we draw upon ourselves unremitting punishment 666. I know that what has been said is burdensome, but it possesses much profit. We have a Master who desires only to get hold of a pretext, and immediately manifests all His philanthropy. For if by sinning and remaining unpunished we did not become worse, He would even have remitted the punishment for us; but He knows this clearly, that for us not to be punished while sinning harms us no less than the sins themselves. For this reason He imposes punishment, not demanding justice for what has past, but correcting what is to come. And that you may learn that this is true, hear what He says to Moses: "Let me alone, and being wroth I will destroy them." "Let me alone," He said, not that Moses was holding Him—for he spoke nothing to Him, but stood by in silence—but because He wished to give him a pretext for intercession on their behalf. For since they had sinned things worthy of punishment, and of unremitting punishment, and He did not wish to punish them but to show philanthropy—and yet this made them more slothful—He contrived both things: so that the punishment would not be brought upon them, and that they would not become more slothful from lack of punishment, having learned that it was not according to their own worthiness, but according to the protection of Moses, that they had escaped the wrath of the Master. This we also frequently do; and when domestics have committed offenses worthy of punishment, not wishing to punish them, nor yet to remove the fear of punishment, we command friends to snatch them from our hands, so that the fear remains flourishing within them, and they escape the blows from us. This, too, God did; and that it is true, is clear from the words themselves: "Let me alone," He says, "and I will be wroth." And yet, when no one lets us be when we wish to punish, we become wroth; but He says, "Let me alone and I will be wroth," so that you may learn that wrath is not a passion in God, but the punishment that befalls us is called by this name. When, therefore, you hear Moses saying, "If you will forgive their sin, forgive," be amazed at the Master before the servant, because He Himself provided him the pretexts for this philanthropy. And not here alone did He do this, but to Jeremiah and to Ezekiel He says this very same thing: "Run around and see in the streets of Jerusalem, if [there is anyone] doing judgment and justice, I will be propitious to them." Do you see philanthropy? From the virtue of one, many even of the wicked partake; but by the wickedness of the many, even if one be the righteous man in the midst of a great crowd, he is not borne away with them; but one man living rightly will be able to snatch a whole population from the wrath of God, but a whole city having been corrupted will not be able to drag down the one living well and destroy him. And this is clear from Noah: at any rate, when all were perishing, he alone was saved; and from Moses it is evident: at any rate, he alone was able to intercede for such a great crowd. And I have another greater proof of the philanthropy of God to speak of. For when He finds no living men having boldness [to intercede] to ask for those who have sinned, He has recourse to those who have departed, and through them He says He forgives the sins, just as He says to Hezekiah: "I will shield this city for my sake, and for David my servant's sake," who had already died. Knowing, therefore, that God moves and manages all things so that He may deliver us from punishment and retribution, let us offer Him many pretexts, confessing, repenting, weeping, praying, forgiving the wrath against our neighbors, correcting the poverty of our fellow men, being sober in our prayers, displaying humility, [and] remembering our sins constantly. B
For it is not enough to say that "I am a sinner," but one must also remember the transgressions in their kinds. For just as fire having fallen upon thorns destroys them easily, so also is the mind that constantly goes over the transgressions with itself; it easily destroys and quenches them. May God, who steps over iniquities, takes away injustices, and delivers us from sins, grant us the kingdom of heaven, by the grace and philanthropy 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 the ages of ages. Amen.
