ADMONITION
It is sufficiently certain whether one should stand by this calculation. One thing we can say without danger: that this book was written by Chrysostom around the year 382, though we do not dispute it if someone publishes it a few years before or after. Hermantius, who thinks this book is a sermon delivered to a gathering of the people, wishes to assign it to the year 386, when he was most recently ordained; for as Chrysostom himself testifies, he had not delivered a sermon before he was a presbyter. But, as we were saying above, this book bears no sign of having been a sermon delivered to the people, and it is of such length that it could not have been recited at a single session. Furthermore, who would believe that he would have delivered that extremely long refutation of Libanius, which occupies almost half the book, in a gathering of the people? So much for the timing.
The argument of the book is the history of the martyr S. Babylas, bishop of Antioch, told in a declamatory style with figures of speech; and while we believe that S. Babylas was slain by Christ, there is no doubt that the nature and cause of his martyrdom are set forth by Chrysostom based more on rumors among the people than on the true history of the events. For who, I ask, was that Christian Roman Emperor who, having initiated a barbarian peace with the king, having accepted his son as a pledge of peace upon the condition that he educate the son for himself, suddenly slaughtered him, and for that reason was debarred from the entrance to the church by the blessed Babylas, and ordered the same prelate to be hauled off to prison and beheaded? Some scholastics or librarians say this Emperor is Numerian. What nonsense! For to call the Christian Numerian—or the murderer of the son of some barbarian king given to him as a pledge of peace—is at odds with true history. Nor is it more credible in certain Acts edited by Bollandus on January 24th, where Numerian is introduced as a worshiper of idols, attempting to lead S. Babylas into impiety, and then afflicting him and the boys with the glory of martyrdom: these things certainly cannot refer to our Babylas. Hence the question arises whether there are several of the same name. See Bollandus on this matter in the *Acta SS.*, January 21st. It is therefore probable that the Emperor being remembered is Philip, who, having arrived at Antioch in the time of Pascha after he had achieved his ends involving the invasion of Gordian Augustus, approached the church intending to be a partaker of the mysteries. Learning of this, S. Babylas barred the Emperor, who was approaching, from entering the church, and ordered him to take his place in the area for penitents until, having washed away and expiated his crimes through penance, he would later be received into the communion of the faithful. Eusebius narrates that Philip bore this rebuke from the holy prelate with a grateful heart and acted with modesty, having gone to the place of penitents, and then later, having confessed his crime according to the statutes of the Church, having performed the required penance, he was admitted into the church. But under the Emperor Decius, the enemy of Christians, B. Babylas gave his neck for Christ. That Philip’s penance and his Christianity are narrated by Eusebius not as a certainty, but as something heard from some others, and is considered doubtful by many. See those who have treated this matter more extensively from established sources. It is probable, however, as I was saying, that the story concerning Philip’s execution of Gordian came from that history which we mentioned above from Chrysostom; but it is so garbled and distorted in all its parts that it seems to be an entirely different story.
Far more sound are the accounts recorded by Chrysostom regarding the relics of S. Babylas from the suburb of Daphne to the city of Antioch, and also of the temple of Apollo miraculously touched and burned. For of these, not only was Chrysostom an eyewitness, but so were all his listeners, whom he addresses in his homily. He also mentions this miracle in his homily as well as in the book on Babylas.
The Latin translation of the homilies is by Fronton Du Duc. We have prepared a new translation of the books on Babylas and against Julian and the Gentiles, as that of Germanius Brixius, which was in the earlier editions, was entirely a paraphrase.
ON THE HOLY HIEROMARTYR BABYLAS
1. A I had wished indeed to render the debt today which I promised to you recently when I was here; but what am I to do? The blessed Babylas appeared, intervening, and called us to himself, not by uttering a voice, but B by...
