ON THE BLESSED ABRAHAM
A 1. Do you see a vigorous gray-headedness and a blooming old age? Do you see an athlete noble against nature and the viscera, engaging in combat? Do you see a man in extreme old age firmer than adamant? The tone of his flesh had indeed slackened, but the tone of his faith was sinewy. For such are the achievements of the Church, because the weakness of the body does not harm the readiness of faith at all; for a well-ordered gray head is an ornament of the Church, and faith that is winged, and in this the Church rejoices the more. For in external affairs the old man is useless, fit for nothing, but everywhere he enjoys indulgence, because he is unable, due to his weakness, to serve necessary needs. What do I mean? A gray-headed man cannot take up a position for war, nor mount a horse, nor wield a spear, nor shake a shield, nor endure the heat of the sun, nor support the long distance of a journey, nor withstand the severity of famine, nor the burden of turmoil; but he sits in a quiet place, having his gray-headedness as an advocate. And one might see this also in the case of ships. The old man cannot sit at the tillers, nor cut across seas, nor row an oar, nor stretch a sail, nor fight against opposing winds, nor endure the bitterness of cold, nor is he able to do any other such thing; but he sits in the ship, having indulgence on account of his age. And one may see this also in the case of farmers; for he cannot pull a plow, nor cut a furrow, nor become a horse-tamer, nor bear the strength of powerful oxen, nor the war of heat, nor the volume of high temperatures, nor the weight of a mattock, nor anything else of those things useful for cultivating the earth; but he sits at home, having his gray-headedness as an advocate. But things in the Church are not so, but when those who carry on in virtue grow old, then they become more useful; for the tension of the flesh is not sought, but the intensity of faith. Such was Abraham; slackened indeed in the tone of his flesh, but sinewy in the tone of faith. He was an old man, but in extreme gray-headedness he fought against nature, having set up great trophies of victory; he was an old man, but tougher than iron and firmer than adamant. And when he was in the flower of youth, he achieved none of these things; but when the time of his lifespan had passed, then he set up the trophy of victory; he was in extreme gray-headedness, but his gray-headedness did not become an impediment. Therefore also God, knowing his tension, appears to him, and says: *Go from your land, and from your kindred, and from the house of your father, and come into the land which I will show you* (Gen. 12:1). Abraham obeyed the word, although he was already an old man, and weak in body, and he did not say to himself: "Where am I going in extreme old age? Shall I abandon the house of my father, and the land in which I was born, where there is an abundance of wealth and the distinction of parents; where there is expensive property, and the well-being of friends?" But he was indeed grieved at the present, but he did not disobey; for as one who loved his place he felt anxiety to leave it, but as one who loved God he was persuaded and obeyed; and the wondrous thing is, God did not even tell him to what place, but by the undefined nature of the name he exercised his moral choice. For if He had told him that He was going to lead him into a land flowing with milk and honey, Abraham would have been found not obeying the voice of God, but preferring land to land. Abraham therefore went out not knowing where he was going. Do you see gray-headedness glorified in achievements? For such, as I said before, are our affairs; the weakness of old age does not cast them down, and time does not wither them; for gray-headedness is not in bodies, but in the soul; therefore it is also unaging. Abraham therefore went out having received nothing, but still living in tents; and he did not disbelieve, nor did he feel anxiety; for he had the voice of Him who called him as a trustworthy pledge. He was childless, and did not beget children, neither did Sarah his wife; but he received Isaac as a son by promise; and when nature had declared it impossible, then grace gifted him; he received a trustworthy reward of obedience, but this without knowing it; for if he had known, he would have done nothing trustworthy. And so that you may learn that it was not for this reason that he obeyed, see how, even when commanded to kill him, he does not disobey, but casts aside nature, and embraces the love of God, treads upon his viscera, and does not depart from Him who called him. What then does God say to him? *Abraham, Abraham.* And he said: *Behold, I am here:* and He said: *Take your beloved son, whom you loved, Isaac, and bring him up for a whole burnt offering on one of the mountains, which I will tell you of* (Gen. 22:2). B Neither did He reveal the mountain to him, but by the undefined nature of the mountain He cast him into greater despondency. But nevertheless, none of these things disturbed Abraham; or rather, it even disturbed him; for he suffered indeed the things of a man, but he did not suffer the things of sin; he was being tossed about as a father, but he was not being shipwrecked as one who loved God; his viscera were being ignited, but faith was winning. For do not say that Abraham suffered nothing; consider how he was being set on fire, driven by his viscera, and observe his philosophy. He does not even tell Sarah; for he feared, lest she should possibly obstruct the mystery being performed. For if he had said it, it is likely she would have muzzled him, and said: "Where are you leading your son, whom I received against hope, whom I received according to promise, whom I received in exchange for hospitality, whom God gifted to me in my extreme old age? Where are you leading him away? Where are you taking him? No one..."
