Panegyric

TO THE HOMILY ON SAINT DROSIS THE MARTYR — ADMONITION

Chrysostom delivers this homily in the territory of Antioch, at the time when Flavian the Bishop led the people of Antioch thither, having seized the occasion of a serene day, as is stated in number 2. Furthermore, very few monuments of this holy martyr remain; and we know scarcely anything else concerning her martyrdom and her contests, other than what the holy doctor says, that she was cast into a pyre. And he commends with praises not only holy Drosis, but many other martyrs as well, whose bones were deposited in the same place, and he proclaims their power over demons and whatever diseases; and he explains at length how much utility can be reaped from visiting them. We have nothing at all regarding the year in which this homily was pronounced. The Latin interpretation is by Fronton du Duc.

LAUDATIO MAGNAE ET SANCTAE MARTYRIS DROSIDIS ET DE MEMORIA MORTIS

^A 1. Pastors who are diligent, when after a long winter they see a bright ray of sun and the day has become warmer, lead the flocks out of the folds to the accustomed pastures; and this good shepherd, imitating them, has led this sacred flock and the spiritual sheepfold of Christ out to these spiritual pastures of the saints. For the sheep are indeed sated while standing at the mangers; but when they have emerged from the pens, they derive much greater benefit from the fields, while they graze with great pleasure upon the grass, breathing the pure air, and watching the clear and shining rays of the sun, and leaping alongside lakes, springs, and rivers; and the earth, adorned on every side with flowers, delights them in no small measure. But this brings great utility not only to them, but also to us. For although a table laden with spiritual food was set before us, still this departure out to these holy ones recreates us with a certain solace, and produces a benefit no less than the recreation, not because we are breathing pure air, but because we turn our eyes toward the illustrious deeds of these noble men; not because we leap alongside the currents of rivers, but alongside the currents of the gifts of the Holy Spirit; ^B not because we graze upon the grass with our teeth, bowed to the ground, but because we cull the virtues of the martyrs; not because we see the earth adorned with flowers, but because we contemplate bodies teeming with spiritual gifts. And the churches of the martyrs individually provide no small profit to those who gather at them, but this one more than all the rest together. For as soon as someone has crossed the threshold, a multitude of tombs immediately rushes into his eyes from every side, and wherever he looks, he beholds the urns, memorials, and caskets of the departed. And this spectacle of the tombs contributes in no small measure to instilling moderation and philosophy into our minds. For the soul, whether it be sluggish, is moved by this sight and immediately startled; or, if it be diligent and aroused, it becomes more diligent; or, if one laments poverty, he immediately receives consolation from this sight; or if he is puffed up with riches, he becomes humble and shrinks. For this sight ^C of the sepulchers forces each of the spectators, even against his will, to philosophize about his own death, and persuades him to consider nothing in this world to be stable, whether it be burdensome or pleasant; further, he to whom this has been persuaded will not easily be caught in the snare of sin. Therefore, a wise man admonishes us, saying: "In all thy discourse remember thy last end, and thou shalt never sin" (Ecclus. vii, 40); and another speaks in harmony with this, while he thus counsels: "Prepare thy works against the output, and diligently take care of thy journey" (Prov. xxiv, 27)—not that he speaks of a journey over the perceived senses, but of the departure from this life. For if we contemplate the uncertainty of death continually and every day, we shall not easily commit sins; nor shall we be able to be puffed up by the splendid and magnificent things of this life, nor to be oppressed or troubled by the burdensome ones, since the end of both is uncertain. For often he who is living today does not survive even until evening. So, if we had remained in the city, it is not very likely that we would have meditated on such things and philosophized; but having gone out beyond the walls, ^D and come to these tombs, and looking upon this multitude of the departed, it was entirely necessary—whether we wished it or not—that, warned by this spectacle, we should revolve these thoughts in our minds, and become more sublime as we revolve them, and strip away all affection for secular things. And truly, not only will such thoughts enter our mind, but we shall also be stirred by sufficient exhortation to hasten toward our eternal fatherland, and to prepare ourselves for it, and to provide for ourselves all that is necessary for that journey, knowing that whatever of our goods we have left behind here will bring us loss. For just as a traveler who makes a long journey and hastens to return to his fatherland, whatever he leaves behind in the inn, he clearly loses and suffers the loss of, so indeed we, whatever of our goods we leave behind here when we depart, shall suffer the loss of them all.

