for someone to be anointed, the grace of the Spirit would fly down, and the oil would bubble up; and prophets ministered to these events, and a cloud and smoke would often overtake the inner sanctuaries.

"In order, therefore, that the Jews might not be shameless, and might not attribute their desolation to men, He allowed not only the city to fall and the temple to be desolated, but also caused those very things that had their origins from heaven to vanish—the fire, the voice, the brilliance of the stones, and all other things of this sort. When, therefore, the Jew says to you that "men fought against us, men plotted against us," say to him: "In the first place, men would not have fought if God had not permitted it. But let it be granted that men tore down your wall; did a man prevent the fire from being brought down from above? Did a man stop the voice that was constantly heard from the mercy seat? Did he stop the declaration upon the stones? The priestly anointing? Did man tear down all the rest? Did God not withhold these?" It is clear to everyone, surely. Why, then, did He take them away? Is it not clear that it is because He hated you and turned away from you once and for all? "No," he says, "but because we do not have the mother city, for that reason we do not have these things." And why do you not have the mother city? Is it not because God abandoned you?

^B Rather, in order that we may shut their shameless mouths for good measure, let us also demonstrate this from the Scriptures themselves: that the razing of the temple is not the cause of the removal of prophecy, but the wrath of God, and the fact that you have provoked Him more now through your madness toward Christ than when you worshipped the calf. For when Moses prophesied, there was neither a temple nor an altar, but you continued committing myriad impieties, and yet the gift of prophecy did not fly away. Rather, this very great and noble man himself, and seventy others besides him, were revealed as prophets at that time. And not only then, but even after that, when a temple had been given, and the whole of the rest of the worship; and then when this was burned, and all were led captive to Babylon, again Ezekiel and Daniel—not seeing the Holy of Holies, not standing by the altar, but in the midst of a land of barbarians, ^C being among lawless and impure men—were filled with the Spirit and foretold the future, and said things far more numerous and more paradoxical than those of before, and they beheld a divine vision, as it was possible for them to see. Why, then, tell me, do you not have prophets now? Is it not clear that it is because God has turned away from matters concerning you? Why, then, has He turned away from you? This, too, is clear again: because of Him who was crucified and because of that lawless daring. Where is this clear? From what you were able to obtain when you were impious before this, while now, though you seem to lead a more moderate life after the crucifixion, you undergo a greater punishment, and enjoy none of the former things.

ε'. In order that you may learn this clearly and explicitly from the prophets themselves, who demonstrated the cause of the present evils, hear what Isaiah says, how he foretells both the future benefit for all through 656 Christ, and your ingratitude: "By his stripes," he says, "we were healed," foretelling the salvation through the cross that happened for all. Then, saying "we," he added: "All we like sheep have gone astray; a man has gone astray in his own way." And describing the manner of the cross, he says thus: "Like a sheep he was led to the slaughter, and like a lamb before the shearer is silent, so he opens not his mouth; in his humiliation his judgment was taken away." And where is it possible to see these things having come to pass? In the lawless tribunal of Pilate. For though so many bore witness against Him, he says, Jesus answered them nothing. And the governor said to Him, "Do you hear what these bear witness against you?" And He answered nothing, but stood silent. This, then, the prophet was telling from above: "Like a sheep he was led to the slaughter, and like a lamb before the shearer is silent." Then, showing the lawlessness that happened in the court at that time, he says: "In his humiliation his judgment was taken away." No one gave a vote against Him at that time according to the word of justice, but they accepted the false testimonies against Him. And the cause was His not wishing to proceed against them; for if He had wished, He would have shaken and caused everything to quake. For if He, being on the cross at that time, tore the rocks, darkened the inhabited world, turned back the rays of the sun, made night in the day everywhere on earth—He was able to do this in the court, too. But He did not wish to, displaying meekness and gentleness. For this reason he says: "In his humiliation his judgment was taken away." Then, showing that He was not a man like one of the many, he added: "And his generation who shall recount?" For who is he, about whom he says that "his life is taken away from the earth"? For this reason Paul also says: "Our life is hid with Christ in God. When Christ is manifested, our life, then also you will be manifested with Him in glory." But what I proposed to say and demonstrate—that it is because of Him that you are enduring the present evils—it is time now to introduce Isaiah saying this. Where, then, does he say this? After the tribunal, after the slaughter, after the assumption, after saying that "he is taken away..."

from the earth is his life," he added, saying: "And I will give the wicked for his burial, and the rich for his death." And he did not simply say, "Jews," but, "the wicked." For what could be more wicked than those who, after such great benefits, slaughtered their Benefactor? If these things had not happened, and you had not been dishonored now, and stripped of all the ancestral things—if your city had not fallen and the temple become a ruin, and your circumstances surpassed every tragedy—do not believe, O Jew. But if the events cry out, and the prophecy has found its end, why do you behave shamelessly in vain and for nothing? For where are your solemn rites now? Where is the high priest? Where is the robe, and the breastplate, and the declaration? Do not tell me of these patriarchs of yours, these hucksters, these merchants, these men full of every lawlessness. What priest, tell me, is there when that ancient anointing no longer exists, nor any other of the sanctifications? What priest, tell me, is there when there is no sacrifice, nor [657] altar, nor worship? Do you want me to speak to you of the laws concerning the priesthood, how they were performed in the olden days, so that you might learn that these men who are now called patriarchs among you are not priests, but are acting as priests, and are playing a part as if in a theater—or rather, they cannot even maintain the acting: to such an extent have they been cast far, far away from not only the truth, but even the imitation of the matter itself. ^A Remember, then, how Aaron was made a priest in those days, how many sacrifices Moses offered for him, how many victims he slaughtered, how he washed him, how he anointed the lobe of his ear, his right hand, his right foot—then led him into the holy of holies; then commanded him to remain inside for a certain set number of days. But it is worth hearing the very words themselves. "This," he says, "is the anointing of Aaron and the anointing of his sons." And the Lord spoke to ^B Moses, saying, "Take Aaron and his sons, and their robes, and the oil of anointing, and the calf for sin, and the ram, and assemble the congregation at the door of the tabernacle of witness." And Moses said to all the congregation, "This is the word which the Lord commanded." And since he brought them forward (for I must summarize), he washed them with water, clothed him in the tunic, girded him with the girdle, clothed him in the robe, put the ephod on him, girded him, and fastened it; he put on the breastplate, and on the breastplate the declaration and the truth, and the mitre on his head, and on the mitre the golden plate. Then, taking of the oil, he sprinkled from it upon the altar, and sanctified it, and the vessels, and the laver, and the base, and sanctified them, and poured from it upon the head of Aaron, and did likewise for his sons, and brought forward the calf. And when he had sacrificed it, after Aaron and his sons had laid on their hands, taking of the blood, he put it on the horns of the altar, and cleansed the altar, and poured out the blood at the base of the altar, and sanctified it to make atonement upon it. ^C Then, since he burned some of it, the parts within and the parts without, he brought forward another ram, the one for perfection, and after Aaron and his sons had again laid on their hands, he slaughtered it. And taking of its blood, he put it on the lobe of Aaron’s right ear, and on the extremity of his right hand, and on the extremity of his right foot, and he did likewise to his sons. Then, taking some of the sacrifice, he put it on the hands of Aaron and his sons, and so offered it. And again taking blood, and some of the oil, he sprinkled it upon Aaron, and his robes, and his sons, and their robes. And he sanctified them, and commanded them to boil the meat in the court of the tabernacle, and to eat it there; and "from the door of the tabernacle of witness you shall not go out," he says, "for seven days, until the day is fulfilled, the day of your perfection; ^D for seven days he will perfect your hands, so as to make atonement for you." When, therefore, he says that through these things Aaron was perfected, through these things he was cleansed, through these things he was sanctified, through these things he made atonement to God, and yet none of these things happens now—neither sacrifice, nor whole burnt offering, nor sprinkling of blood, nor anointing with oil, nor is the tabernacle of witness present, nor does he sit inside for the appointed number of days—it is clear that the priest among them now is also incomplete, and unclean, and polluted, and profane, and provokes God. For if it was not possible for him to be perfected in any other way than through these, it is absolutely necessary that, these not being performed, no priesthood exists for them. Do you see that I was rightly saying that they have been cast far, far away from not only the truth, but even the imitation of the matter itself?

6.

^A verdict. And while they were offering incense, the earth split open and swallowed all those who had joined with them, and fire brought down from above consumed those who had taken the censers. And so that time might not cause those who did not know of it to be ignorant of the tradition handed down, God commanded Moses to have those censers covered over the altar, so that just as the rod, without a voice, gave forth a voice through its appearance, so too these plates might speak to all those who came after, and might exhort and advise them by no means to imitate the folly of those before them, lest they undergo the same punishment. Do you see how the priests were ordained in ancient times? But now, all things among the Jews are nothing but games, laughter, shame, trafficking, and full of countless lawless acts. Do you follow these people, tell me, who are ever struggling to do and to say everything that is contrary to the laws of God, and do you run to their synagogues? And do you not fear that a thunderbolt might be brought down from above and burn up your head? Do you not know that even if one is not a robber, if he is found in the den of those who are robbing, he incurs the same punishment as they? And why do I speak of the things of robbers? You all surely know and remember when certain ^B vile men and sorcerers tore down the statues among us, how not only those who dared to do it, but even as many as were present and simply appeared to be in support of what was done, were dragged off to the courtroom and, being implicated with them, paid the ultimate penalty? But you, where the Father is insulted, and the Son is blasphemed, where the Holy and Life-giving Spirit is rejected—do you hasten to go there, tell me? And do you not fear, nor even shudder, as you bring yourself into those profane and unclean places? And what defense, tell me, will you have? What excuse, when you willingly thrust yourself into the abyss and cast yourself down the precipice?