lamp of the countenance having turned us around. Do not, therefore, fret at the deferral of the repayment; for in every case, by as much as the time becomes longer, by so much does the interest increase for you. For we shall pay out this money with interest; since the Master who deposited it A commanded it so. Confiding, therefore, in the things lent, as both the principal and the profit remain yours, let us not pass over the gain that has fallen our way today, but let us feast upon the righteous achievements of the blessed Babylas. Now, how he stood at the head of the Church among us, and saved this sacred ship in winter, and turbulence, and surge, and how much boldness he displayed before the king, and how he laid down his soul for the sheep, and received that blessed slaughter— these things, and such as these, we shall leave to the older of the teachers and to our common father to tell. For those who have reached old age among you are able to recount the older events well; but those things which have happened recently, and in our own lifetime, these I, the younger, shall narrate to you—I mean those after the departure, those after the burial of the martyr, when he was living in the suburb. And I know indeed that the Greeks will laugh at our promise, if we claim to speak of the virtuous deeds of one who was buried and dissolved into dust after his departure and burial; yet we shall not be silent for this reason, but for this very reason we shall speak, so that by demonstrating the truth of this paradox, we may turn their laughter back upon their own heads. For indeed, the virtuous deeds of a man, simply speaking, could not occur after his departure; but of a martyr there could be many and great ones, not so that he might become more brilliant (for he has no need of glory from the multitude), but so that you, the unbeliever, may learn that the death of martyrs is not death, but the beginning of a better life and the precursors of a more spiritual walk of life, and a passage from the lesser to the better things. For do not look upon this—that the martyr's body lies bare and destitute of soul-activity; but observe this—that another power, greater than he, sits beside it, the grace of the Holy Spirit, which pleads for everyone concerning the resurrection through the things it works by miracles. B For if God has granted to dead bodies, and those dissolved into dust, a power greater than all the living, much more will He grant to them a life better than the former, and more blessed at the time of the crowns. What, then, are his virtuous achievements? But do not be troubled if we lead the discourse a little further back. For those who wish to display paintings well, having removed the viewers a little distance from the panel, thus uncover them, making the sight clearer to them by the distance. Bear with it, therefore, you also, as we draw the discourse back. Since Julian, having surpassed all in impiety, ascended to the kingly throne and took hold of the sovereign scepter, straightway he lifted his hands against the God who had made him, and he did not recognize his Benefactor, and looking from the earth below up to heaven, he barked like the maddest of dogs, which cry out equally against those who do not feed them and those who do feed them—or rather, he raged with a madness wilder even than theirs. For they both distance themselves from and hate their own kith and kin and strangers alike; but this man fawned upon the demons who were strangers to his salvation, and served them by every manner of worship; but the Benefactor and Savior, who did not even spare His Only-Begotten for his sake, he spurned and hated, and he ridiculed the Cross, the thing which raised up the world lying prone on its face, and dispelled the darkness from every side, and introduced to us a light brighter than the sun’s rays. And not even there did his madness stop, C but he promised to snatch the nation of the Galileans from the midst of the world—for thus he was accustomed to call us. And yet, if he thought the name of Christians to be an abomination, and that the matter was full of much shame, for what reason did he desire to shame us not from that, but by a strange name? But he knew clearly that being called by one’s kinship to Christ is a great ornament not only to men, but also to angels and to the powers above. For this reason he moved everything, so that he might rob us of this ornament and dissolve the proclamation. But this was impossible, O wretched and miserable one, just as it was impossible to tear down the heaven, and to extinguish the sun, and to shake and cast down the foundations of the earth. And Christ proclaimed these things beforehand, saying thus: Heaven and earth shall pass away; but My words shall not pass away (Matt. 24. 35). But you do not endure Christ speaking; therefore, accept the voice from the facts themselves. For I, having been deemed worthy to know what an ordinance of God is, how strong and invincible a thing it is, and that it is more trustworthy than natural consequence and the experience of all things, have believed it to be so; but you, who still drag yourself upon the ground and are fluttered by the examination of human reasoning, accept the testimony from the facts; I do not gainsay or contend.
2. What, then, do the facts say? Christ said that it is easier for heaven and earth to be destroyed than for any one of his words to fall away (Luc. 16. 17): the king spoke in opposition to these, and threatened that he would destroy the dogmas. Where, then, is the king who threatened such things? He has perished, and is corrupted, and is now in Hades awaiting the inescapable punishment. And where is Christ, who declared those things? In the heavens, at the right hand of the Father, holding the highest throne of glory. Where are the king's blasphemous utterances, and his licentious tongue? It has become ash, and dust, and food for worms. Where is Christ's decree? It shines from the very truth of the facts, flashing forth as if from a golden pillar of the outcome of works. And yet the king did not then omit anything, intending to wage the war against us; but he also called on augurs, and assembled sorcerers, and everything was full of demons and evil spirits. What, then, are the rewards of this service?
On the Relics of St. Babylas.
A What, then, were the rewards for this cult? The destruction of cities, and a famine more bitter than any other kind of famine. For you know and remember how the market was filled with goods for sale, and the workshops were full of turmoil, while everyone strove to seize and depart with whatever they first encountered. But why do I speak of famine, when even the springs themselves were bereft of water—springs whose abundance of flow surpassed the rivers themselves? But since we have happened upon the mention of the springs, come now, let us ascend to the suburb of Daphne and turn our discourse to the glorious deeds of the martyr. Indeed, you seek to divulge the shameful and disgraceful acts of the Gentiles, yet we shall also bring them into the light in this way: for whenever the martyrs are mentioned, the shame of the Gentiles becomes known there as well.