How was God to be exalted for you, and how could you seek your son, whom he gave you beyond your expectations[743]? He gave [him], and he takes [him] back; if he gave him for the sake of taking him, it would have been better if he had not given him at all. For the pain of not having [a child] is not as great as that of having received one and then losing him. A Consider Sarah, inflamed and burning, agitated by nature, her womb distorted and her innards stirred—for women are easily moved in such matters, and the softer and more prone to affection they are, the more she would have struggled with Abraham, and the sacrifice would have been hindered, and the mystery would have remained unaccomplished. For what would Sarah not have done to snatch away her son? She could not have endured the events: that a son born beyond expectation was to be slain, and he who had been granted to her in her very old age was to be sacrificed; that a father’s hands were about to perform child-murder. Sarah would not have endured such things, but would have stirred up a great struggle with Abraham, and once the struggle had arisen, there would necessarily have followed some stratagem, and because of the following stratagem, the mystery would have been hindered. Therefore, Abraham did not speak to his wife, so that no contention might arise, so that once contention had arisen, the matter might not proceed to a struggle, so that if the matter proceeded to a struggle, it might not lead to discord over the son, so that by such discord over the son the promise might not be delayed, so that if the promise were delayed, B the business might not be impeded by some stratagem, and so that if the business were impeded by some stratagem, the mystery might not remain unaccomplished.
Chapter 2.
But the philosopher Abraham, the athlete, wrestling with nature and boxing with his own innards, arming himself against nature, did not refuse; but yielding to the command of God, he heard what was announced, and straightway received his son. I delight in lingering over these words: *Take your son, your beloved, whom you have loved, Isaac, and offer him to me as a whole burnt offering upon one of the mountains which I shall tell you* (Gen. 22:2). And Abraham, taking Isaac and the donkey and the two servants, departed; then, when they had arrived at a certain place, he said to the servants, *Sit here* [he said], *and I and the lad will cross over to that place; and when we have worshipped, we will return to you* (Ibid. v. 5). Without knowing it, Abraham prophesied, with divine grace cooperating with him. You are going to sacrifice your son, and do you say, "We will return"? While he is intent on hiding [the truth] from the servants, C he becomes a prophet. And he laid the wood upon the shoulders of Isaac, and having taken the fire and the sword, he ascended the mountain. And what did Isaac say to his father? "Father." And he, "What is it, my son?" And he says, "Behold the fire and the wood: where is the sheep for the whole burnt offering?" Then he, "God will provide for himself a sheep for the whole burnt offering, my son" (Ibid. v. 8). Behold another prophecy! I can neither pass over the words nor the deeds. Consider the names that were soon to be deprived of their objects. Thus he calls him father, and here again he calls him son, and for a short time the names veiled the truth, but they were soon to be unveiled. Consider, moreover, how Abraham was affected, being called "father" by Isaac, whom he was about to slaughter. How could it be that his knees were not dissolved? How were his limbs not crushed? How was he not distraught in mind when he heard these things from his son Isaac? D Yet he bore up, and he bound Isaac, and took the sword in his right hand, so that he might slaughter his son.