For do not say to me this, that the law and the books of the prophets are kept there. This is not enough to make a place holy. For which is greater: for books to be kept in a place, or for the things from the books to be spoken? It is clear that it is more significant for the things from the books to be spoken and to be held in the mind. Why then, tell me, since the devil spoke from the Scriptures, was his mouth sanctified? One cannot say so, but he remained the devil he was. And what of the demons? Since they preached and said: "These men are servants of the Most High God, ^C who are telling you the way of salvation," are we therefore to count them among the apostles? By no means; but we persist in turning away from them and hating them in the same way. Can it be, then, that words spoken do not sanctify, but books lying there do? And how could that have any reason? For this very reason I hate the synagogue, especially because it possesses the law and the prophets, and I hate it more now than if it possessed none of these. Why is that? Because the lure is great, and much deception for the simpler ones arises from this; since even that demon was driven out by Paul for this very reason, by his speaking rather than by his silence. For, he says, being troubled, he spoke to the spirit: "Come out of her." And for what reason? Because it was crying out: "These men are servants of the Most High God." For by being silent they would not have deceived in this way, but by speaking they were about to drag many of the simpler ones along and persuade them, and so gain a hold over them in other matters. For in order to open a door to their own deceptions, and to give much freedom to the lie, for this reason they mixed in some truth, just as those who mix in poisonous drugs by smearing the rim of the cup with honey make the ^D harm

The Seventh Oration

7. But if you think that because the law and the books of the prophets are kept there, the place is holy, it is time for you to think that the idols and the temples of the idols are holy as well. For when a war once occupied the Jews, the Ashdodites, having conquered and taken the ark, brought it into their own temple. Does it follow that the temple was holy because it held the ark? By no means; rather, it was profane and unclean. And this was immediately shown by the deeds. For so that the enemies might learn that the defeat did not happen because of the weakness of God, but because of the lawlessness of those who served Him, the ark, having been taken captive in a foreign land, demonstrated its own power, twice throwing the idol to the ground and causing it to be broken apart. So far was it from sanctifying the place that it actually made war upon the place. Besides, what ark is now among the Jews, where there is no mercy-seat, where there is no anointing oil, no tablets of the covenant, no holy of holies, no veil, no high priest, no incense, no holocaust, no sacrifice, nor any of the other things that made that ark of old venerable? To me, this ark seems no better than the chests sold in the marketplace, but actually much worse. For while these things cannot harm those passing by, the other produces much harm each day to those approaching it. Brothers, do not be children in your minds, but be babes in malice, and by delivering those who are distracted by these matters from this untimely anxiety, teach them what one must fear and dread: not this ark, but destroying the temple of God through the customs there, through the conscience toward Judaism, through this untimely observance. For whoever of you, he says, seeks to be justified in the law, you have fallen from grace. This is what one must fear, lest on that day you hear from Him who is about to judge you: "Depart, I do not know you; for you held communion with those who crucified Me, and the feasts which I abolished, you have, out of a struggle against Me, raised up again; you ran to the synagogues of the Jews who acted lawlessly toward Me. And I destroyed the temple and made that venerable place, which held terrible things, a ruin, while you are reverencing buildings, which are no better than taverns and are mere dens of thieves." For if...

it was a den of thieves at a time when the civil order still prevailed, now, even if one were to call it a brothel, a place of lawlessness, a lodging for demons, a fortress of the devil, a ruin of souls, a precipice and pit for all destruction, or anything at all, he would still be saying less than it deserves. Do you desire to see a temple? Do not run to the synagogue, but become a temple yourself. God has torn down one temple in Jerusalem and has raised up myriads far more venerable than that one; for you are the temple of the living God, he says. Adorn this house; drive out every evil thought so that you may become a precious member of Christ and a temple of the Spirit; make others like this, too. And just as you would not easily pass by needy persons whom you see, so also when you see one running to the synagogue, do not overlook him; but restrain him with your word as with a bridle, and lead him back to the Church. This almsgiving is greater than the other, and the gain from it is greater than ten thousand talents. And why do I speak of ten thousand talents? Or even the whole visible world, since even man is more precious than the whole world? For it is for his sake that heaven, earth, and sea were fashioned, and the sun and the stars. Reflect, then, on the dignity of the one who is being saved, and do not despise the care for him. For even if one were to spend ten thousand pieces of gold, he would not accomplish anything as great as one who saves a soul, brings it back from error, and leads it by the hand toward piety. He who gives to the poor relieves a famine, but he who corrects the one judaizing puts an end to impiety; the former relieved penury, the latter established righteousness; the former freed the body from pain, the latter snatched away the soul from Gehenna. I have shown you the treasure; do not betray the profit. There is no cause here to plead poverty, there is no need to allege indigence; the expenditure is of words, the cost is of discourse. Let us not, therefore, be slothful, but with all diligence and eagerness let us hunt for our brothers, and even if they are reluctant, let us drag them into our houses. Let us set a banquet before them, and let us share a meal with them today, so that when they see us breaking our fast, and providing for us sufficient conviction and faith in this noble correction, they may become channels of eternal goods both for themselves and for us, by the grace and loving-kindness of our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom and with whom to the Father be glory, together with the Holy Spirit, now and always, and for ever and ever. Amen.

Seventh Homily

1. Have you had your fill of the battle against the Jews? Or do you wish for us to take up the same subject again today? For even though much has been said in the past, yet I think that you still desire a hearing on the same matters. For he who has no satiety of love for Christ will never have any satiety of the battle against those who hate Him. Besides these things, this discourse is necessary for us in other ways; for there are still remnants of their feasts left over. But just as their trumpets in the theaters were more lawless, and their fasts were more shameful than any drunkenness or revelry, so too the tabernacles they are now pitching are no better than inns that contain harlots and flute-players. And let no one judge this language daring; for it is the most extreme daring and lawlessness not to suspect such things regarding them. For when they act while striving against God and resisting the Holy Spirit, how is it not necessary to pass such a judgment upon them? There was a time when this feast was venerable, when it was done according to the law and by the command of God, but now it is so no longer; for its entire dignity has been taken away by the fact that it is done contrary to the will of God. And those who are most insulting to both the Law and the ancient feasts are those who appear to be performing them now; whereas we, who honor the Law the most—we who, like those who tend to a person who has grown old, give it rest, and do not drag it into the arena after its prime, nor force it to struggle out of season. For we have sufficiently demonstrated, even before this, that there is now no season for the Law, nor for the ancient civil order; come, let us examine the remains today. It would indeed have been enough, having shown through all the prophets that doing such things outside of Jerusalem is a sort of lawlessness and impiety, to be done with the matter. For even if it were true what those who boast everywhere are always whispering—that they will get the city back—they still could not have been cleared of the charges of lawlessness. But we have demonstrated, from an abundance of evidence, that the city will not be raised up henceforth, nor will they get their civil order back.

Now that this has been demonstrated, all the rest is agreed upon: namely, that neither the form of sacrifice, nor of burnt offering, nor the power of the Law, nor any other thing of that civil order will be able to stand. For, first of all, the Law commanded every male to go up to the temple three times a year; but the temple having been destroyed, it is impossible for this to happen. After this, it also commanded the one with an issue, the leper, the woman in her monthly period, and the woman who has just given birth, to offer sacrifices; but this, too, is impossible, as the place does not exist and the altar is not appearing. It commanded them to sing holy hymns; and this, too, we have shown before is hindered by the place, and the prophets complain of it, saying that

^A they read the law outside, and called for an agreement. Since, then, it was not possible even to read the law outside the city, how is it possible to perform it outside the city? For this reason, also, He said in warning to them: "I will not visit your daughters when they play the whore, and your daughters-in-law when they commit adultery." What does this mean? Having read the old law to you, I will try to make it clearer. What then is the law? "If a woman transgresses against her husband, and she disregards him, having despised him, and someone lies with her in a carnal act, and it escapes the eyes of her husband, and there is no witness against her, and she has not been caught, and a spirit of jealousy comes upon him, and she has not been defiled." What he says is this: If a woman, he says, commits adultery, and the husband suspects the adultery, or if she has not committed adultery, but he suspects it, and there is neither a witness nor a pregnancy providing proof, he shall bring her to the priest, he says, and shall offer her gift, barley flour. Why not fine flour, why not wheat flour, but barley? Because what is happening is mourning, and condemnation, and an evil suspicion; the form [of the ceremony] imitated the catastrophe of the corresponding sacrifice. For this is why he says: "You shall not pour oil upon it, nor shall you place frankincense upon it." Then—for it is necessary to cut through—the priest shall bring her forward, and shall take clean water in an earthen vessel, and having taken from the ground that is on the floor, he shall cast it into the water, and shall set the woman [there], and shall adjure her, and shall say: "If you have not transgressed to be defiled with your husband, be safe from this water of proof. But if you have transgressed and are defiled, and someone has given his bed into you, besides your husband, may the Lord give you into a curse and an oath in the midst of the people." What is "in a curse and an oath"? That they should say: "May I not suffer as such and such a woman has suffered." In that the Lord will make your belly to swell, and the cursed water shall enter to distend your belly. And the woman shall say: "So be it, so be it." And it shall be, if she is defiled, the water of proof shall enter and distend her belly, and the woman shall be for a curse. But if the woman is not defiled, she shall be innocent and shall conceive seed. Since, therefore, when they had gone away into captivity, none of these things was possible to perform, neither the temple existing, nor the altar, nor the tent, nor the sacrifice being brought, He ^B said by way of warning: "I will not visit your daughters when they play the whore, and your daughters-in-law when they commit adultery."