MONITUM
We append this very short homily, since no more suitable place is available, to the homily entitled, *That one ought not to preach for favor*, in the same order, namely, as in the edition of Fronton du Duc. Certain learned men suspect, both from its brevity and from its manner of beginning, that it is mutilated at the beginning. But from the brevity indeed we can infer nothing, since from the panegyrical homilies on the Saints other [homilies] can be produced shorter than this, which nevertheless are complete in all their measures and parts. From the manner of beginning, however, it is not clear to me whether anything is lacking at the start. As it is evident, this homily was delivered in the Antiochene field, whereA HOMILY ON THE MARTYRS
The festivals of the martyrs are judged not only by the cycle of days, but also by the intention [gnome] of those who observe them. What [sort of thing] am I saying? Have you imitated a martyr? Have you emulated his virtue? By his footsteps...have you trod? Even when it was not the martyr’s feast day, you have celebrated a martyr’s festival. For the honor of a martyr is the imitation of a martyr. Just as those who commit base acts are "unfestive" and profane even during festivals, so too those who pursue virtue celebrate a festival even when there is no formal gathering; for a festival is characterized by the purity of one’s conscience. A This is what Paul revealed when he said: "Therefore let us keep the feast, not with old leaven of malice and wickedness, but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth" (1 Cor. 5:8). There is, therefore, unleavened bread among the Jews, and there is [it] among us; but among them it is unleavened bread of flour, whereas among us it is purity of life and a manner of living free from all wickedness. Whoever, therefore, keeps his own life pure from all filth and stain, celebrates a festival and a holiday every day, even if he is not at the shrine of the martyrs, but is sitting at home. For each person can celebrate a festival of the martyrs by himself. And I say these things, not that we should not go to the tombs of the martyrs, but that when we go, we should go with the fitting eagerness, and not only on their days, but at any other time as well, we should bear the same piety. For who, on this day, would not admire our assembly, this brilliant theater, this fervent love, this warm disposition, this uncontainable longing? B For almost the entire city has migrated here, and neither fear of a master has held back the slave, nor has the necessity of poverty held back the poor person, nor the weakness of age the old person, nor the softness of their sex the women; neither has the arrogance of wealth [held back] the rich, nor the pride of power the magistrate; but the love of the martyrs, having cast aside all this inequality, and the weakness of nature, and the necessity of poverty, has drawn such a multitude here, bound by one chain, and by their longing for the martyrs has equipped them with wings, as if urging them toward living a life in heaven; for all disturbance of licentiousness and luxury has been overcome, and you have been inflamed by the love of the martyrs. For just as when the rays of the sun first rise, the wild beasts flee and hide themselves in their lairs, so too when the light of the martyrs shines upon our mind, all vices and diseases hide themselves, and the brilliant flame of philosophy is kindled. But in order that we may keep this flame not only at this time, but always, even after this spiritual theater has been dissolved, with the same reverence let us withdraw homeward, and not surrender ourselves to taverns and prostitution, ebriety and revelries. C You have turned night into day through these sacred vigils; do not, conversely, turn the day into night through drunkenness, surfeiting, and meretricious songs. You honored the martyrs while you were present, while you were listening, while you were showing zeal; honor them also by withdrawing to your home in a measured way, so that if someone sees you behaving with little decorum in a tavern, he may not say that you came not for the sake of the martyrs, but to augment vice and to serve an illicit desire. I say these things, not forbidding [you] to enjoy delights, but forbidding [you] to commit sins; not forbidding [you] to drink, but forbidding [you] to get drunk. For wine is not evil, but immoderate wickedness is; for wine is a gift of God, but immoderate use is the invention of the devil. "Serve the Lord in fear, and exult in Him with trembling" (Ps. 2:11). [He] deters the hearers from taverns. Do you wish to enjoy delights? Enjoy them at home, where, even if you happen to fall into drunkenness, there are many who can cover you; do not become a spectacle for those present in a tavern and a scandal to others. And I say these things, not because I order [you] to get drunk at home, but because I prohibit [you] from spending time in taverns. Consider how ridiculous it is, after a gathering of this kind, after vigils, after the hearing of holy Scriptures, after participation in divine mysteries, and after spiritual bounty, for a man or a woman to be seen spending the entire day in taverns. Do you not know what magnitude of punishment awaits the drunken? Since they are expelled from the kingdom of God, and miss out on ineffable goods, and are sent away into eternal fire. Who says these things? The blessed Paul: "Neither," he says, "the covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners shall inherit the kingdom of God" (1 Cor. 6:10). What could become more miserable than a drunkard, who for the sake of a small pleasure loses such enjoyments of the kingdom? D Nay, in truth, a drunkard cannot enjoy even any pleasure; for in temperate use pleasure consists, but in immoderation [exists] stupor and the deprivation of the senses. Furthermore, he who cannot perceive where he is sitting or lying down, how will he be able to grasp a sense of pleasure in drink? And he who cannot even see the sun itself because of the dense mist of drunkenness, how could he enjoy gladness? Such darkness, indeed, occupies him, that the very rays of the sun are not enough to dispel that gloom. Drunkenness is indeed always, beloved, an evil, but especially on the day of the martyrs’ festival. For besides the sin, it is the greatest insult and folly and contempt of the sacred oracles; for which reason it deserves a double punishment. If, therefore, after you have come to the martyrs, after you depart from here, you are going to give yourself over to drunkenness, it is better that you remain at home, and that you not behave indecorously, nor disgrace the martyrs’ solemnity, nor be an occasion of stumbling to your neighbor, nor besiege your mind, nor heap up sins for yourself. You have come to see humans torn by torments, dripping with gore, adorned with an abundance of wounds, who, having put off the present life, have flown toward the future; give effort so that you may prove yourself worthy of these athletes. They despised life, you despise delights; they cast off the present life, you cast off the love of drunkenness. Bones and sepulchers of the martyrs abound with blessings. But do you wish to enjoy delights? Stay by the tomb of the martyr, pour out fountains of tears there, contritiate your mind, take a blessing from the tomb; and, relying on his patronage in your prayers, exercise yourself frequently in reading the accounts of his contests, embrace the sarcophagus, be affixed to the case of the relics: not only the bones of the martyrs, but even their sepulchers and cases abound with many blessings. Take holy oil, and anoint your whole body, your tongue, your lips, your neck, your eyes, and you will never fall into the shipwreck of drunkenness. For oil, by the fragrance of its scent, reminds you of the contests of the martyrs, and checks all licentiousness.