When the Emperor had ascended to Daphne, he kept tiring Apollo with prayers, soliciting and beseeching him to prophecy something for him concerning future events. What, then, does that great god, the seer of the Gentiles, say? "The dead hinder me," he says, "from speaking; but break open the caskets, dig up the bones, move the dead." What could be done more wicked than these commands? He introduces unusual laws for the plundering of sepulchers, and devises new modes of driving away guests. Who ever heard of the dead being cast out? Who has seen a soul-bereft body ordered to be driven from its resting place, just as he commanded here, overturning the common laws of nature from their foundations? For these are the common laws among all mortals: that whoever has completed life should be committed to the earth, consigned to the grave, and wrapped in the bosom of the great mother of all. And these are laws that not even a Greek, not a barbarian, not a Scythian, nor anyone more savage than them, has ever violated; but all honor and observe them, and they are so sacred as to be worthy of veneration by all.
But the demon, having cast off the mask, openly opposes the common dogmas of nature: for, says he, the dead are a pollution. The dead are not a danger, O most wicked demon, but a depraved will is a thing to be abhorred. But if something worthy of admiration is to be mentioned, the living are rather full of wickedness, while the bodies of the dead are not objects of detestation; for the latter indeed serve the commands of the soul, while these lie immobile. That which is immobile and bereft of all sense is usually free from all accusation. Although, for the rest, I would not say that even the bodies of the living are by nature abominable—rather, it is everywhere the depraved and perverse will that is subject to the indictments of all.
B
He upbraids the attempted rape of Daphne by Apollo.
It is not the dead body that is a pollution, O Apollo, but to pursue a maiden who wishes to live chastely, to offer rape to a virgin’s purity, and to mourn at being repelled from an impudent act—this is what is worthy of accusation and punishment. Indeed, many wonderful and great prophets have arisen among us who have prophesied of future things, yet nowhere did they command those by whom they were consulted to dig up the bones of the dead; nay, Ezekiel himself, standing near the very bones (Ezech. 37), was not only hindered by nothing from them, but he even clothed them with flesh, nerves, and skin, and brought them back to life. But the great Moses did not stand near dead bones, but took up the body of Joseph in its entirety (Exod. 13. 19), and thus prophesied of the future; and rightly so. For the words of the former were the gift of the Spirit, but the words of the latter were fraud and lies, which can be hidden by no logic. That these were nothing other than a pretext and a screen, and that the blessed Babylas had struck fear into him, is sufficiently evident from the things done by the Emperor: for leaving all else aside, he moved only that martyr from the spot. Although, if he abhorred him—and did not rather fear him—these things would have been handled by him differently: the casket should have been broken, cast into the sea, sent into the wilderness, or ordered to be destroyed by some other kind of perdition; this would have been the act of one who truly abhorred him. Thus God acted when He spoke to the Hebrews concerning the abominations of the Gentiles: He commanded their statues to be broken, not for the impurities to be moved from the suburbs into the cities.C Now the martyr was indeed moved from his place; however, the demon, while he enjoyed security in that way, yet immediately learned that while the bones of the martyr could be moved from the spot, the hands of the martyr could not be avoided. For as soon as the casket was drawn to the city, a lightning bolt from heaven struck the head of the statue and consumed everything. Indeed, if he had not been angry before, at that point it was proper for the impious Emperor to be angry and to pour out his wrath upon the martyrium of the martyr—yet not even then did he dare! So great a fear had occupied him; rather, even though he saw the intolerable fire and well knew the cause of it, he remained quiet. Nor is it only to be wondered at that he did not overturn the martyrium, but that he did not even dare to place a roof on the temple again. For he knew, he knew that the disaster had been sent by the Divinity, and he feared that if he devised anything further, he would bring that fire down upon his own head. Therefore, he endured seeing the temple of Apollo so desolate; nor was there any other cause for why he did not repair what had happened, except for fear alone, which forced him against his will to keep quiet; and this while he knew how great an ignominy it left to the demon, and how great an honor to the martyr.