β'. Do you see the law possessing its strength from the place? That it is not possible for the priest to exist when the city does not, is clear from this. For just as it is not possible for a king to exist without armies, without a diadem, without purple, without the other things that make up the kingdom; so also it is not possible for a priest to exist, the sacrifice being abolished, the offering being forbidden, the holy things being trodden underfoot, the whole form being vanished; for the priesthood was in all these. It was enough, therefore, as I said before, for the proof to us that neither sacrifice, nor burnt offerings, nor the other purifications, nor any other thing of the Jewish polity will ever return. ^C And so the proof that the temple will never again be established [follows]. For just as, now that this does not exist, everything is abolished—even if something seems to be done, it is attempted against the law—so, the argument having proved that it will never return to its own form, that too is proven with it, that neither will the rest of the worship return again to the former state; there will be no priest, no king. For if it was not permitted, even to those of their seed who were private citizens, to worship among aliens, much more was it impious for the king himself to be subject to others. But because our struggle and our zeal is not only to stop their mouths, but also to make your love act wisely, come, let us prove this very thing from elsewhere, namely that both the things of their sacrifices and the things of their priesthood have ceased, so as never again to return to the former custom. Who, then, says these things? The wonderful and great prophet David. For he, showing that one kind of sacrifice is about to be cast out, and another to be brought in, spoke thus: "You have done many things, O Lord my God, your wonders; and to your thoughts there is no one who shall be likened onto you; I have proclaimed and spoken." Observe the wisdom of the prophet. Having said, "You have done many things, O Lord my God, your wonders," and being struck with awe at the miracle-working of God, he does not discourse about the creation visible to us—heaven and earth and sea and water and fire—not about those wondrous signs that happened in Egypt, not about any other such signs, but what does he say are the wonders? "Sacrifice and offering you did not desire." What are you saying? Tell me: is *this* the wonderful and miraculous thing? "No," he says; for he did not see only this, but having learned from above with prophetic eyes the accession of the nations, and how those who were nailed to gods, and worshipping stones, and disposed more wretchedly than the irrational creatures, suddenly looked up and recognized the Master of all, and having left the filthy worship of demons, worshipped God purely and without blood; and still having perceived that not only they, but also the Jews, who were disposed more imperfectly, having left the service through sacrifices and burnt offerings and other bodily things, were led to our philosophy; and having considered the ineffable philanthropy of God, which surpasses all intellect, and being struck with awe at how great a change of affairs has taken place, and how He transformed them, and out of demons made men into angels, and introduced a way of life worthy of the heavens (all these things happened, the ancient sacrifice having been dissolved, and another having been introduced, the one through the body of Christ), being struck with awe and marveling, he said: "You have done many things, O Lord my God, your wonders." And that he predicts this whole prophecy from the person of Christ, saying, "Sacrifice and offering you did not desire," he added, "A body you prepared for me"—meaning by the body [663] the Lordly one, the sacrifice that was made in common for the inhabited world, which cleansed our souls, and abolished our sins, and quenched death, and opened the heavens, and performed many... ^D

and great things for us, and prepared all other things. Seeing this, Paul also shouted, saying: "O the depth of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are his judgments, and his ways past tracing out!" ^A Since he foresaw all these things, he said: "Many you have done, O Lord my God, your wonders." Then, speaking in the person of Christ, that "Sacrifices and offerings for sin you did not desire," he added: "Then I said, Behold, I come." Then—when? When the time was appropriate for more perfect teachings; for it was necessary to learn the more imperfect things through his servants, but the higher things, which transcend human nature, from the Lawgiver himself. For this reason, Paul also said: "God, having spoken in many parts and in many ways of old to our fathers by the prophets, in these last days spoke to us by his Son, whom he appointed heir of all things, through whom also he made the ages." And again John: "The law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ." So that this is also a very great encomium of the law, that it prepared human nature for the Teacher. Then, so that you might not suppose him to be a recent God, nor that he is introducing some innovation, hear what he says: "In the scroll of the book it is written of me." Long ago, he says, the prophets proclaimed my presence, and in the beginning of the books they revealed to men the knowledge of my divinity. ^B

Γ'. Since, therefore, God says, "In the beginning of the creation, Let us make man after our image and likeness," he reveals to us enigmatically the divinity of the Son, with whom he is conversing. Then, showing that this is not contrary to the former regime, but that this too was the will of God—that that sacrifice should be abolished, and this one introduced instead (for it was an intensification of the improvement, not a contradiction or a struggle)—when he said, "In the scroll of the book it is written of me," he added, "To do your will, O God, I desired, and your law in the midst of my belly." Then, saying what the will of God is, omitting to speak of sacrifice and burnt offerings and gifts and toils and sweat, he says: "I have preached righteousness in a great church." What does it mean, "I have preached righteousness"? He did not simply say, "I gave," but, "I have preached." Why? Because it was not from achievements, nor toils, nor from reward, but from grace alone that he justified our race. ^C This is what Paul also was showing when he said: "But now the righteousness of God without the law has been manifested; and the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ, not through any labor and toil." And taking hold of this testimony, he said: "For the law, having a shadow of the good things to come, not the very image of the things, can never with those same sacrifices which they offer year by year continually make the comers perfect." Therefore, entering into the world, he says, "Sacrifice and offering you did not desire, ^D but a body you have prepared for me," regarding the entry of the Only-Begotten into the world, saying the economy through the flesh. For thus he came to us, not by changing from place to place (for how could he be elsewhere, and filling all things?), but by being manifested to us through the flesh. But since our battle is not only against the Jews, but also against the Greeks and many of the heretics, come, let us reveal to you here a deeper meaning, and let us inquire why, since Paul has myriad testimonies that cause the law and the old regime to be idle, he made mention of this one. For he did not do this simply or as it happened, but with some unspeakable reason and wisdom. ^D For that he had other testimonies, longer and more forceful, if he had wished to bring them forward in support of this subject, everyone would acknowledge. For Isaiah also says: "I have no desire in you; I am full of burnt offerings of rams, and the fat of lambs, and the blood of bulls and goats I do not want, not even if you come to appear before me. For who required these things from your hands? If you bring me fine flour, it is vain; incense is an abomination to me." And elsewhere again: "I did not call you now, Jacob, nor did I make you weary, Israel; I did not glorify myself in sacrifices, nor did you serve me with your gifts, nor did I make you weary in frankincense, nor did you acquire for me silver incense." And Jeremiah too: "Why do you bring me frankincense from Sheba and cinnamon from a distant land? Your burnt offerings did not please me." And again: "Gather your burnt offerings together with your sacrifices, and eat meat." And another of the prophets said thus: "Remove from me the noise of your songs, and I will not hear the music of your instruments." And again elsewhere, when the Jews said: "If the Lord will accept me in burnt offerings, if I give my firstborn for my impiety, the fruit of my belly for the sin of my soul?" and the prophet, rebuking them, said: "It has been told to you, O man, what is good, and what the Lord God seeks from you, but to love mercy, and to do judgment and righteousness, and to be ready to walk behind the Lord your God." And David spoke thus: "I will not accept bullocks from your house, nor he-goats from your flocks." For what reason, therefore, having such testimonies to speak of, through which God is shown rejecting those sacrifices—the new moons, the sabbaths, the feasts, and omitting all those—did he make mention of this one only? It is not simply or as it happened, but we shall now state the reason. Many of the unbelievers and the Jews themselves, contending against us, say that the old regime was abolished not because of its imperfection, nor because a greater regime was introduced, but because of the wickedness of those who at that time were offering the sacrifices. The prophet Isaiah, at any rate, says: "If you stretch out your hands, I will turn my eyes away from you; and if you multiply the prayer, I will not hear you." Then, adding the reason, he leads on, saying: "For your hands">

are full of blood. This is not an accusation against the sacrifices, but a charge against the wickedness of those who offered them; and for this reason he would not accept the sacrifices, because they offered them with polluted hands. Again, David, after saying, "I will not accept calves from your house, nor he-goats from your flocks," added, saying: "But to the sinner God said: Why do you recount my statutes, and take up my covenant in your mouth? But you hated instruction, and cast my words behind you. If you saw a thief, you ran with him, and set your portion with adulterers. Your mouth abounded with wickedness, and your tongue wove deceits. Sitting, you spoke against your brother, and against the son of your mother you laid a stumbling-block." Hence it is clear that he did not simply reject the sacrifices here, but because they were committing adultery, because they were stealing, because they were plotting against their brothers. And every one of the prophets, he says, in accusing those who offered sacrifices, says that God rejects them in this way.

^D 4. These things those who oppose us say; but Paul dealt them a sufficient blow, and silenced their shamelessness sufficiently through this testimony. For wishing to show that God rejected that very way of life as more imperfect and caused it to cease, he took hold of this testimony, in which there is no accusation of those who offer, but the imperfection of it appears bare in and of itself. For the prophet, without accusing the Jews of anything, says simply thus: "Sacrifice and offering you did not desire, but a body you prepared for me; burnt offerings and those for sin you were not pleased with." And interpreting this, Paul said: "He takes away the first, that he may establish the second." For if he had said, "Sacrifice and offering you did not desire," and had been silent, the word might have had some room for an apology; but now, having said, "But a body you prepared for me," and having shown that another sacrifice had been introduced, he henceforth gave no hope that that one would return again. And interpreting this very thing, Paul said that "by this offering we have been sanctified by the will of Christ." For if the blood of bulls and goats, he says, and the ashes of a heifer sprinkling those who are defiled, sanctifies for the purity of the flesh, how much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the Holy Spirit offered himself without blemish, cleanse our conscience from dead works? That those things have ceased, and others have been introduced, and will never again rise up, is sufficiently proven from this point. Come then, let us now show, what we have long labored to show, that that manner of priesthood also no longer appears, and will not return again, let us make this clear expressly and plainly from the Scriptures themselves, having first told you a few things, so that the interpretation of what is said may become clearer. Abraham, returning from Persia, begot Isaac, then he begot Jacob, Jacob the twelve patriarchs, from whom there came ten and two tribes, or rather thirteen: ^A for instead of Joseph, his sons Ephraim and Manasseh became tribal leaders. And just as to each of the sons of Jacob there was a namesake tribe—of Reuben, of Simeon, of Levi, of Judah, of Naphtali, of Gad, of Asher, of Benjamin—so also in the case of Joseph, his sons, Manasseh and Ephraim, became namesakes of two tribes; and the one was called the tribe of Ephraim, and the other of Manasseh. Of these thirteen tribes, then, all the others possessed fields and many revenues, and they all farmed, and did all other worldly things; but the tribe of Levi, honored with the priesthood, alone was exempt from worldly tasks, and neither did they farm, nor did they pursue crafts, nor did they engage in any other such thing, but they attended to the priesthood alone, and received tithes from all the people, both of wine and of wheat and of barley, and of all other things, everyone gave them the tithes, and this was their revenue; and it was not permitted for a priest to ever be from any other tribe. For from this tribe came Aaron, I mean the tribe of Levi, and by succession his descendants ^B received the priesthood, and no one ever became a priest from another tribe. These Levites, then, received tithes from them, and were thus supported. But even before Jacob and Isaac, in the time of Abraham, with Moses not yet having come to pass, nor the law having been written, nor the Levitical priesthood being plain, nor a tabernacle, nor a temple having come into existence, nor the tribes being distinguished, nor Jerusalem appearing, nor the beginning of any of the matters concerning the Jews having been taken at all, there was someone, Melchizedek, priest of God Most High. This Melchizedek was at once both king and priest; for he was to be a type of Christ, and the Scripture plainly mentions him. For since Abraham, having attacked the Persians, and having snatched his own nephew Lot from their hands, and having taken all the spoils, was returning, having defeated them mightily, in this way the Scripture says concerning Melchizedek: "And Melchizedek, king of Salem, brought out bread and wine; and he was priest of God Most High, and he blessed Abraham, and said: Blessed be Abraham to God Most High, who created heaven and earth, and blessed be God Most High, who delivered your enemies into your hand." And Abraham gave him a tithe of all. If, therefore, there should appear any one of the prophets, saying that after Aaron and that priesthood, and these sacrifices and these offerings, another priest will arise, not from that tribe, but from another from which no one has ever become a priest, not according to the order of Aaron, but according to the order of Melchizedek, it is clear that the old priesthood has ceased, and another, a new one, has been introduced. For if the old one were to prevail, it would have to be said to be not according to the order of Melchizedek, but according to the order of Aaron. Who then says this? This same one who spoke concerning the sacrifices, discoursing concerning Christ; and somewhere he says this: "The Lord said to my Lord, Sit at my right hand."