to send those ahead of them; for the present life is a way, and it possesses nothing stable, but we pass through both its painful and its pleasant things. ^A For this reason, more than all else, I love this place, because not only in the assembly, but often arriving here without an assembly, I have been continually reminded of these words, while my eyes survey the tombs in deep silence and solitude, and my soul transfers itself to the departed and the condition that is there.

2. The utility of the holy relics.

^B 2. For these reasons, I also admire this noble father [(a)], because he took advantage of a serene day and led us out here, with the blessed Drosis, whose memory we are celebrating, going before and guiding us. For in addition to what has been said, there is another greater profit to be gathered from this place. For when we pass by other sarcophagi and come to the tombs of the martyrs, our mind becomes higher, our soul more courageous, our zeal greater, our faith warmer. ^C When, therefore, we contemplate the labors and the struggles and the prizes and the rewards and the crowns of the saints, we again find another greater occasion for humility. For even if one has accomplished great things, he will consider that he has done nothing great, [by] measuring his own virtue against their struggles; and if he has accomplished nothing great and good, he will not despair of his own salvation, having received encouragement toward a change of virtue from their bravery, and having reasoned with himself that it will perhaps happen that he too, through the lovingkindness of God deeming him worthy, might make such leaps, and quickly fly up toward heaven, ^D and attain that greatest boldness. And it is possible to depart from here after having philosophized these things and many more than these. For the death of the martyrs is a comfort to the faithful, the boldness of the Churches, the confirmation of Christianity, the destruction of death, the proof of the resurrection, the mockery of the demons, the accusation of the devil, the instruction of philosophy, an exhortation toward the despising of present things and a way toward the desire of future things, a consolation for the evils that encompass us, and an occasion for patience, a source of endurance, and the root and fountain and mother of all good things. And if you wish, we will prove each of these, and we will say how it is a comfort to the faithful, the boldness of the Churches, the proof of the resurrection, and all the rest that I have just mentioned.

When, therefore, struggles and battles concerning doctrines are stirred up against us by the Greeks, and they slander our faith, along with other things let us also put this forward to them—I mean the death of the martyrs—saying: Who persuaded these to despise the present life? For if Christ died and did not rise, who accomplished these things that are above nature? For that it is not of human power to persuade such myriads from so long a time—not only men, but also women and virgins who have not known marriage and small children—to despise the present life, and to dare against wild beasts, to laugh at fire, to trample upon every kind of punishment and torment, and to hasten toward the life to come, they will not even need our arguments, but they will ask themselves, and will receive a sufficient proof of the things spoken. For from the time that Christ arrived, there have been unbelieving emperors, and there have been believing ones; but of the unbelieving ones, the majority led the faithful to pits, and pyres, and precipices, and seas, and the fury of wild beasts, and manifold torments and punishments, wrenching the faith from their souls in every way, and they accomplished nothing, but departed having been mocked, whilst the believers were being beaten in every way, and the faith was increasing the more. But no pious emperor has ever decided to punish and torment an unbelieving man, compelling him to depart from his error. But yet even so, it [the error] automatically flows away and is destroyed, so that you may learn both the strength of the truth and the weakness of the falsehood, for the latter is destroyed automatically and with no one bothering it, while the former increases through those who hinder it and is raised to an unspeakable height; and the cause is that Christ both lives and works in the souls of the martyrs. When, therefore, they say that He did not rise, we ask them these things: And who accomplished these things? The dead man, tell me? But so many have become dead, and no one has done such things. But was he a magician and a deceiver? But many both magicians and deceivers and impostors have existed, and all are silenced, and there is no trace of them anywhere, but their magic arts were extinguished together with their life; but the things of Christ increase every day, and very reasonably so: for the things that were done were not done by sorcery, but by divine power; for this reason it is not even destroyed.