"I do not have the words to describe what happened. How was his hand not paralyzed? How did the sword not fall from his hand? How was he not entirely dissolved and wasted away? How was he able to stand and see Isaac bound? How did he not suddenly remain dead? How did his nerves serve him? How did his mind not fail him? I have no speech by which I can describe what happened. As many of you as are fathers or mothers, come together, reach out a hand, help my speech, for the thing exceeds my powers—forgive me; nay, rather do you yourselves assist. Often someone has five or six sons and daughters; if ever one of them is ill, the father scurries around the whole bed, kisses the eyes of the child, embraces his hands, considers day to be night and light to be darkness—not because he changes the elements, but because in the bitterness of grief he takes no pleasure in them; soft cushions are laid upon the bed, doctors sit nearby, many attendants surround the sick person; the father is altogether wasted away. Though an abundance of money may be at hand, it is loathsome to him; though he may be weighed down by countless cares, he drives them all away, nor can he return to his right mind, being intoxicated by excessive sadness; the whole world suffers for him with an incurable evil. In like manner, the mother also wanders about, distracted, perturbed, and burning all over, seeking the ability to share the pain with the sick child, or rather to take the whole of it upon herself, so that the struggling child might be relieved of the disease. She regards the present life as nothing, the future [life] as nothing; but to her, it is more desirable than all of these things that she should take upon herself the whole of the child's disease. I do not have words by which I can represent this affection. Place before your eyes Abraham, thus affected—tethered by grief, yet philosophizing, and obeying the command; he was subduing nature, and the command was overcoming his very innards. Indeed, these things, as I said before, he suffered as a human, but as one who loved God, he was philosophizing. And one could see Isaac as a martyr, living and not living, dead and not dead. For as far as the intent of the parent is concerned, he is dead; but as far as the kindness of God is concerned, he is not dead, since he was a figure and image of the Lord; the figure therefore came to pass, and the truth followed it. Afterwards Isaac is tied, but he is not slaughtered, for a voice comes from above, full of mercy and kindness, which restrains the patriarch—now altogether intent and prepared to perform the slaughter—which says: *Abraham, Abraham, do not lay your hand upon the lad* (Gen. 22:11, 12). Why not upon the *boy*, but upon the *lad*? Why does he speak in a humble way? He was a human: it was a *Son* that was needed, not a *lad*; not a servant, but the true only-begotten Son, sent to us from the Father. *Do not lay your hand upon the lad.* You were satisfied with the figure; receive the truth. And Abraham indeed...
A spoke, reckoning that he was misleading his servants; yet he saw the truth coming to pass in the things that were said. For what does he say? *Sit here with the ass; I and the lad will go across over there, and having worshipped, we will return to you.* He spoke not as it was, but it turned out rather as he said than as he thought. He leaves the servants behind, so that he might not be forced by a violent refusal; lest, if they thought the old man was suffering some senile affliction, they should hinder his impulse to sacrifice, saying: "What are you doing, master? Do you sacrifice him who was born of promise, the beloved, the one granted by God, the support of your old age, the heir, the successor, the son of Sarah? What are you doing? Consider, consult with your wife, with the partner of the birth, with her who endured the pains of labor for him; slay us first, and then the son." But the wise elder does not take along those who ought to hinder him, but commands the victim himself to carry the wood, so B that he might bear the type of the Savior carrying the cross. And as the lad carries it and speaks, he stirs the father’s bowels, yet does not turn him away from his longing toward God. For what does he say? "Father." Consider what kind of voice that was, "Father." For even we, when we are about to sacrifice a lamb or some other animal, and we see it bleating and uttering a soft voice toward us, we pity and have compassion, since it utters an inarticulate sound. Think, therefore, what this sheep would have done if it had spoken to a weak man: "Father, behold the fire and the wood; where is the sheep for the burnt offering?" But he himself was, according to the father's intent, the sheep provoking the priest to compassion. For he had not been taught by Christ who says: *He who loves father or mother, or son or daughter, more than me, is not worthy of me* (Matt. 10. 37). He was imitating the Father, of whom it is said: *He who did not spare his own Son, but delivered him up for us all* (Rom. 8. 32). "Where is the sheep?" the lad asks thoughtfully. C What then does the father say? *God will see to a sheep for himself for a burnt offering, my child* (Gen. 22. 7); not a servant, but a Son. That one was an only-begotten, and God is an only-begotten; that one carried the wood on his shoulders, and Christ carried the cross on his shoulders; that one, having committed no sin, was about to be slaughtered, and the Son of God, having committed no sin, was crucified; that one was both slaughtered and not slaughtered, and the Son of God, the only-begotten, was both slaughtered and not slaughtered, and died and did not die; for as far as the intent was concerned, he died, but as far as the outcome of affairs was concerned, he did not die; but the Son of God died in the flesh, yet his divinity remained impassible.