^A Then, so that you might not suspect that this is spoken concerning any of the common people, Isaiah does not say it, nor Jeremiah, nor any other prophet who was a common man, but the king himself; [so that you may learn that the] king cannot call anyone his Lord, but God alone. For if he were a common man, perhaps one of the shameless might have said that he was speaking of a man; but now, being a king, he would not have called any man his Lord. And how, if David were saying these things about any of the common people, would he have said that he sat at the right hand of that ineffable and great glory? For this is impossible. Concerning Him, he says: "The Lord said to my Lord, Sit at my right hand, until I place your enemies as a footstool for your feet." Then, so that you might not think Him weak and powerless, he added: "With you is the primacy in the day of your power." And speaking more clearly, he said: "From the womb, before the morning star, I have begotten you." But no man has been begotten before the morning star. "You are a priest forever, according to the order of Melchizedek." He did not say: "according to the order of Aaron." Ask the Jew, therefore, if the old priesthood was not about to be abolished, for what reason did He introduce another priest according to the order of Melchizedek? Coming to this very passage, see how Paul made it clearer. For having spoken concerning Christ, that just as he says in another place, "You are a priest forever, according to the order of Melchizedek," he added: "Concerning whom we have much to say, and it is hard to explain." Then, having reproved the disciples—for it is necessary to proceed—he says who Melchizedek is, and he introduces the history, saying thus: "For this Melchizedek, who met Abraham returning from the slaughter of the kings, and blessed him, to whom also Abraham apportioned a tithe of all." Then, revealing the vision of the type, he says: "Observe how great this man is, to whom Abraham the patriarch gave a tithe of all." He did not say this simply, but wishing to signify that our priesthood is much greater than the Jewish one. And in those very types of the events, the superiority is demonstrated beforehand. For Abraham was the father of Isaac, and the grandfather of Jacob, and the ancestor of Levi; for Levi was the son of Jacob. For from Levi the priesthood among the Jews took its beginning. But this Abraham, the ancestor of the Levites and of the Jewish priests, in the case of Melchizedek, who was a type of our priesthood, held the rank of a layman; and he showed this by both things: by giving a tithe to him—for laymen give tithes to the priests—and by being blessed by him; for laymen are blessed by the priests. Again, see how great the superiority of our priesthood is, when Abraham the patriarch of the Jews, the ancestor of the Levites, is found ^B being blessed by Melchizedek, and giving tithes. And indeed the Old Testament mentions both these things: that both Melchizedek blessed Abraham, and has taken tithes from him. Bringing these very things into the middle, Paul said: "Observe how great this man is." Who is this? Melchizedek, he says, to whom Abraham the patriarch of those [people] gave a tithe from the first fruits. And those indeed who receive the priesthood from the sons of Levi 670 have a commandment to tithe the people, that is, their own brethren, even though they have come forth from the loins of Abraham. Now what he says is this: The Levites, he says, who are the priests among the Jews, received a commandment according to the law to collect tithes from the other Jews. And yet they were all from Abraham—both the Levites and the rest of the people—but nevertheless they take tithes from their brethren. But Melchizedek, who is not reckoned by genealogy among them (for he was not from Abraham, nor from the tribe of Levi, but from another race), has taken tithes from Abraham, that is, he received tithes from him; and not only this, but also something else. And what is this? That he also blessed him who has the promises, Abraham. And what is shown by this, he says? That the latter is much less than the former. How? Without any contradiction, the lesser is blessed by the greater. So if Abraham, the ancestor of the Levites, were not less than Melchizedek, that one would not have blessed this one, nor would this one have given tithes to him. Then wishing to show that through Melchizedek that [b] had proceeded, he added saying: "And, so to speak," that is, almost, "through Abraham, Levi also, who receives tithes, has been tithed." And what is, "has been tithed"? He says he himself also gave tithes to Melchizedek, he who was not yet born, through his father; "For he was still," he says, "in the loins of his father when Melchizedek met him." For this reason he took the initiative by saying, "So to speak." Why then was he saying these things? He adds, saying: "If therefore perfection were through the Levitical priesthood (for the people had been given the law [c] under it), what further need was there for another priest to arise according to the order of Melchizedek, and not be called according to the order of Aaron?" And what is it that he says? If the state of things among the Jews were perfect, he says, and the law were not a shadow of future good things, but had itself accomplished everything, and he were not about to yield to another, nor for the former priesthood to give way and another to be introduced, for what reason did the prophet say: "You are a priest forever, according to the order of Melchizedek"? For he ought to have said, "according to the order of Aaron." For this reason he says, "If therefore perfection were through the Levitical priesthood, what further need was there for another priest to arise according to the order of Melchizedek, and not be called according to the order of Aaron?" For it is clear from this, that that priesthood received an end, and another much better and higher has been introduced. And this being agreed upon, that too is agreed upon, that a different polity accompanying the priesthood will also be introduced—this one of ours, clearly—and a better legislation. Which indeed Paul, establishing, said: "For when the priesthood is changed, of necessity a change of law also occurs, and of these there is one creator." For since the greater part of the ordinances regarding the order of the priesthood was fading away, and the former priesthood was cast out, it is clear that when another was introduced, a greater legislation also had to be introduced. Then, declaring concerning 671 whom these things are said: "For He of whom these things are said," he says, "has participated in another tribe, from which no one has attended to the altar." It is evident

^A that since Christ appears from that tribe, obviously that of Judah, and is a priest according to the order of Melchizedek—and Melchizedek is much more venerable than Abraham—it is acknowledged on all sides that one priesthood is being introduced in place of another, one much higher than the former. For if the type is of such a character, and was more brilliant than the Jewish priesthood, how much more so is the truth itself? Therefore, when establishing this, he said: "It is still more evident if another priest arises according to the likeness of Melchizedek, who is not according to the law of a fleshly commandment, but according to the power of an indissoluble life." What is "not according to the law of a fleshly commandment, but according to the power of an indissoluble life"? It means that none of His ordinances were fleshly. For He did not command the sacrificing of sheep and calves, but to worship God through virtue of the soul; and the rewards for these He established as a life for us that is never destroyed. And again, having come, He raised ^B us who had been dead by sins, and brought us to life, destroying a twofold death: that of sin and that of the flesh. Since, therefore, He came bringing such good things to us, for this reason he says: "Not according to the law of a fleshly commandment, but according to the power of an indissoluble life."

e'. Now then, this too has been proved in consequence, that since the priesthood has been changed, it was to be expected by necessity that a change of law would also happen. But nonetheless, it was possible to prove this very thing explicitly, and to bring forward the prophets again as witnesses, saying that the law itself shall be changed, and the polity will be transformed for the better, and that no Jewish king will ever again arise.

Since so much must be said as the listener is able to receive—and not all at once, nor in a rush—reserving those things for another time, we will for now conclude the discourse here, having exhorted your love to remember the things said, and to join these to the things spoken before. And that which we asked before, we will ask even now: to rescue your brothers, and to take great care for the neglected members. For it is for this reason that we undertake such labor, not so that we may simply speak, ^C nor so that we may enjoy applause and clamor, but so that we may lead back those who have been torn away to the path of the truth. And let no one say to me: "I have nothing in common with him; may it be enough for me to set my own affairs right." No one is able to set his own affairs right without the love and salvation of his neighbor. Therefore Paul also says: "Let no one seek his own, but each one the other's," knowing that one's own advantage lies in that of one's neighbor. You are healthy, but your brother is sick. If, therefore, you are wise, you will grieve more for the one who is suffering, and in this you will imitate that blessed one who says: "Who is weak, and I am not weak? Who is offended, and I do not burn?" For if, by casting down ^D two mites and spending a little silver, we rejoice on behalf of the poor, if we are able to save souls, how much pleasure shall we reap? How much of the reward shall we enjoy in the age to come? For even here, as often as we meet, we shall receive much joy from the encounter, recalling the achievements of those people, and having seen them there before the judgment seat, we shall partake of great boldness. And just as those who commit injustice, and are greedy, and plunder, and inflict countless evils upon their neighbors, having departed there and seen those who suffered these things—for they will certainly see them, as he says, and this is evident from the rich man and Lazarus—will not even be able to open their mouth, nor say anything to defend themselves, but, filled with great shame and condemnation, will be taken away from the sight of those people to the rivers of fire; so, those who live and teach and catechize, having seen those who were saved by them interceding for them there, will be filled with great boldness. And Paul, revealing this, said: "We are your boast, even as you are ours." When? "In the day of our Lord Jesus Christ." And again, Christ exhorts by saying: "Make for yourselves friends from the mammon of unrighteousness, that when you fail, they may receive you into their eternal tents." You see that much boldness will be ours from those now being benefited by us. And if, where there is an expenditure of money, the crowns are so great, the reward is so great, the recompense is so great, then where there is the benefit of a soul, how will the good things not be many and great for us? For if that Tabitha, having clothed widows and set right poverty, returned from death to life again, and the tears of those who were benefited brought back the departed soul into the body again, even before the resurrection had appeared, what will the tears of those people not accomplish, regarding those who may be saved by you? For just as the widows surrounded this woman and showed her alive, who was dead, so you, too, then shall the ones now saved surround, and they will make you enjoy much philanthropy and will snatch you from the fire of Gehenna.