Or rather, I do not make proof of the power from this only, that it increases, but that it is for the good, and for the salvation of our own life. For after His presence, those who inhabit the earth have become from wild beasts—or rather, from men, all of them angels—those who attend to Him with truth. But the martyrs were deceived and misled, he says, and for this reason they despised the present life. Then the ones before did not persuade the second, nor the second the third, but the more the persecutions went forward, the more this achievement also increased, and no one, in so long a time, perceived the deception. And how could these things have any logic? But if they were deceived, how do the demons fear their dust? How do they flee from the tombs? For it is not because demons fear the dead that they suffer this. For behold, there are countless dead everywhere on the earth, and to those they sit by, and one might see many who are demon-possessed spending time in deserts and tombs; but where the bones of the martyrs have been buried, they flee as if from some fire and unbearable torment, proclaiming with a clear voice the power that is scourging them within.

^A The proof that the death of the martyrs is the refutation of the weakness of the demons, and furthermore that their dullness and stubbornness are vanquished by this very thing, will be evident from what follows. For when these men—I mean the martyrs—who are subject to the body and its natural needs, and encompassed by a great multitude of pains and torments, are seen to despise the present life, living as they do on earth, because of their love for God who created them; while those others—who are destitute of flesh and immune to all such pain and molestation—are seen to have been so insolent and ungrateful toward their Benefactor, what excuse will they have? What pardon? None at all, since the virtue of the former profoundly condemns the wickedness of the latter. For not only do men condemn men—and the more diligent the more slothful—but the diligence of these men condemns the very demons themselves. And Paul declared this when he said: "Do you not know that we shall judge angels? How much more secular matters?" By which words he signifies the apostate angels of the devil. And how shall we judge them, one might ask? Not by sitting in judgment and demanding an account from them, but by our diligence condemning their sloth. Which he himself indicating, said: "And if the world is judged in you." He did not say "before you," but "by you." Just as when he says, "The men of Nineveh shall rise up and condemn this generation," it is not meant as if the Ninevites were demanding an account from the Jews who were then unbelieving, but that by their faith the unbelief of the others is condemned. We are also able to be helped not a little by the martyrs in acquiring virtue and a contempt for the affairs of this world. For when you see them spurning all of life, even though you be the most stupid and negligent of all, you will conceive a loftier spirit, and you will despise delights, you will look down on money, and will long to dwell in the heavens. But if you are beset by illness, the sufferings of the martyrs will offer you the greatest occasion for patience; or if you are pressed by poverty, or vexed by any other hardships, whenever you turn your eyes to the bitterness of the torments which they endured, you will receive sufficient consolation for all the evils by which you are vexed. For this reason I especially love the commemorations of the martyrs, I love them and I embrace them, all of them indeed, but especially when the struggles of women are set forth. For by how much weaker the vessel is, so much greater is the grace, so much more illustrious the trophy, so much more distinguished the victory; not because of the weakness of the sex of the athletes, but because he is now vanquished by those through whom the enemy had once conquered. By a virgin of old the devil destroyed Adam, through a virgin Christ subsequently overcame the devil; and the sword which he himself had sharpened against us, amputated the head of the dragon—which occurred also in the duel of David, as with a barbarian blade the just man ran and cut it off. So too is it done now: by a woman he conquered, by a woman he was overcome. This was his weapon formerly, this has now become the instrument of his slaughter, this vessel has appeared unconquerable. She sinned first, and died; this one died, that she might not sin: that one, puffed up by the futile hope of a promise, violated the laws of God; this one despised the present life, that she might not perjure the faith in her Benefactor. What excuse, therefore, could men expect thereafter, if they be soft and slothful, or what pardon, when women behave so bravely and manfully? When they gird themselves so generously for the struggles of piety? For neither sex, nor age, nor anything else can interpose an impediment, if alacrity of mind be present, and zeal, and ardent faith; and through all these we may procure for ourselves the grace of God, which this blessed woman surely attained. For her body was weak, and her sex was subject to injury, and her age was young; nevertheless, grace coming upon her covered all their weakness, where it found a generous alacrity of mind, and constant faith, and a soul prepared to undergo perils. ^B