3. God signifies great things through shadows
D 3. For God always, when he is about to administer some great thing among men, precedes [it] and portrays its shadow beforehand, so that when the truth comes, they might not be faithless about it; so that, with the image having preceded, they might not be faithless toward the truth. What do I mean? The all-holy Virgin was about to give birth, and the matter was incredible; how shall a virgin give birth contrary to the law of nature? For that which is born is contrary to the sequence of nature. Who from eternity has seen a virgin give birth? In order, therefore, that the Jews might not fall into great unbelief, he precedes and portrays the truth in Sarah, so that when they are at a loss, asking how the virgin gave birth, they might rather, having been reminded, say, "How did Sarah give birth?" Or rather, according to that other saying, "How did the earth, being a virgin, give birth?" There was no hoe, no farmer existed for it, rain did not descend, herb did not spring up in it, furrow was not cut into it, it was wasteland, it received no sowing of seeds, no drop of rain gladdened it. Tell me then, how, being virgin, did it sprout the ten thousand kinds of herbs? But you cannot interpret what has happened, but say, "As God willed." In the same way, therefore, also in the case of the Virgin, since you are at a loss, learn not to scrutinize when God is working; do not ask for things according to nature when the craftsman of nature is working; do not be inquisitive. He said, *Let the earth sprout*, and immediately the word entered into the wombs of the earth, and stirred up its birth pangs, and the virgin gave birth. The word was one which went forth, and it sprouted ten thousand kinds of herbs, and the earth recovered its own order through the word; and one could see the earth surging—the winged creatures, the water-creatures, the land-animals, the meadows, the flowers, the trees, the vine, the olive, the ten thousand kinds of trees, the untimely, the ripe, those in the plains, those by the sea, those by the lakes, those by the rivers, those by the springs, those in the mountains. The word was one, the one working, and the earth was recovering its own fitness. Interpret for me, O Jew, how this is; but you cannot. Do you see how error trips itself up? Attend closely. For as I was saying, when God is about to administer some matter that appears incredible to men, he precedes it with the type and the shadow, so that the truth, when it comes suddenly, may not cast them into unbelief. The Son of God had to come down, and baptize the race of men, and choke the old man, and drown the sin that wished to renew [it], and bring back the blessing, and disperse the curse, and grant righteousness, and make men angels; he was about to take an adulterer [and] make him a son; which in fact he did: he was about to take one who was not worthy of the earth and make him worthy of heaven. Since, therefore, this miracle was great and incredible to many—how the same nature chokes the one man and makes the other righteous, destroys sin, and brings back the truth—in order, therefore, that the Jews might not say, "The things of the Christians are a myth," [asking] how is it possible for the same water to choke one and provide life to another? One is the water, and how is it able to have two operations? What then does God administer beforehand, so that the shamelessness of the Jews is convicted? The sons of Israel were being oppressed in Egypt, in the tasks, and nailed to the bricks and other labors; and they were crying out, weeping, and saying: "Who will rescue us from the slavery of the Egyptians? We are perished, we are utterly destroyed in the evil works." What then? God heard them, and he sends Moses, having armed him with signs and wonders. Moses came bearing the punishments against Pharaoh; he brought on a camp of evil locusts, he commanded the caterpillar, and it arrived; he changed the water into blood, he caused pustules to break out in [men and animals].