restrains lasciviousness, and holds it in with much patience, and overcomes the diseases of the soul. But do you desire to spend time in gardens, in meadows, and in parks? Not now, when so great a multitude is present, but on another day; for today is a time for wrestling, today is a season for contemplating the struggle, not for luxury or relaxation. You have come hither, not that you might give yourself over to ease, but that you might learn to struggle, to wrestle, and, being a man, to crush the strength of invisible demons. For no one who has come to the wrestling school acts wantonly, nor does one who arrives at the time of the contests deck himself out, nor does one seek out tables at the time of the battle. Do not, therefore—since you have come to behold the courage of the soul and the strength of the mind, and a new and wondrous trophy, and a certain extraordinary battle, and wounds, and wars, and the wrestling of a man—introduce diabolical actions; and after this strange and trembling spectacle, do not give yourself over to drunkenness and luxury, but having gathered the profits of the soul, depart home in such a way as to demonstrate to all by your very appearance that you have departed from beholding a martyr. For just as those who descend from the theaters are plain to all, being disturbed, confused, unstrung, bearing the images of all that was done there; so too must he who returns from the spectacle of the martyrs be recognizable to all, by his gaze, by his mien, by his walk, by his compunction, by the gathered state of his mind; breathing fire, restrained, contrite, sober, vigilant, proclaiming through the movements of his body the philosophy within. Let us, therefore, return to the city in this manner, with the fitting decorum, with orderly step, with wisdom and temperance, with a mild and serene gaze. For the attire of a man, and the smile of the teeth, and the step of the foot will declare the matters concerning him. Let us always return thus from the martyrs, from spiritual ointments, from heavenly meadows, from new and wondrous spectacles, that we ourselves may reap much ease, and may become to others the authors of their liberty, and may attain the goods to come, by the grace and love for mankind of our Lord Jesus Christ, with whom to the Father, together with the Holy Spirit, be glory, power, honor, now and ever, and unto the ages of ages. Amen.
LAUDATION OF THE HOLY MARTYR JULIAN
1. If such are the honors deferred to the martyrs on earth, what manner of crowns are woven in the heavens for their holy heads after their departure from here? If such is the glory before the resurrection, how great is the brightness after the resurrection? If they enjoy such service from their fellow-servants, of how much shall they be deemed worthy A when they are joined to the holy angels in heaven? If such is the radiance here before the resurrection, how much greater will be the splendor after the resurrection? If these things are offered to them by their fellow servants, of what honor shall they be deemed worthy
ON THE HOMILY ON THE HOLY MARTYR JULIAN
That this homily was delivered at Antioch is certain, both from the things which Chrysostom commemorates concerning the suburb of Daphne and the bouts of eating and dancing that were accustomed to take place there; and also because the relics of the same saint had been translated to Antioch: and there was in the same city a church consecrated in the name of the same saint, which is not infrequently celebrated in ecclesiastical history. Regarding the year in which Chrysostom delivered this discourse, we cannot ferret out even a whisper. Moreover, the Roman Martyrology assigns the day on which Julian suffered as the sixteenth of March; but the Menologion of the Greeks assigns it to the twenty-first of June. Concerning this matter, one should hear Fronto Ducæus. The Roman Martyrology commemorates several Julians, but it is certain that he is the one whose history it briefly touches upon in March, as is evident from the Menologion of the Greeks, published in Venice only in Greek, which refers his passion to June. Therefore, it narrates that he was born at Anazarbus in Cilicia, from a father who was a senator in rank, and a mother who was of the Christian religion: having been instructed by her in the faith of Christ, and having cultivated himself in the studies of the Sacred Letters, at the age of eighteen, he was accused before the governor Marcian, and when he would not sacrifice to idols, he was beaten on various parts of his body. Then, having been cast into prison, obeying the counsel of his mother, as he
LAUDATION OF THE HOLY MARTYR JULIAN
1. If such are the honors deferred to the martyrs on earth, after their departure from this life, what manner of crowns are woven in the heavens for their holy heads? If such is the glory before the resurrection, how great is the brightness after the resurrection? If they enjoy such service from their fellow-servants, of how much shall they be deemed worthy B—