Chapter 4: A pyre is proposed for St. Drosis. He compares the pyre to a fountain and a furnace.

becomes purer, and after the burning it rises from all sides ^A to gather itself up brilliant. So too, in that case, the unbelievers, seeing her flesh melting and flowing away, thought it was turning into ash and dust; but the believers knew very precisely that in melting it casts off every stain and rises more brilliant, having recovered incorruptibility. Even in the very pyre, before the resurrection, it did not casually gain the mastery over the opposing powers; for the flesh, dissolved by the fire and making a noise, overcame them with great prowess. And just as a noble soldier, clothed in bronze armor, strikes terror into the more cowardly of his adversaries by the very clatter of his armor, so too then did the blessed Drosis put those powers to flight with the clatter of her skin; and not in this way only, but also in another not less than this. For no sooner did she step onto the pyre than the smoke rose up to the heights and occupied the air, suffocating all the demons flying through the air, driving away the devil, and cleansing the very nature of the air. For since it had been defiled by the smoke of idols, another smoke rose up to cleanse the stain that had come upon it from them. And the image of a spring would suit that pyre. For just as one divests oneself of a garment in a spring and cleanses the body, so in that flame, laying aside her own flesh more easily than any garment and brightening her soul, she hastened to her bridegroom, with angels lighting her way. For if angels led that Lazarus covered in sores to the bosom of Abraham, much more did they escort her—as if taking her from some sacred canopy and bridal chamber, the furnace—and lead her up to the bridegroom above. But for what reason did I call the pyre a dyeing? Because, having become a wondrous imperial purple in such a dyeing, she was sent to the King above, and with great boldness she ascended the heavenly arches, while Christ himself with an invisible hand held the holy head of the martyr and, as it were, baptized her in the fire as if in water. O wondrous pyre! What a treasure it had within—that dust and ash, more precious than any gold, more fragrant than all myrrh, more valuable than any jewels! For what wealth and gold cannot do, the relics of martyrs can. Gold has never driven away a disease or put death to flight, but the bones of martyrs have accomplished both these things, some in the time of our ancestors, some in our own. And this not only we, but the righteous who lived before the coming of Christ know how to philosophize about with precision, when, as all were departing from Egypt, and some were carrying gold and others silver, Moses, instead of all wealth, took the bones of Joseph and carried them with him, conveying home a great treasure filled with ten thousand good things.

Chapter 5.

