A It was delivered on those days, and indeed, as is to be believed, before Pentecost. In it, he first proves that Anna can be called both the father and mother of Samuel, and celebrates her twofold virtue, namely, constancy in prayers and vigilance of mind, to which he then adds a third, namely, tolerance of insults and gentleness, and specifies briefly that one must pray before approaching the table.
The third, which he spoke before Pentecost, begins with the tears of Anna; and he says that the shower of tears irrigates the plant of prayer, so that the fruit comes forth both faster and more abundantly. He proposes Anna as an example of how children are to be educated. Since she had dedicated Samuel to the service of the sanctuary, his sacrifice is compared to the offerings of the priests. Finally, he says that young people should be imbued with heavenly discipline.
The fourth sermon, which he delivered on Anna, is interrupted, as is gathered from those things which are said in the fifth sermon, which, with the former having been lost, is now inscribed as the fourth, no. 3: namely, that these words of the canticle of Anna had been explained in the previous sermon: *My heart is strengthened in the Lord*, etc., the interpretation of which is not contained in the one which is the third.
The fifth, which is now cited as the fourth in the title, begins from the scarcity of the audience, and because the spectacles of the circus had taken away the usual attendance, he pours forth much in his usual manner against the equestrian games, and those who deserted the church for the sake of rushing there. Concerning prayer, finally, he treats, and says that prayer should be united with affection, and that every place is opportune for praying. The fourth and fifth were said before Pentecost.
The sixth, which is now inscribed as the fifth, was held after the feast of Pentecost, as is said after the beginning. At the start, he speaks against those who frequented the church only on feast days and solemnities; then he explains what a feast day is, and speaks of Anna in his usual manner. Likewise, he argues against those who accuse divine providence, because in this life some are rich, others poor. Finally, he says that poverty is most useful, and demonstrates that it has more pleasure and security than riches have.
Other Homilies.
Chrysostom mentions that he had delivered the Homily on the Debtor of Ten Thousand Talents in this year (T. 3, c. 17), when he says no. 4: *We have struck one chord throughout the whole of Lent, while we were reciting to you the law regarding oaths; and by the grace of God it has come to pass that most of our mouths have been so attuned in this melody of the law that, with the base custom driven away, in place of the fact that they formerly swore by God, now they carry nothing on their tongue but "It is," and "It is not," and "Believe me," and that in every conversation, etc.* Therefore it is more than certain that he delivered this sermon in the same year in which he had delivered the Homilies on the Statues; nor is it less certain that he delivered this as his first sermon after he had recovered from an illness, as is argued from the first words of the sermon. *As if I had returned to you from a distant journey,* he says, *so I feel affected today; for whereas there can be no companionship of friends, their presence brings no advantage. B Therefore, we who stayed at home were no happier in this respect than those who were traveling abroad: naturally, since at an earlier time we could have no conversations with you: but pardon must be granted, since that was a silence of infirmity, not of sloth.* It is certain, therefore, that Chrysostom delivered this first homily after he had recovered from an illness. Now it is asked which illness: whether it was the one from which he suffered while the solemnities of the martyrs were being celebrated throughout the city, concerning which [I spoke] above. If one understands it to be that one, he certainly must have delivered this sermon before he preached the Homily on the Sunday of the *Episozomenes* and the homilies on Anna. But Chrysostom was so frequently detained by bodily infirmities that we cannot state this as a certainty: wherefore the matter must remain in doubt. In this homily, however, he strives principally to prove that the remembering of injuries is worse than any sin.Continuously, as it seems, there followed these three Homilies on David and Saul (T. 4, c. 675). For the subject which he had begun in the Homily on the Debtor of Ten Thousand Talents, namely, concerning the driving away of the remembrance of injuries, he pursues strenuously in a single series within these three homilies, using the example of David, and indeed so pathetically that he drew forth the tears of the listeners, and, as can be seen, led the Antiochenes to fulfill that commandment, *Love your enemies*; just as in the past Lent he had recalled them from the oaths to which they were much accustomed.
It suddenly occurs to me that it is in no way probable that Chrysostom could have delivered the Homily on the Debtor and the three following it after that illness with which he was detained after the Pasch of the year 387, while the feasts of the martyrs were being celebrated for many days throughout the city of Antioch: 1st, because the first sermon after that infirmity in the Paschal season was that which is seen on the Sunday of the *Episozomenes*, as is said in the same place at the beginning, and the sermon on the Debtor is also a first one, but beyond doubt one after another illness. 2nd, because if the homilies on the Debtor and the three following had been delivered in the Paschal season before the Homily on the *Episozomenes* and on Anna, C they would undoubtedly have been mentioned in these, just as other sermons given at the time of Easter were mentioned. Otherwise, however, it is not likely that those four homilies were delivered either continuously before Pentecost or at alternate intervals with the homilies on Anna. Therefore, I believe that Chrysostom, who most frequently suffered from illness, was seized by an illness in a month unknown to us after Pentecost, and when he recovered, he delivered that first homily on the debtor of ten thousand talents, where he preached against the remembrance of injuries.