Knowing these things, then, let us not be fervent and awakened only until the present hour, but kindle the fire which you have now; and having gone out, distribute the salvation of the city, and if you are ignorant, search out those suffering from such things. For having learned from their works—that we have not sown upon a rock—we, too, will converse with you more eagerly, and you yourselves will be more eager regarding the practice of virtue. For just as with money, the one who has gained two gold coins receives greater eagerness to collect and gather even ten and twenty, so also with virtue it happens; the one who has done some good work and set it right receives from the very practice of the achievement a certain encouragement and exhortation, so as to take hold of others as well. So that we may both rescue our brothers, and for ourselves lay up beforehand forgiveness for the things wherein we have sinned—or rather, great boldness—and before all others, may we prepare the name of God to be glorified, and with our wives and children and households, having gone out to this catch and this hunt, may we drag them from the snare of the devil.

And let us not depart before we have fulfilled all that is required of us, whether they are persuaded or not—though it is impossible for them not to be persuaded once they are Christians. Nevertheless, that you may not have even this pretext, I say this: when you have poured out many words and have fulfilled all that rests with you, if you see that he is not persuaded, lead him to the priests; and in every way, by the grace of God, they will prevail in the hunt, and the whole prize will be yours, for you led them by the hand. Let husbands speak of these things to wives, and wives to husbands, and fathers to children, and friends to friends. Let the Jews also—and those who seem to be ranked with us but think according to their ways—learn that we have a certain zeal and concern and watchfulness on behalf of our brothers who are defecting to them. And in any case, they will drive away those of ours who resort to them before we do; or rather, no one will even dare to take refuge with them for long, but the body of the Church will be pure. May God, who desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth, strengthen you for this hunt, and lead them away from this error, and in common save all, and deem them worthy of the kingdom of heaven for His glory, for to Him belongs glory and power unto the ages of ages. Amen.

AGAINST THE JEWS. Homily VIII.

^A 1. The fast of the Jews has passed, or rather, the drunkenness of the Jews. For it is possible to be drunk without wine, and it is possible even for one who is sober to act like a drunkard and revel in debauchery. If it were not possible to be drunk without wine, the prophet would not have said, "Woe to you who are drunk, not with wine" (Isaiah 29:9, LXX var.). If it were not possible to be drunk without wine, Paul would not have said, "Do not be drunk with wine" (Eph. 5:18). For as it is possible to be drunk in another way, he said, "Do not be drunk with wine." For it is, yes, it is possible to be drunk with anger, and with wicked desire, and with avarice, and with vainglory, and with ten thousand other passions. For drunkenness is nothing other than the displacement of right reason, and delirium, and the destruction of the health of the soul.

Therefore, not only he who pours down much strong drink, but also he who fosters some other passion in his soul may strongly be called drunk. For he who loves a woman not his own, and has abandoned himself to harlots, is drunk. And just as he who has drunk much strong drink, and been carried away, speaks unseemly words and sees one thing instead of another, so this man, too, as if filled with a certain strong drink—namely, this licentious desire—brings forth no sound word, but everything is shameful and corrupted and unseemly and full of levity. And he sees one thing instead of another; he is blind to what is visible, but the woman he desires to outrage is everywhere in his imagination. And just as one who is deranged and raving, even in assemblies, in symposiums, in every season, and in every place, while a thousand people are talking to him about a thousand things, he does not seem to hear, but is stretched toward her and dreams of sin; and he suspects and fears everything, behaving no better than an animal trapped in a net. And he who is seized by anger is also drunk again; his face swells, his voice grows harsh, his eyes become bloodshot, his mind is darkened, his intellect is submerged, his tongue trembles, his eyes wander, and his ears hear one thing instead of another—the anger striking his brain more harshly than any strong drink, producing a winter and a storm that brings no comfort. But if one seized by desire and anger is drunk, how much more so is a man who is an impious person, and who blasphemes against God, and opposes His laws, and never wishes to yield from his ill-timed contentiousness—he is drunk and mad, and he is in a more wretched state than those who are reveling and distraught, even if he does not think he is feeling it. For this is most characteristic of drunkenness: not to have any awareness even in the matters in which one is acting unseemly. For just as this is the most terrible thing in madness, that those who are suffering do not even know that they are suffering, so also the Jews, being drunk now, do not realize it. Their fast, then, has passed—a drunkenness more shameful than any other—but let us not destroy our concern for our brothers, and let us not think that the care for them is now ill-timed. Rather, as soldiers do when, after a battle has occurred, they turn the enemy; upon returning from the pursuit, they do not immediately run to the tents, but first, having gone to the place of the battle, they rescue those of their own who have fallen. They bury the dead, but if they see some among the corpses still breathing and not having received a mortal wound, they take them up to the tents and bring them back with much care: drawing out the arrow, calling for physicians, washing away the blood, applying medicines, and providing all other care to lead them back to health. So we, too, since by the grace of God we have driven the Jews away, having armed the prophets against them, let us see, as we return from every side, whether any of our brothers have fallen, whether any have been swept away from the fast, whether any have had communion with them regarding the feast. And let us not deliver anyone to burial, but let us take everyone up and heal them. For in external wars, it is impossible to recover or restore to life a soldier who has once fallen and given up his soul. But in this war and battle, even if someone has received a mortal wound, it is possible, if we wish, with the grace of God co-operating with us, to lead him back to life. For this death is not of nature, as that other one is, but of deliberate choice and purpose; and it is possible to raise up a purpose that has died, and to persuade a soul that has been deadened

^A to return to its own life and to recognize its own Lord.

β’. But let us not grow weary, brethren, nor let us be enfeebled, nor let us fall back, and let no one say to me those words, that it was necessary to be secured before the fast, and to do everything, but now after having fasted, after the sin has been committed, after the iniquity has been fulfilled, what is the profit from now on? For if anyone knows what the providence of brethren is, he knows also this, that now especially one must set oneself to the task, and display every zeal. For it is not only before sin that one must be secured, but even after the falls one must stretch out a hand. For if God, had He acted in this way from the beginning, and secured [man] only before the sin, but after the sin despaired and allowed him to lie in the fall perpetually, none of us would ever have been saved. But He does not do this, being humane and gentle, and especially desiring our salvation, but even after sins He shows much providence; since He also secured Adam even before the sin, and said to him: *Of every tree in the paradise you shall eat, but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat of it; for in the day that you eat, you shall die by death.* Behold, even by the ease of the law, and by the abundance of those things allowed, and by the punishment of the future judgment, and by the speed of the infliction (for He did not say after one, or two, or three days, but *in the same day that you eat, you shall die by death*), and by every manner by which it was necessary to secure the man, He secured him. But nevertheless, since after such great providence and teaching and exhortation and beneficence he fell, and did not listen to the commands, God did not say [this], What is the gain now, what is the profit? He ate, he fell, he transgressed the law, he trusted the devil, he dishonored my commandment, he received the wound, he became dead, he was handed over to death, he came under the judgment, what need is there to speak to him hereafter? None of these things did He say, but even came to him immediately, and conversed, and consoled, and again applied another medicine, that of labors and sweat, and did not depart from doing everything and endeavoring until He raised up the fallen nature, and delivered it from death, and led it toward heaven, and gave greater goods than those lost, teaching the devil through the very works themselves, that nothing more was gained for him from this treachery; but having cast the men out of paradise, He will see them a little later in the heavens mingled with the angels. This He did also in the case of Cain; for He also secured him before the sin, and forewarned him, saying, *You have sinned; be still; to you is its turning, and you shall rule over it.* Behold wisdom and understanding. Therefore you are afraid, He says, lest he be taken from you [in the matter] of the primacy of the firstborn because of the honor from me, lest he snatch the authority that belongs to you; for it behooved the firstborn to be more venerable than the second-born. Take heart, He says, and do not fear, nor be anxious concerning this; *To you is its turning, and ^B you shall rule over it.* But what He says is this: Abide in the honor of the firstborn, and become to your brother a refuge and a shelter and a protection, and command and rule over him; only do not leap forth to murder, nor go forth to that unlawful slaughter. But nevertheless, not even thus did he listen, nor did he keep quiet, but he worked that murderous deed, and dipped his right hand into the brotherly throat. What then? Did God say, Let us dismiss him hereafter? What is more the profit? He worked the murder, he killed the brother, he despised my exhortation, he dared an incurable and unpardonable slaughter, having enjoyed such and so great providence and teaching and counsel; he cast all those things out of the mind, and turned toward nothing. Let him be dismissed then and let him be thrown away hereafter, and let him not be deemed worthy of any word from me. God said none of these things, nor did He do so, but He comes to him again, and corrects the man, and says: *Where is Abel your brother?* And He does not leave him even when he denies, but urges and [brings] him even against his will to the confession of the deed; and when he said, *I do not know*, *The voice*, He says, *of the blood of your brother cries out to me*; the very thing itself, He says, proclaims the murderer. What then does this [C] man [say]? *Greater is my cause than the being forgiven; and if you cast me out from the earth, and from your face I shall be hidden.* But what he says is this: I have sinned greater than pardon and defense and the being forgiven, but yet, if you should wish to pursue what has happened, I shall be exposed to all, having become destitute of the alliance from you. What then [does] God [do]? *Not so; everyone who kills Cain, seven [punishments] shall [he] loose.* Do not fear this, He says; you shall live a long life, and if anyone kills you, he shall be liable to many punishments, for the number seven is in Scripture indicative of an indefinite multitude. Since then Cain had been subjected to many punishments, to agony, and trembling, and groanings, and despondency, and paralysis of body, *He who kills you*, He says, *and relieves you of these torments, he himself will draw the punishment upon himself.* And the saying seems to be heavy and burdensome, but these are a manifestation of great care. For indeed, wishing to bring to sobriety those afterwards, He devised such a manner of punishment, which was able to deliver him from sin. For if He had taken him away immediately, he would have departed having the sin covered over, and he would not have become known to those afterwards. But now, having been allowed to live for much time in that trembling, he became a teacher to all who met him, through the appearance and the agitation of the flesh admonishing all never to dare such things, lest they suffer such things, and he himself became better again. For the trembling and fear, and the living in agony, and the paralysis of the body held him as if in some bond, and did not allow him either to leap forth to another such daring deed again, and reminded him constantly of the former, and in these things it made his soul more sober.