^B But perhaps someone might say: And for what reason was he transported from Egypt to Palestine? For it is necessary to examine such things especially in a martyr's memory. For many who are scrupulous about burial, and who charge their relatives that, even if they should happen to die elsewhere, they should bring them home and bury them there, and who are then mocked by us for this pusillanimity, would put this history forward to us. When we said that it makes no difference whether one happens to be buried at home or in a foreign land, they would say: "Well, then, for what reason, if it makes no difference, did Moses take the bones of Joseph from Egypt and convey them to Palestine?" But I will say something even greater: that not only did Moses take them, but that Joseph himself, when dying, gave the order. For this is the greater point: "For God," he says, "will surely visit you, and you shall carry up my bones." For what reason, then, did he say it, and the other listen? For what is being said is worthy of investigation. What are you saying? The patriarch who despised the present life and looked down on everything, of whom the world was not worthy—the stranger and sojourner who imagined the things in heaven every day, who looked toward the Jerusalem above—when he lived, because of the fear of God, he fell from his country and his freedom, and dwelt in a prison, and did not turn toward those plots; yet when he was about to die, is he so small-minded as to take such great pains for the transport of his bones, and from such a great distance to order the relics to be brought up? And who would say such things? For what was the profit, or what was the benefit to the departed from the removal of his bones? ^C For what reason, then, did he command it? Not having concern for the bones, but it is possible to say that he was also fearing the impiety of the Egyptians. For since he had done many great good deeds, and had become their nourisher and protector, and had found a most significant consolation for the famine, and what had been clear to no one, these things he first and alone uncovered and brought into the open—having solved the dreams, he not only foretold the famine, but also prepared a sufficient remedy for it, filling the storehouses of Egypt in such a way that no one felt his presence—in order, then, that he might not be thought a god after death because of the magnitude of his beneficence, since those barbarians easily made gods out of men, removing every occasion for impiety, he ordered the bones to be carried home. This, then, is one reason; but it is possible to state another which is indisputable, for it is possible to confirm it from the Scriptures. What is this? He knew, having heard from his father, who had learned the story handed down to him by his grandfather, that the Egyptians would enslave and mistreat them for many years. "For your seed will be a sojourner in a foreign land, and they will enslave it, and mistreat it for four hundred years," God was saying ^D to Abraham. Therefore, that they might not, having despaired at the length of time and not bearing the hardship, give up on the return and lose heart, he—giving them the greatest pledge of hope—foretold the carrying up of the bones, so that they, reasoning to themselves that if he would not—even with great—

[LATIN COLUMN] ^A ...had he not been convinced that the righteous man would be brought back, he would not have given commands about his bones, and thus provided a most certain proof and a most firm hope of their return to their homeland. And that this is true, and that he therefore foretold this concerning his bones—not because he was anxious about the burial, but because he wished to apply a remedy to their unbelief—hear how the Apostle testifies to this: By faith Joseph, when he was dying, made mention of the departure of the children of Israel, and gave commandment concerning his bones (Heb. 11.22). What is this "By faith"? As if he said, he foresaw what things were to happen after many years, and that his descendants would recover their homeland. Therefore, to signify this, he foretold both things; and it was a wondrous and incredible thing to see, when the bones were moved during the exodus. For the same Joseph who had brought them down into Egypt, he himself in turn led them as they were returning, and instructed them toward patience and hope for future things. For when they saw the relics placed before their eyes, and in this way remembered all that history, and pondered within themselves that he had suffered snares from his brothers, that he had been cast into the pit, and had encountered the peril of his life, and had been shut up in prison, and all the other things that had befallen him; and then, after all those things, had become king and prince of all Egypt, and had been appointed as guardian and prefect over such a great domain: they were raised into most certain hope that it would come to pass that they would be liberated from the evils by which they were always wont to be oppressed, since they were taught by the bones of the righteous man that no one who had believed in God and had awaited his aid had ever been abandoned.

^B ...Even if some adverse and unwilled things occur in the meantime, while his promises are being awaited and have intervened, yet they will not be able to defraud those who hope of the desired end; but that divine judgment which was foretold will surely come to pass, and will render more glorious those who patiently await all things that have been ordained by God. Therefore he gave command concerning his bones.