For the walls now stand as trophies, and they send forth a voice louder than a trumpet; and to the inhabitants of Daphne, to the inhabitants of the city, to those who come thither from distant regions, to the men of this age and of future times, they tell all by their very appearance—the struggle, the engagement, the victory of the martyr. For whoever is located far from the suburb, when he has gazed upon the martyrium stripped of the casket, and the temple of Apollo deprived of its roof, it is likely that he will ask for the cause of the state of both; and then, having learned the whole history, he will depart thus. Such are the glorious deeds of the martyr after his death. Wherefore I also praise your city, because you have shown much zeal toward this saint. For at the time when Daphne was returning, our whole city poured out onto the road; the marketplaces were empty of men, the houses were empty of women, the marriage-chambers were abandoned by the virgins; so D
and all ages, and both sexes rushed out of the city, as if to receive a father returning from a long journey. And you indeed restored him to the choir of his peers; but the grace of God did not permit him to remain there perpetually, but moved him again across the river, so that many of the places might be filled with the sweet fragrance of the martyr. And not even upon coming here was he to be alone, but quickly he received a neighbor and house-sharer of like character. For he shared with him in the same office, and displayed an equal boldness for the sake of piety. Wherefore he also obtained the same tent for him—not in vain, as it seems, this marvelous zealot of the martyr. For he spent so much time there, continually writing to the Emperor, troubling the magistrates, and bringing the service of his body to the martyr. For you know, surely, and remember, that when the summer sun held the sky in the middle of the day, with those attending him, he would walk to that place every day, not just as a spectator, but remaining as a participant in what was happening. For he often took hold of a stone, and pulled a rope, and where some building work was needed, he obeyed before those who were doing the work; for he knew, he knew how many rewards would be laid up for him for these things. And because of this, he continued to care for the martyrs, not only with splendid buildings, nor with successive festivals, but with this better way. And what is this? He imitates their life, he is zealous for their courage, by all means according to his ability he preserves the image of the martyrs in himself. For look: they gave their bodies to the slaughter; he mortified the members of the flesh which are upon the earth. They stood against the flame of the pyre; he extinguished the flame of desire. They fought against the teeth of wild beasts; but he also quelled the most grievous of the passions within us, anger. For all these things, let us give thanks to God, that He has granted us such noble martyrs, and pastors worthy of the martyrs, for the perfecting of the saints, for the building up of the body of Christ, with whom to the Father be glory, honor, power, together with the holy and life-giving Spirit, now and always, and unto the ages of ages. Amen.
A DISCOURSE ON BLESSED BABYLAS AND AGAINST JULIAN AND AGAINST THE GENTILES
1. A Our Lord Jesus Christ, being about to proceed to His Passion, and to die the life-giving death on that very last night, having called His disciples apart, He discussed many other things and exhorted them; and among other things He said something like this to them: *Amen, amen I say to you, he that believeth in me, the works that I do, he also shall do, and greater than these shall he do* (John 14. 12). And yet many other teachers existed, and had disciples and displayed wonders, as the sons of the Greeks boast; but nevertheless, no one of them ever dared to think of, or to say, any such thing. Nor could any of the Greeks, even if they were shameless in everything, show such a challenge or saying laid down among them; but that many of their wonder-workers show phantoms of the departed and certain apparitions of the dead, many claim, and that some voices were brought to some from graves, they say; but that any of the men who lived and were admired among them, or whom they considered to be gods after their death, said anything like this to their own disciples, none of them could ever assert. B And if you wish, I will tell the reason why, in all other things shamelessly and with barefaced lying, they never dared to fabricate anything of this sort. For it was not simply, nor without some reason, that they refrained from this device, but those destroyers saw craftily that one who is about to deceive must have some plausible things, and things full of much cleverness, and it is necessary to construct things that are not easily detected. For it is the habit of the skilled hunters of both fish and birds not to offer the traps bare—but having surrounded them on all sides completely with bait, thus to overcome the prey of both kinds. If they, having uncovered them, offered them thus to those who were about to be caught, neither fish, nor birds would ever have come within those nets; rather, they would not even have approached them in the beginning, but each would have gone home with empty hands, both the sea hunter and the land hunter. C Since, then, it was their purpose to ensnare men, they did not cast their deception bare into the sea of life, but having fabricated and composed the things that are able to catch the more senseless, they refrained from going further with the lie, fearing the excess, and fearing lest by the immoderation of the second things they should also undo the former. For if they had said that someone among them had promised such a thing as our Savior said to His disciples, even those who had been deceived by them would have ridiculed them, as not having been able to lie even plausibly. For to both foretell such things and to fulfill them with truth belongs only to that blessed power. But if demons were ever able to show some phantoms to the deceived, it was when the source of light was not yet known to the many. And even then it was shown from the very start that the things being performed were the works of demons, by their other deception and by these sacrifices themselves. D For to order their own altars to be reddened with human blood, and to command the people who sowed such things to slaughter sacrificial victims, what excess of madness would that not hide? For those who were never sated by our calamities, nor knew any limit or end of the war against us, but were always raging with immortal madness, as if it were not sufficient to satisfy their anger to spill human…