[D 677] γ’. But meanwhile, as I was speaking, it came into my mind to bring into the middle and to seek why it is that, having confessed his own sin, and condemned the things that had happened, and said that he had sinned greater than pardon, and...

he was nonetheless condemned? Because he did not say it as the prophet commanded. For the prophet did not merely say, "Declare your iniquities," but what? "Declare your iniquities first," he says. The point at issue is this: not to speak simply, but to speak *first*, and not to wait for one who reproves and accuses. This man did not speak first, but waited to be reproved by God, or rather, even when being reproved, he denied it. But since he had once shown what had occurred openly, then he declared the sin, which is no longer confession. Therefore, you too, beloved, whenever you sin, do not wait for another’s accusation, but before you are accused and maligned, you yourself condemn what has been done; for if another reproves you later, the deed no longer becomes a work of your confession, but a correction of his accusation. For this reason, someone else also says: "A righteous man is his own accuser in his first speech." Therefore, the point at issue is not to accuse oneself, but to accuse oneself *first*, and not to wait for the reproofs of others.

Peter, then, after that grievous denial, because he quickly remembered his sin, and without anyone accusing him spoke of his failing, and wept bitterly, so washed away that denial that he became the first of the apostles and was entrusted with the whole world. But as I was saying (for it is necessary to return to the subject at hand), the argument has sufficiently proven to us from this that one ought not to neglect or despise brothers who have fallen, but to safeguard them before the sin, and to display great care for them after the sin. Physicians act in this way: they speak to healthy people about what can preserve their health and drive away every disease; but when they have neglected the commands and fallen into illness, they do not overlook them, but then show even greater concern, so that they may deliver them from their sicknesses. Paul did this too; for the man who had committed fornication, after that sin, after that grievous transgression, which was not even found among the Gentiles, he did not overlook him, but even though he was headstrong and did not want to receive the treatment, and was kicking and jumping away, he brought him back to therapy, and brought him back in such a way as to unite him to the body of the Church again. And he did not say to himself, "What is the point? What is the benefit? *He* committed fornication, *he* did the sin, and he does not even want to abstain from his profligacy, but he is even arrogant and thinks highly of himself, and is festering with an incurable wound; let us therefore abandon him and leave him." He said none of these things; rather, for this very reason he employed the greatest providence at that time, because he saw that he had slipped into indescribable wickedness, and he did not cease from showing fear, making threats, punishing, and acting and working through himself and through many others, until he brought him to a recognition of his sin, to a sense of his transgression, and completely delivered him from every stain. ^A Do you yourself also perform this; imitate that Samaritan in the Gospel who displayed such providence for that wounded man. For a Levite passed by there, and a Pharisee passed by, and neither was moved towards the one lying there, but they callously and inhumanly left him and went away. But a certain Samaritan, who was in no way related to him, did not pass him by, but dismounted and had compassion, and poured on oil and wine; he put him on the donkey, brought him to an inn, and gave some money, and promised more for the care of one who was in no way related to him. And he did not say to himself, "What is it to me concerning this man? I am a Samaritan, I have nothing common with him; we are far from the city, and he cannot even walk. And what if I do not have enough for the length of the journey? Am I going to be burdened with a corpse? Am I going to be caught for murder? Am I going to be held responsible for the killing?" For many, while passing by and seeing people who have been beaten and gasping, often pass by *because* of this—not because they are lazy to pick them up, or sparing of money, but fearing that they themselves might be dragged into court as responsible for the slaughter. But that gentle and philanthropic man feared none of these things; rather, despising all these, he placed him on the donkey and brought him to an inn; he suspected none of these things—not danger, not the expenditure of money, nor anything else. But if the Samaritan was so philanthropic and gentle towards a man who was a stranger, what excuse would we have who neglect our own brothers for lesser evils? For these who have now fasted fell among robbers—the Jews—or rather, among those more grievous than any robbers, who treat those who fall into their hands with greater evils. They did not just tear their garments, nor did they inflict blows upon their body, as those did then, but they wounded their soul, and after giving it ten thousand wounds, they went away, leaving them lying in the pit of impiety.

^D Let us not overlook such a tragedy, nor pass by such a piteous sight inhumanly; but even if others do this, do not you do it. Do not say to yourself, "I am a worldly man, I have a wife and children; these things belong to the priests, these belong to the monks." For not even that Samaritan said these things. Where now are the priests? Where now are the Pharisees? Where now are the teachers of the Jews? But just as one sees some great prey, so he snatched the gain. And so you too, when you see someone in need of either physical or spiritual therapy, do not say to yourself, "Why did so-and-so and so-and-so not cure him?" But deliver him from the infirmity, and do not demand an accounting of neglect from them. If you find gold lying there, tell me, do you say to yourself, "Why did so-and-so and so-and-so not take it up?" but do you not hasten to snatch it before the others? So too in the case of fallen brothers, consider and believe you have found a treasure in their care. For if you apply the teaching of the Word to him just like oil, if you bind him up with gentleness, if you treat him with patience, you will become the master of every treasure.

^A For one who brings forth something precious from the worthless, he says, shall be as my mouth. What could be equal to this? That which neither fasting, nor sleeping on the ground, nor all-night vigils, nor any other thing can accomplish, the salvation of a brother does. Consider your mouth: how often it has sinned, how many shameful words it has uttered, how many blasphemies, how many insults it has cast forth, and you will surely grasp the necessity of caring for one who has fallen; for by this one good deed alone you will be able to purge away that stain. And why do I say "purge away"? You will make your mouth as the mouth of God. What could be equal to this honor? Am I the one who promises these things? God himself has said this, that even if you bring forth one person, he says, your mouth shall be pure, holy, as my mouth. Let us not, therefore, neglect our brothers, nor go around saying, "How many have fasted, how many have been led astray?" but let us care for them. Even if many have fasted, do not you, beloved, act as a herald, nor set forth the misfortune of the Church as an example, but heal it. And if someone says that many have fasted, stop their mouth, so that the report does not become known, and say to him, "I for one know no one; you are deceived, man, and you lie; if you see two or three who have been led astray, you say that they are many." And the one who is accusing, you must silence; the one who has been led astray, you must not neglect, so that on both sides there may be great security for the Church, both from the report not being published, and from those who were led astray being led back to the sacred flock.

^B Let us not, therefore, go around saying, "Who has sinned?" but let us be eager, so that we may correct only those who have sinned. For it is a grievous custom, a grievous thing, to accuse one's brothers only, but not to care for them; to publish the evils of the weak, but not to heal them. Let us therefore do away with this wicked custom, beloved; for this causes no small damage; and how, I will tell you. Someone heard from you saying that many have fasted with the Jews, and without investigating anything, he carried the word to another; again, that one, having inquired nothing, told it to another; then, little by little, as this evil report grows, great reproach is cast upon the Church, while for those who have perished there is no benefit, but rather damage for both them and many others. For even if they are few, we by our many reports make them many, and we make those who are standing weaker, and those who are about to fall, we push. For the brother who has heard that "many have fasted," will himself become more indifferent, and this same weak one, having heard, will run to the multitude of those who have fallen. Let us not, therefore, rejoice in this or any other wickedness, even if many are those who are committing sin, so as to publish them and say that they are many, but let us stop their mouths and hold them back.

Do not tell me that "many have fasted," but correct the many. I have not expended so many words for this reason, that you might accuse the many, but that you might make the many few, or rather, not even few, but that you might even save them. Do not, therefore, publish the sins, but heal them. For just as those who publish them, and are occupied with this alone, make them to be thought many, even if those who have sinned are few; so those who restrain, and silence those who publish, and care for those who have fallen, even if they are many, they easily correct those very ones, and allow no one else to be harmed by the report of these. Have you not heard that because he was mourning for Saul, David said: "How have the mighty fallen? Do not tell it in Gath, nor announce it in the streets of Ashkelon, lest the daughters of the aliens should rejoice, lest the daughters of the uncircumcised should boast"? If, when a matter was manifest, he did not wish it to be published, so that it might not be a source of pleasure to the enemies, how much more should these things not be brought out to ears outside, or rather, not even to those among us, ^C so that neither the enemies hearing may rejoice, nor our own people learning may fall, but rather that we should restrain and hedge it in on all sides. Do not tell me that "I told such-and-such one"; keep the word to yourself. For just as you could not restrain yourself from speaking, so neither will he endure to keep silent.