men and cattle. Then, since after such great plagues Pharaoh did not yield, finally God sends the death of the firstborn: then, to be brief, so that I might not linger too long and fail to fulfill my promises: they went forth from the land of Egypt, and came to the shore of the sea. Pharaoh led an army after them with a multitude of chariots and horses: as Israel saw the host, he was seized with fear. But they came to the seashore: and God said to Moses: Why do you cry out to me? (Exod. 14. 15). And yet Moses was saying nothing. But He said to him: I am God, who hears not only those things which are brought forth by the lips, but also knows those things which are in the heart, so that you may learn that prayer is not sent forth by clamor, but by the mind. Why do you cry out to me? With his lips he was indeed saying nothing, but in his heart he was crying out; for prayer is required from a good mind, not from a great clamor. Why do you cry out to me? Extend the rod, which you carry in your hand, over the sea, and cross over, you and all the children of Israel. Moses truly extended the rod which he carried in his hand, and struck the sea (ibid. v. 16): then the disorderly force of the waters was dried up, and it forgot its own nature. Such, indeed, is the element when the nod of God approaches; it forgets its own nature and checks its own operation. For just as a well-disposed maid, the sea, when she saw the servant of her Master, obeyed and complied; but complied, not revering the dry wood, but Him who was to be crucified upon the wood. It saw therefore the image, and at once understood the truth, and withdrew. Pass through, He said, you and all the people of Israel. Thereupon he passed through, he and all the people of Israel; but the Egyptians followed pursuing them; namely, Pharaoh, and his chariots and horsemen. Then, after the children of Israel had passed through, the water came over, and covered the Egyptians. Tell me therefore, O Jew, how the water of Baptism has two operations, so that it suffocates one and gives life to another? Tell me, how that sea, in its nature one, preserved some alive but destroyed others; choked some, but provided a way for others, although the force of the waters is one and disorderly? And how it reverenced the former as servants, but imitated a barbarian custom towards the latter? Explain this to me, O Jew, who do not believe in the Cross, how the same water choked those and saved these. There was one water, one sea, and of the latter it did not even wet the foot, while of the former it left not even a footprint, but covered them all at once with water, and the sea made a common sepulcher for the whole people of the Egyptians. Tell me, I pray, how this was done. Do you see how the shadow preceded, so that the truth might find faith? How the former was indeed a shadow, and this the truth? That the shadow, this the things themselves? Do you see, as I have already said, that God, when He wishes to perform a certain wonderful work, sends forth figures and shadows, so that the truth preceding may be easily accepted? For it is necessary that the image be inferior to the truth; for if it were perfect by itself, it would no longer be a shadow, but truth. The shadow indeed went before, A the truth of the colors followed, and showed a clear image. Those were types; these, the things themselves: which evidently happened concerning the lamb. By the blood of Christ the world was to be liberated and to decline the curse. Since therefore that also was a great miracle and incredible to the foolish soul of the Jews, God prepares and prefigures this through the lamb. And truly, when He prepared to destroy B the firstborn of the Egyptians, so that those who were of the children of Israel might not be killed at the same time: what then? That it might be done, says Moses, lest the exterminating angel might exterminate the firstborn of Israel at the same time: what then? God said to him: Command the children of Israel, and let them take a lamb without spot, a male, of a year old, according to their families: but if they are poor, He says, neighbor will call neighbor, family will call family; and so taking the lamb, a lamb without spot, a male, of a year old, sacrifice, He says, according to families and according to the houses of the tribes. And eat the flesh of it roasted by fire; nothing shall be left of them; but its blood smear on your doorposts. But eat it, He says, with your loins girded, and your feet shod (Exod. 12. 3 sqq.), and this as the habit of a traveler; your lamps shall burn; why? Because evening was occupying them. And why eat as travelers? Why? I say: namely, because of the type and because of the truth: since Pharaoh was beaten more often and did not let them go; and Moses said to them: today he is beaten and will let them go (Exod. 11. 1); he was beaten, yet did not let them go; he was beaten for the ninth time and did not let them go; but upon the tenth plague he decreed to let them go; therefore he says, Take the habit of travelers (Exod. 12. 11); for after you have eaten, there will be nothing in common between you and Egypt; take therefore, he says, a lamb without spot, a male of a year old, and sacrifice it; and smear its blood on your doorposts, so that the angel coming, although he may not spare on account of them, may yet spare you on account of the C type of the blood. These things were not done for the sake of the angel, but on account of the blood which saved me. For could not the angel distinguish the Egyptians and the Jews, in what they differed? Could He who could [distinguish] the firstborn, not also have been able to distinguish the Egyptians and the Hebrews? When therefore he ridicules you, saying, do you hope in blood? you also say to him: Are you not ashamed, brazen one? You were saved in the blood of a lamb, and am I not saved in the blood of the Lord? Therefore the Jew eating makes haste to depart from Egypt; let the Christian eating make haste to depart from the world. For so Paul addresses you: Stand, having your loins girt about with truth, and having on the breastplate of righteousness; and your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace (Ephes. 6. 14, 15) (a). There sandals, and here also sandals: there a rod, here a breastplate: Moses gave commands as if to travelers, Paul as if to soldiers: they were from earth to earth, and therefore travelers; I am from earth to heaven, therefore a soldier: why? Because my path is infested with robberies through the air; demons meet me. Therefore I have confidence exposed, D therefore the breastplate of righteous-
I have my breastplate of justice, I have the belt of truth: for I am not merely a wayfarer, but also a soldier. *The way that leads to life is narrow and straight* (Matt. 7:14). See, therefore, how Paul deals with the matter and how Moses provides the figures: how he deals with things sensible, and how he deals with spiritual things. Let us, therefore, also be eager, beloved, to imitate Abraham, that we may be received into his bosom, by the grace and loving-kindness of our Lord Jesus Christ, to whom be glory and power, now and always, and unto the ages of ages. Amen.