In the first homily on David, he treats of tolerance, and that it is necessary to spare one's enemies, and not to speak evil of anyone. In the second, he proves that it is not only useful to exercise virtue but also to praise those endowed with virtue, and brings no small utility; and that David erected a more magnificent trophy by sparing Saul than by striking down Goliath, and that it profited himself more than Saul.
A In the third, when he saw many of those present who had not recently attended the assembly to witness the theatrical spectacles, he said that many become adulterers from such shows, and that wars and contentions arise from them. He adds, moreover, that David surpassed all kinds of patience with Saul; and he concludes by saying that to bear plunder patiently is no less a virtue than to dispense alms.
In the month of September of the year 387, he resumed the argument against the Jews (Vol. 1, col. 871), which had begun about the same time in the preceding year, 386. At the beginning of the fourth [homily], which is the first of these later ones, he expresses it thus: "Again those unhappy and, of all mortals, most miserable Jews are about to fast: again it is necessary that we arm the flock of Christ." Therefore, he says that he had given these admonitions ten days before the Jews were to fast, because many of his own flock, moved by a certain superstition, were fasting with the Jews. He says first that that fast of the Jews, which was performed against the will of God, was impious and wicked; and for this reason he turns them away from this Jewish fast which they had undertaken, and at the end of the assembly he urges others who were abstaining from such a Jewish fast to call their brothers away from these kinds of fasts, which were far worse even than theatrical spectacles.
He begins the fifth homily with the frequency of the audience, at which he rejoices that it is greater than usual, and he resumes his former argument more ardently, and pronounces that all Jewish rites have been utterly abrogated. He proves that the Jerusalem Temple is never to be restored, not only from Christ [himself], but also from the predictions of the prophets. He says that the laws of the Christians are to be kept forever, and all others have become obsolete. Afterwards, he speaks at greater length concerning the ruin of the Jews and treats in detail of the vengeance God took upon them. He explains the prophecies of Daniel in detail and institutes a special discourse on the weeks of Daniel. He commemorates the attempts of the Jews to restore the temple under the Emperor Hadrian, under Constantine, and finally under Julian the Apostate, who favored them; and yet everything resulted in vain for them. Finally, having said that the prophet Malachi had prefigured Christian worship, he closes the address, at least twice as long as the other homilies, B so that he even contracted hoarseness from the fervor and prolixity of his speaking.
Nor did he desist from preaching in this way, but on the following day, although hoarse, he took up the role of an orator and delivered the sixth homily in the presence of Bishop Flavian and a great multitude of people. And he speaks first of the destruction of the temple under Vespasian, and, exercising the office of an orator rather than an annalist, says that five hundred years had now passed since the temple of Jerusalem had been destroyed, although not more than three hundred and eighteen years had passed since that destruction. But Chrysostom is accustomed in his addresses to pay little attention to these calculations of time, as we note elsewhere. From here, truly, the holy doctor, pursuing his goal, says and proves that the death of Christ was the cause of evils for the Jews, and says that God bore the death of Christ more indignantly than the adoration of the calf. He proves again from the prophets the future rejection of the Jews. Then he demonstrates how great the dignity of the priesthood is, and proves that the priesthood among the Jews is now abrogated, and observes that the holy books do not make the synagogue holy, and he does everything possible to turn his listeners away from both the entrance to and the imitation of the synagogue.
He pursues this same argument in the seventh sermon, and proves that Jewish rites have been abrogated, that there can be no priests among the Jews, and that there is one unique sacrifice by the body of Christ; and that the Law had been abolished, not because of the sins of the Jews, but because it was imperfect. Finally, he comes to Melchizedek, whose priestly dignity he celebrates, and proves from the prophet that that priesthood is the final one, and from Paul’s words that Christ is that true priest after the order of Melchizedek. But he dwells longer on this matter, and finally closes it by exhorting his listeners to turn their brothers away from Jewish observations and to lead them back to the true path. "For this reason," he says, "we undertake so much labor; not so that we may bring back applause and noise, but so that we may lead back those who have been torn away to the path of truth."
He held the eighth [homily] after the fast of the Jews had passed, which fast he says is drunkenness. And again he urges his listeners to take care of and watch over the amendment and salvation of their brethren; he says that hands are to be extended to them not only before the sin, but even after the sin, as God did for Adam. But the sins of brothers are to be corrected, not divulged. Since, however, the Jews said they were physicians and used incantations and liga- C tures to cure diseases, Chrysostom rises up against those who might flee to such doctors, and says that evils are rather to be borne patiently than such cures applied, and that one should flee to God and the holy martyrs and use the sign of the cross.