ε'. I say these things not only regarding the present fasting, but also regarding ten thousand other sins. Let us not look only at this, if those who are led astray are many, but let us look at how we might lead them away. Let us not exalt the things of the enemies, and cast down our own; let us not make them appear strong, and our own things weak; but let us do the complete opposite. A report often knows how to cast down and how to raise up a soul, and to incite a readiness that did not exist, and to destroy one that does. For this reason I encourage increasing those reports which lift up our affairs, and make them appear great; but not those which heap reproach upon the common body of brothers. And if we hear something good, let us carry it to everyone; but if something base and wicked, let us hide it among ourselves, and do everything in order to take it away. And now, therefore, let us go around, let us investigate carefully, let us see those who have fallen, and if it is necessary to enter into a house, let us not hesitate. And if the one who fell is a stranger and has no connection to you, investigate carefully and inquire diligently who has him as a friend and companion, and whom he obeys most, and taking that person, enter into the house; do not be ashamed, nor blush. For if you were entering to ask for money, or to receive some favor from him, it would be logical to be ashamed; but if you are running for his salvation, the reason for the entry exempts you from all blame. ^D Sit down then, and say to him, having started from elsewhere, so that the correction might be above suspicion. Say to me, do you praise the Jews, because they crucified Christ, and blaspheme Him now, and call Him a transgressor? He will certainly not endure it—if he is a Christian, even if he Judaizes ten thousand times, he will not endure to say that "I praise them"; but he will block his hearing and will say to you, "God forbid, speak well, man." Then when you have obtained his agreement, repeat it again, and say: "How then do you share with them, tell me? How do you partake of the festival, how do you fast with them?" Then accuse them of their ingratitude; say all the lawlessness which in the previous days I went through for your love, that which is from the place, that which is from the time.

^A of the prophets’ prediction being refuted; show how they do everything in vain and to no purpose, and that they will never return to their former way of life, and that it is not lawful for them to perform anything of the sort outside of Jerusalem. And in addition to these things, remind them of hell, of the fearful judgment seat of the Lord, of the account to be rendered there, and that we shall give an account of all these things, and that some not insignificant punishment lies in store for those who dare such things; remind them also of what Paul says: *You who are justified by the law have fallen from grace*; and again, warning them: *That if you be circumcised, Christ shall profit you nothing*. And say that just as circumcision, so also Jewish fasting casts the faster out of the heavens, even if he has ten thousand other virtuous deeds. Say that we are called and are Christians for this purpose, that we might obey Christ, not that we might run to those enemies. But if they offer some cures and say to you, "They promise to heal, and that is why I run to them," expose their sorceries, their incantations, their amulets, their potions. For they do not seem to heal in any other way, nor do they heal in truth—God forbid! Even if I make a great overstatement, I say this: even if they were to heal truly, it is better to die than to run to the enemies of God and be healed in this way. For what is the benefit if the body is healed while the soul is perishing? And what is the gain if one obtains some consolation here, while about to be sent off into the immortal fire? For lest they say these things, hear what God says: *If there arise among you a prophet, ^B or a dreamer of dreams, and he gives you a sign and a wonder, and the sign and the wonder come to pass ^C of which he spoke, saying, "Let us go and serve other gods," you shall not listen to that prophet; for the Lord your God is testing you, to see whether you love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul. ^D* And what this means is as follows: If a prophet says, he says, "I am able to raise the dead or heal the blind, but you must be persuaded by me and let us worship the demons or commit idolatry"—then, if the one saying these things is able to heal the blind or raise the dead, do not be persuaded even then, he says. Why? *Because the Lord is testing you*, He allowed that person to be able to do this, not because He Himself was ignorant of your mind, but so that He might provide you with a test of whether you truly love God. It is characteristic of one who loves that, even if those who are eager to pull us away from the Beloved provide as risen those who are dead, he does not turn aside even then. If He said these things to the Jews, much more so to us, whom He has led to a higher philosophy, for whom He has opened the gate regarding the resurrection, whom He commands not to be attached to present things but to have all our hopes fixed on the life to come.

6. But what do you say? That the sickness of the body troubles and presses upon you? But you have not yet suffered as much as the blessed Job, or rather, not even the hundredth part of his trials. For after the sudden destruction of his flocks and herds and all other things, the entire band of his children was snatched away; and everything happened in a single day, so that not only the nature of the temptations but their continuity might strike down the athlete. After all those things, having received a fatal wound ^A in his body, he saw worms teeming everywhere from his body, and naked he sat upon the dunghill, a common spectacle of calamity for those present—the righteous, the true, the god-fearing man, the one abstaining from every evil deed. And not even up to this point did the miseries stop; but daily and nightly pains, and a certain strange and paradoxical famine besieged him. *For I see my food as loathsome*, he says, along with daily reproaches, mockeries, gibes, laughter. *My servants, he says, and the sons of my concubines have risen up against me, in my dreams are fears, and a certain continuous turbulence of thoughts.* But yet, his wife promised an end to all these things, saying thus: *Speak a word against the Lord, and die. Blaspheme*, she says, *and you will be rid of the pains that beset you.* What then? Did that advice turn aside that holy man? On the contrary, he both did the opposite and was strengthened all the more, so as even to rebuke his wife. For he chose rather to be in pain and to be afflicted and to suffer ten thousand dreadful things than to find some relief from such great evils by means of blasphemy. So too, the man who for thirty-eight years had been in his infirmity ran to the pool every year, and every year he was prevented, and did not obtain healing; but he saw others being relieved every year because they had many to assist them, while he, on account of the lack of anyone to help him, remained in continuous paralysis. And not even so did he run to diviners, he did not go to enchanters, he did not bind on amulets, but he awaited the help from God; for this reason, at the end, he obtained a wonderful and paradoxical healing. But Lazarus struggled with famine and disease and solitude for the entire time, not having thirty-eight years only, but his whole life; so indeed he also breathed his last lying at the gate of the rich man, despised, mocked, starving, lying as food for the dogs. For so was his body paralyzed that he could not even drive away the dogs that were coming and licking his wounds. But yet, he did not seek an enchanter, he did not bind on amulets, he did not stir up sorceries, he did not call wizards to himself, he did not do anything of the forbidden things, but he chose rather to die in those evils than to betray the smallest part of piety. What defense, then, will we have, if when they suffered such things and endured them, whether because of fever or because of wounds, we run to synagogues and call the poisoners and wizards into our own homes? Have you not heard what the Scripture says? *My child, if you come to serve the Lord, prepare your soul for temptation, make your heart straight, and endure; in sickness and poverty be confident in Him. For just as gold is tested in fire, so is a man acceptable in the furnace of humiliation.* If you were to scourge your servant, and then he, having received thirty or fifty stripes, immediately cried out for freedom, or abandoned your mastership and went off to others who hate you, and provoked you—tell me, would he be able to obtain forgiveness? Would anyone be able to make a defense on his behalf? By no means. Why is this? Because it is proper for a master

^A to punish a servant. And not only for this reason, but because, if one had to flee, he should have fled not to the enemies, not to those who hate him, but to his genuine friends.

7. And you, therefore, whenever you see God punishing you, do not flee to his enemies the Jews, that you may not provoke him all the more, but to his friends, to the martyrs, to the saints, and to those who have pleased him and have great freedom of speech before him. And why do I speak of servants and masters? A son will not be able to do this because of a father’s lashes, nor be able to deny the relationship he has with him. For both the laws of nature and those established by men, even if a father beats, or keeps one from the table, or casts one out of the house, or punishes in every manner, they command one to bear all things courageously; if he does not obey or endure it, no one gives him forgiveness. But even if the child, beaten, laments a thousand things, everyone speaks these words to him: that he is a father who has beaten you, and a lord, and one having the authority to act and to do whatever he wishes, and you must bear all things with gentleness. If then servants endure masters, and sons fathers, even when they are not punishing them as they ought, will you not endure God as he trains you, who is both a more authoritative lord and a father who loves you more, and who does nothing out of anger, but acts and conducts all things for your benefit? But if there is a slight illness, you immediately leap away from his lordship, and run to the demons, and desert to the synagogues? And what forgiveness will you obtain thereafter? How will you be able to implore him again? Rather, who else, even if he possessed the boldness of Moses, will be able to pray for you? There is no one. Or do you not hear what God says to Jeremiah concerning the Jews: "Do not pray for this people, for even if Moses and Samuel should stand before me, I will not listen to them."

Such are certain sins that surpass every forgiveness and cannot obtain a defense. Let us not, therefore, bring upon ourselves such wrath. For even if they seem to soothe their fever with incantations, they are not actually soothed, but they bring another, more painful fever into their conscience, the reasoning wounding you each day, the conscience lashing and saying: "You have acted impiously, you have transgressed, you have betrayed the covenants made with Christ; for the sake of a slight illness you have abandoned piety." Were you the only one to suffer these things? Haven't others suffered things far more difficult than you? Yet no one among them dared do such a thing; but you, slothful and effeminate, have surrendered your soul. How will you make a defense to Christ? How will you invoke him in your prayers? With what conscience will you thereafter enter the church? With what eyes will you thereafter behold the priest? With what hand will you touch the holy table? With what ears will you hear the Scriptures being read there?

These things the reasoning, piercing each day, and the conscience, lashing, will say. What, then, is this health, when we have such accusers within? If, however, you endure a little, and, for those who wish to chant some incantation or attach some amulet to your body, ^B you show contempt, and with much reproach drive them out of your house, you immediately take the dew from your conscience. Even if the fever burns you a thousand times, your soul brings to you a consolation from every dew and from every moisture, better and more profitable. For just as after having received the incantation, even if you are healthy, you are in a condition more miserable than those suffering from fever, as you contemplate your sin; so also now, even if you are feverish, even if you suffer a thousand terrible things, having repelled those defiled ones, you will be in a state better than any healthy person, while your reasoning boasts, your soul rejoices and exults, your conscience praises you and accepts you, and says: "Well done, well done, O man, servant of Christ, faithful man, athlete of piety, you who choose to die in the midst of terrible things rather than betray the entrusted piety, you shall stand with the martyrs on that day." For just as they chose to be lashed and tortured that they might be honored, so you too today have chosen to be lashed and tortured by the fever and by the wounds, so as not to accept impious incantations or amulets; and, nourished by these hopes, you will not even feel the opposing evils. For if this fever does not take you away, another will surely take you away; and if we do not die now, we will die after this. We have obtained a corruptible body, not that we might draw upon ourselves impiety because of its passions, but that we might use its passions for piety. For this corruption, and the very fact that the body is mortal, if we are watchful, will become for us a subject of approbation, and will give us much boldness on that day, and not only on that day, but also in the present life. For when you cast out the enchanters with much reproach from your house, all who hear will praise and admire you, and will say to one another: "So-and-so, when sick and ailing, with thousands of people exhorting and advising and suggesting to use some magical incantations, did not accept them, but said: 'It is better to die this way than to betray piety.'" Following these words, many rounds of applause will come from those who hear, all of them being struck with awe, glorifying God. How much more precious, then, than any statues will this be for you, how much more brilliant than any images, how much more distinguished than any honor! All will praise 685 and pronounce you blessed and will crown you, and they themselves will be better, and will emulate again and imitate your courage; and even if someone else works such a thing, you will have the reward, you who provided the beginning for their zeal. Not only will there be praise for your noble deeds, but also a very rapid release from the illness, the noble choice itself drawing God to greater favor, and all the saints sharing in your zeal, and from the depth of their hearts making prayers for you. But if there are such prizes for this courage here, consider how great the crowns you will receive there, when, with the angels present, and all the archangels, then Christ comes forward, and, taking you by the hand, leads into the midst that theater, and with all listening, says: "This man, when fever-stricken..."