MONITUM.
In his work *On Sophonias*, he says that women were the Apostles of the Apostles: not that Thecla usurped the office of teaching in the Church, as heretics were wont to claim from her apocryphal Acts—as attested by Tertullian in *On Baptism*, ch. 17, and by Jerome in *On Ecclesiastical Writers* under Luke—but because, as Ado writes, she instructed many by the example and conversation of her life and even by her doctrine. In the *Horologium* of the Greeks, I read on September 24: *Of the holy Protomartyr and Equal-to-the-Apostles Thecla*; yet in their calendar translated into Latin, *Thecla the martyr, first of women*. So also ibid., July 22: *St. Mary Magdalene*. *Equal-to-the-Apostles* (Isapostolos) is how she is titled; see Evagr. Bk. III, ch. 8: *Zeno, having seen in a vision the holy and much-enduring protomartyr Thecla; Zeno having seen in a vision the holy, strenuous and excellent martyr Thecla.*
The Latin interpretation is by the same Fronto Ducæus.
PRAISE OF THE HOLY PROTOMARTYR AND APOSTLE THECLA (a)
The grace of the Holy Spirit, for the sake of those who neglect the marriage of Thecla, has raised up for us yearly commemorations, the icons of the saints, and perpetually preserves, fresh in the passage of time, their deeds, which would otherwise fall into oblivion. For everyone who encounters them as if in an icon of memory reflects on the beauty of the deeds, and contemplates the actions set within the icon of memory. And it seems to me today that I am contemplating that blessed maiden, as if standing in an icon of memory, holding aloft in one hand the crown won against pleasures, and in the other the crown won against dangers; offering in the one hand her virginity, and in the other her martyrdom to the Master of all. For indeed, she possessed the elements of virginity, which to those who accurately consider the matter, is a martyrdom great even before martyrdom. For pleasures are certain cruel tormentors of the body; or rather, more cruel than tormentors. For they bind with invisible chains; they flay the soul through the eyes; they bring through the ears to the unyielding mind of the soul the torch of love for pleasure; they lash the intellect with a stinging whip, and stir up one battle-line after another against us. When one commands the eyes to be blinded to beauty, pleasures open what has been closed through the ears, relaxing the soul with lascivious songs; when they encounter ears closed against shameful songs, they play wantonly with the thoughts, adorned with lasciviousness; when, to speak briefly, we overcome them while awake through all things, they war against our shadows while we sleep; and this cycle of battle is eternal for them, neither setting with the sun, nor finding rest at night. But if they take hold of youth, it is a collision of fire with fire, a clashing of furnace with straw. For youth is easily ignited by pleasures, as if more oily for combustion, as if more delicate for the toils of temperance. These things, truly, all made of virginity for the blessed virgin a long sort of martyrdom; boxing with pleasures, as the martyr with wild beasts; struggling with thoughts, as he with tortures; engaging with the concepts of the love of pleasure, as with the necessities imposed by tormentors; yet conquering, nevertheless, the war so various and domestic. For in her, the fire of the mind was more searing and holy than the fire of nature. But while nature yielded to the maiden—though it reigns in others and rages for union—in Thecla it was practicing virginity. The parents, however, not knowing the covenants of their child regarding virginity, nor the betrothal…
(a) Compared with the Royal Codex 2343, which does not vary.