Let us not, therefore, be so anxious about burial, nor let us fear death, but rather sin. For death did not beget sin, but sin begat death for us; but death has been converted into a remedy for sin. For that death is not to be feared, but sin, hear with what words the prophet teaches: Precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of his saints (Ps. 115.15); and elsewhere, The death of sinners is the worst (Ps. 33.22). Do you see that those who are attentive to their own affairs can derive great utility even from this, but that for those who are slothful and idle, that thing happens as a part of their punishment? Nor indeed do I set forth this discourse without reason, but because I hear many frequently speaking of the kinds of death, and regarding some things—which are not ignominious—as a disgrace to themselves, while not censuring things that are worthy of crime; for this reason I decided to discuss this issue today. For this method of philosophizing is opportune, and marvelously agrees with the solemnity of the martyrs. For I have heard many saying, "That man died abroad more ignominiously than a dog, with no one from his kin present, and none to place him in a tomb; but he was wrapped and consigned to burial by a few neighbors barely inviting one another with money collected." Therefore, so that these things do not trouble us, it should be worth the effort to correct that opinion. For this is not to die more miserably than a dog, my man, but to die more miserably than a dog is to die in sin, not to end life abroad. Do not, I pray, recall to me the man who is carried on a gilded bed, who is escorted by the whole city, who is praised by the peoples, for whom silk and gold-interwoven garments are liberally laid out: for this is nothing other than to set a more sumptuous table for the worms. Do not, therefore, show me this man, but I would wish you to show me this very man who is led forth with such honor on that day when Christ will sit on the high tribunal, when he will be brought to judgment, called, and will render an account of the things he has said, done, and thought. For then no ^C one from this multitude will act as his patron, nor will he save him from punishment and torments, nor will these cries and praises help him, but with his face cast down to the earth, trembling and suffused with shame because of the crimes brought against him, he will be led away by evil spirits to eternal torments with the most grievous gnashing of teeth, lamenting in vain and weeping on account of the intolerable pains.

— Even in this life the sinner is punished. — And such indeed will be the things that will befall them in the other life; but those things which are done in this life are not to be endured either. For, after those public praises, whether purchased for a price or proceeding from some fear, he will hear everyone accusing him, and in the crossroads, in the forum, in the houses, in the taverns, in other workshops, on the way, in the fields, and everywhere individual travelers telling and saying to their neighbors with fear what evils he is about to suffer, with what punishments he will be fined, to what torments he is now to be subjected. What did this life profit him? What fruit did he collect from avarice? He departed, leaving his money to others, but he himself was buried having taken his sins with him, and many accusers from all sides sympathize with those whom he affected with injury, even if they were not harmed by him. For just as when some are benefited, even those to whom nothing is conferred congratulate them and praise the benefactor: so when injury is inflicted on some, even those who have suffered no harm sympathize with those afflicted, and censure him who inflicted the injury. Therefore he said: The death of sinners is the worst, both on account of the disparagements of this life and on account of the torments of the other. This, therefore, is he who dies more miserably than a dog: but it does not happen so to the righteous; but even if he ends his life in a desert, even if no one is wrapping him, even if no one is present, he has sufficient funeral rites departing from this life, confidence before God; and he is carried off quite honorably, with the angels present and conducting his soul, just as I demonstrated before regarding Lazarus, and leaving behind countless praisers of his life: but if he has left children, all who inhabit the city will assist them and take care of them, so that they may repay them the favor of their father’s kindness. But he who has died bound by sins and rapine, even if he leaves behind children ^D ...assuming them as heirs of his own wretchedness.

in this life, he leaves behind heirs to his enmities, and leaves them amidst enemies; and if he ends his life without children, through his buildings and his other possessions, which he acquired by rapine and greed, he leaves behind him an immortal accusation. But the just man is not so; rather, even when he departs, he gains the greatest things, benefiting all the living by the memory of his own virtue and making them better, just as the wicked man is punished even in this way. For not only while they live, but even when they die, they injure many, leaving behind everywhere the proofs of their own greed. Knowing these things, therefore, let us not call those who die in a strange land wretched, but those who die in their sins; and let us not bless those who die at home and in their beds, but those who depart with virtue; and let us be diligent in virtue and flee vice. For the former benefits both the living and the departed, while the latter injures both, shaming them and leading them away to immortal punishments. May God, who has gathered us together this day, and who has counted us worthy to strip, and to wrestle, and to conquer, and to be crowned, count us all worthy together, when we have finished the present life on that day, to be able, according to His commandments and laws, to come before the tabernacles of this holy one and enjoy immortal goods; which may we all attain, by the grace and loving-kindness of our Lord Jesus Christ, with whom be glory to the Father, together with the Holy Spirit, for ever. Amen.

ON THE HOMILY ON THE EGYPTIAN MARTYRS

EULOGY FOR THE EGYPTIAN MARTYRS