having once been seized, while thousands exhorted him to be delivered from the disease for my name’s sake and for the fear of me, lest he should trip in anything, he drove them off and treated with contempt those who promised to heal him in that manner, and chose rather to die of the disease than to betray his goodwill toward me. For if he brings forward into our midst those who gave him drink, and clothed him, and fed him, much more so those who, for his sake, chose to endure fevers. For it is not the same thing to give bread and a garment, and to endure a long sickness, but this is much greater than that; and by how much greater the pain, by so much more brilliant will the crown be.

Let us ponder these things both when we are healthy and when we are ill, and let us speak them to others. And if we see ourselves at any time becoming afflicted with an unbearable fever, let us say this to ourselves: "What, then, if because of some accusation brought against us we were dragged into a court of justice, and then, being suspended, were having our sides torn apart, would there not be a necessity to endure it, in any case, without gain and without any reward?" Let us reckon this also now; let the reward of patience be added, then, which is sufficient to soothe the fallen mind. "But the fever is cruel." But set against the fever the fire of hell, which you will surely escape if you bear this with all patience. Remember the apostles, how much they suffered; remember the righteous, that they were always in tribulations; remember the blessed Timothy, that he never caught his breath from infirmity, but was a companion to a continuous disease. And Paul, indicating this, said, "Use a little wine for your stomach and your frequent infirmities." If that righteous and holy man, entrusted with the care of the world, and raising the dead, and driving out demons, and healing ten thousand diseases in others, suffered such terrible things, what defense will you have, you who are troubled and vexed over temporary illnesses? Have you not heard the Scripture saying, "Whom the Lord loves, He disciplines, and scourges every son whom He receives"? How many * ^A * and how often have they desired to receive the crown of martyrdom? This is a perfected crown of martyrdom. For it is not the case that being ordered to sacrifice, and then choosing to die rather than sacrifice, is the only thing that makes a martyr; rather, even the person who, while guarding in all [686] other ways that which is able to bring on death, is a manifest martyr.

η'. And that you may learn that this is true, remember how John died, and for what reason and why, and how Abel did. For neither of these saw a burning altar, nor a standing idol, nor were they commanded to sacrifice to demons; but the one, only because he rebuked Herod, had his head cut off, and the other, because he honored God with a greater sacrifice than his brother, was slaughtered. Are they, then, deprived of the crowns of martyrdom? And who would dare to say this? For indeed the very manner of their death is sufficient to persuade all that they belong to the first of the martyrs. And if you also seek to see the divine judgment uttered on their behalf, hear what Paul says; for that which he speaks, it is clear that it is of the Spirit: "For I think," he says, "that I also have the Spirit of God." What ^B then does he say? Beginning from Abel, and saying that "Abel offered unto God a more excellent sacrifice than Cain, and through it, though he is dead, he still speaks"; then descending to the prophets, and passing through to John, and saying, "Some were killed by the edge of the sword, others were tortured," and having narrated many and various deaths, he added this: "Therefore, we also, having such a great cloud of witnesses surrounding us, laying aside every weight, let us run through patience." Do you see that he called Abel a martyr, and Noah, and Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob? For some of them indeed died in this way for God; just as Paul also says, "I die daily"; yet not actually dying, but merely by his intention enduring this. Thus also you, if you reject the incantations and the sorceries and the magic arts, and die of the disease, you are a perfected martyr, because you chose death with godliness rather than the deliverance from it after godliness, which others promised with impiety. And these things have been said by us to those who boast and say that demons perform healings; but in order that you may learn that not even this is true, hear what Christ says concerning the devil: "He was a murderer from the beginning." God says "murderer," and you run to him as a physician? And what excuse will you have to state when you are accused, tell me, regarding the judgment of Christ, deeming the magic arts of these ones to be more trustworthy? For when God says that he is a murderer, and these say that he can dissolve diseases, contrary to the divine decree, and you accept their magic arts and incantations, you think nothing other than that they are more trustworthy than Him, by what you do, even if you do not say this with your ^C lips. And if the devil is a murderer, it is clear that the demons who minister to him are also. And Christ taught you this by his very deeds: for surely when He allowed them to fall into the herd of swine, they plunged that whole herd down the precipice, so that you might learn that they would have done these things to men, and would have strangled them immediately, if God had allowed them. But now He Himself restrained them and hindered them, and did not let them do anything of the kind; [687] and this they manifested by having received authority over the swine. For if they did not spare the swine, much more would they not have held back from us. Do not, therefore, beloved, be drawn away by their deceits, but be rooted in the fear of God.

How will you also enter into the synagogue? If you seal your countenance, the wicked power inhabiting the synagogue immediately flees; but if you do not seal, you have immediately cast away your weapon at the doors; and then, having taken you bare and unarmed, the devil will afflict you with countless terrible things. And why must these things be spoken by us? For that you yourself also consider it to be a very great sin to run to that wicked place is clear from the manner of your arrival. For you are eager to go there in secret, and you exhort your servants and friends and neighbors not to tell on you to the priests, and if anyone informs, you are indignant. How, then, would it not be a part of madness, to try to escape the notice of men, ^D

while God is seeing, He who is present everywhere, and yet shamelessly dare to commit this lawlessness? But do you not fear God? Then at least be ashamed before the Jews themselves. For with what eyes will you look upon them? And with what mouth will you converse with them, professing to be a Christian, while running to their synagogues and begging for help from them? Do you not understand how much laughter they pour out upon you, how many jeers, how much mockery, how much shame, how much reproach—even if not openly, but at least in their own consciences?

9. These things, then, tell me, are they bearable or tolerable? For if it were necessary to die ten thousand deaths, if it were necessary to suffer the most incurable evils, would it not be much better to endure all those hardships than to become the object of laughter and mockery for those base men, and to live with an evil conscience? I say these things not that you should merely hear them, but that you should heal those who are suffering from such diseases. For just as we reproach them because they are weak in the faith, so we reproach you because you do not wish to set those who are weak aright. For is this the whole requirement, my beloved, that you should come in here and hear these words said? This in itself is essentially a condemnation, whenever there is no action following the hearing of the words. For this you are a Christian, that you might imitate Christ, and obey His laws. What, then, did He do? He did not sit in Jerusalem and call the sick to Himself, but He went about cities and villages, healing the sickness of both, that of the body and that of the soul. Yet He could have sat in one place and drawn everyone to Himself; but He did not do this, giving us a pattern ^A to go about and seek those who are perishing. Again, through the parable of the shepherd, He hinted at this. For He did not sit with the ninety-nine sheep and wait for the one that was wandering to come to Him, but He Himself went away, and he found it, and having found it, He lifted it upon His shoulders and carried it back. Do you not see the physicians doing this very thing? They do not compel the sick who are lying in their beds to be brought to their houses, but they themselves run to them. Do this also yourself, ^B my beloved, knowing that the present life is short, and if we do not gain these gains, we shall have no salvation there. Often a single soul that has been won can blot out a mass of sins and become our advocate on that day. Consider why prophets, why apostles, why just men, why angels were often sent, why the only-begotten Son of God Himself appeared; was it not that He might save men? Was it not that He might lead back those who had wandered? Do this also yourself according to your power, and show all zeal and care for the return of those who have wandered. I do not cease to exhort you to this at every assembly, and whether you attend or do not attend, I shall not cease speaking. For this is the law given to us by God, whether one hears or does not hear, to fulfill this ministry. But if you hear and do what is said, we shall perform this very thing with much pleasure; but if you neglect it and are slothful, it will be with much despondency. For as far as we are concerned, there will be no further danger to us from your disobedience; for we have fulfilled everything on our part; yet, even if we are not in danger because we have fulfilled all things on our part, we grieve that you are accused on that day. For the hearing will not be without danger for you, when the addition of deeds does not follow. Hear, then, how Christ, reproaching the teachers who hide the word, even terrified those who were being taught. For by saying, "You ought to have deposited my money ^C with the bankers," and by adding, "That I, having come, would have demanded it with interest," He showed that after the hearing (for this is the depositing of the money), it is necessary for those who have received the teaching to produce interest. And the interest on teaching is nothing else but the demonstration through deeds. Since, therefore, we also have deposited the money into your hearing, it is necessary, then, for you to return the interest to the Master, that is to say, the salvation of your brethren. So if you remain only holding fast to these things that have been said, and working nothing within yourselves, I fear that you will pay the same penalty as the one who buried the talent. For that man, because of this, was bound hand and foot and cast into the outer darkness, because he did not bring forth to others what he had heard. So that we may not ourselves suffer the same things, let us imitate him who received the five and him who received the two talents; and if it be needed to spend on a neighbor's salvation word, or money, or physical labor, or prayer, or anything else, let us not be sluggish, so that, having multiplied from every side the talent given to us by God, we may each be able to hear that blessed voice: "Well done, good and faithful servant; you were faithful over a few things, I will set you over many; enter into the joy of your Lord." May we all attain to this, by the grace and ^D love for mankind of our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom and with whom to the Father be the glory and the power, together with the Holy Spirit, unto the ages of ages. Amen.