is small, inferior, and lesser in dignity, and he does not speak that great and sublime name which is worthy of his substance? And so that you might learn that this is not small, nor inferior, but possesses the same power: "Let them know that your name is Lord; you alone are Most High over all the earth."
D 4. But you do not yet withdraw from the battle, but say again that "God" is greater, and "Lord" is lesser. If, then, I show that the Son is called by the greater name, what do you say? Do you end the contention? Do you withdraw from the argument? Do you recognize your salvation? Do you depart from this madness? Did you understand what I said? Since they cast the name "Lord" upon the Son, and "God" upon the Father, as being greater. If, therefore, I show you that the Son is called by the greater name, "God," the battle is ended; for I conquer you with your own weapons, and prevail over you with your own wings. You said that "God" is greater, and "Lord" is lesser; I wish to demonstrate that the lesser was not suitable for the Father, if he were greater, and the greater was not suitable for the Son, if the Son were lesser. Listen to the prophet as he says: "This is our God; no other shall be accounted to him; he has searched out all the way of knowledge; after this he appeared on earth, and conversed with men." What do you say to this? Do you speak against these steps? But you cannot; for the truth remains, emitting its own radiance, and blinding the eyes of the heretics who do not wish to believe in it. Even if the wrestling is deep, and the heat is great, the word is greater and prevails over the difficulty of the listeners, and consoles the heat with the dew of instruction; and even if we gather once or twice in the week, the hearer must not be slothful. For if you go out from here, and someone says to you, "What did the teacher speak about?" and you say, "About the heretics," and if he says to you, "What did he speak?" and you do not find [an answer], it is a great shame to you; but if you speak, you prick him, and even if he is a heretic, you correct him; and if he is a slothful friend, you draw him in; and if she is an unchaste woman, you make her more sober; for you are also responsible for the woman; "For let the women," he says, "keep silence in the church; but if they wish to learn anything, let them ask their own husbands." If you enter your house, and your wife asks you, "What did you bring me from the church?" say to her, "Not meat, nor wine, nor gold, nor ornaments that beautify the body, but a word that makes the mind wise." When you enter to your wife, set out the spiritual table; say first, as the memory is resonant: "Let us enjoy the spiritual things, and then let us enjoy the sensory table"; for if we manage our affairs in this way, we shall have God in our midst, both blessing the table and crowning us. For all these things, let us give thanks to him, to the Father with the Son and the Holy Spirit, now and always, and to the ages of ages. Amen.
AD HOMILY ON THE HOLY MARTYRS
A That of the all: Perhaps as in the Latin Church first the festival of all the martyrs was celebrated by the prescription of Boniface IV, and then of All Saints in the time of Gregory IV: so also in the Greek [Church] a few days after Pentecost it was once the festival dedicated to the memory of all the martyrs, which was then consecrated by the solemnity of All Saints. Moreover, they attribute this sermon to Chrysostom, besides the codex of the Royal Library, the Medicean manuscript, the catalog of the genuine orations of the author, which is kept in the Augustana, and another sent to us from Italy, the index of the *book of pearls*, under this title: *Eulogy for all the saints*.
The Latin translation is by the same Fronton du Duc.
LAUDATION
OF ALL THOSE WHO HAVE SUFFERED MARTYRDOM IN THE WHOLE WORLD.1. Since we have completed the sacred festival of Pentecost, the number of seven days has not yet passed, and again the chorus of martyrs has overtaken us, or rather the camp and array of martyrs, in no way inferior to that camp of angels which the patriarch Jacob saw, but rivalling it and equal. For martyrs and angels differ only in their names, but they are joined in their deeds; angels inhabit heaven, but so also do the martyrs.
A and the martyrs are age-less and immortal; these things the martyrs shall also obtain. But did they possess an incorporeal nature? What then? Even though the martyrs are encompassed by a body, they are immortal; nay, rather, even before immortality itself, the death of Christ adorned the bodies of the martyrs much more than immortality. Not so illustrious is the heaven adorned with the choir of stars as the bodies of the martyrs are adorned with the brilliant gore of their wounds. And therefore, because they are dead, they surpass all, and before immortality they received the prizes of their death. "You made him a little lower than the angels; with glory and honor you crowned him" (Ps. VIII, 6)—and Christ restored this "a little" when he came and condemned death by his death. But I do not prove this from that, but from the fact that this defect of death resulted in profit and advantage. For if they had not been mortal, they would not have become martyrs; and so, if there had been no death, there would not have been crowns; if there had been no perishing, there would have been no martyrdom; if there had been no death, Paul would not have been able to say, "I die daily for your glory, which I have in Christ Jesus" (1 Cor. XV, 31). Nor would he have been able to say, "I rejoice in my sufferings for you, and I fill up in my flesh what is lacking of the tribulations of Christ" (Col. I, 24). Let us not grieve, therefore, that we were made mortal, but let us give thanks that the stadium of martyrdom has been opened for us by death, and from destruction we have received the subject matter of our prizes; whence we have also obtained the occasion for our struggles. You see the wisdom of God, how that greatest head of our evils, which the devil introduced—I mean death—he converted into our honor and glory, and through this very thing led the athletes to the prizes of martyrdom? What then? Shall we, therefore, give thanks to the devil for the cause of death? God forbid! For this was not a virtuous act of his mind, but it is a gift of God's wisdom. He, indeed, introduced it in order to destroy, and to cut off all hope of salvation for those reduced to the earth. Christ, however, having taken it, changed it, and through it introduced us back into heaven. Let no one, therefore, condemn me for having called the company of the martyrs a choir and an army, and for having attributed two contrary names to one thing. For a choir and an army are contrary, but here both have coalesced; for as if they were leading dances, they went to their torments with pleasure, and like warriors they displayed all fortitude and endurance, B and defeated their enemies. And if you look at the nature of the things that are done, it is a fight and a war and a battle array that takes place; but if you consider their mind, it is a dance, and banquets, and festivities, and the greatest pleasure that is performed.
The torment of the martyrs is compared to a war; the endurance of the martyrs is excellently described.
Do you wish me to teach you that these things are more terrible than any war, I mean the achievements of the martyrs? What is formidable in war? Armies stand on both sides, fortified, flashing with arms on every side, filling the earth with splendor; from everywhere clouds of javelins are sent forth, by the multitude of which the air is concealed; torrents of blood roll to the earth; there are many slaughters on every side, like those of stalks in the harvest, so too of the soldiers who are struck down by one another. Come then, let us lead you from that battle to this one. Here, too, there are two battle lines, one of the martyrs, the other of the tyrants. And the tyrants are armed, but the martyrs fight only with their bodies; yet the victory is won by the naked, not by the armed. Who would not be astonished when he who is whipped with rods prevails over him who is whipping him, and the bound over the unbound, the scorched over the burner, and he who is dying over the one killing him? Do you see how these things are more terrible than those? For those, although they are formidable, yet happen according to the order of nature; but these surpass all nature and the entire sequence of things, so that you may understand that these things are to be attributed to divine grace, which are performed here with glory. Yet what, I ask, is more inequitable than this fight? What is more unjust than these struggles? For in wars both of those who fight are armed; here, however, it is not so, but this one is naked, while that one is clothed in arms. Again, in the struggles it is permitted to both to lift their hands in opposition; here, however, the one is bound, while that one with authority inflicts blows, and as if by some tyranny, the presiding judges take for themselves the parts to do evil, and assign to the righteous martyrs to suffer evil; thus they join battle with the saints, and not even so do they defeat them, but they depart from this already unequal fight having been overcome. And the same happens as if someone were to lead a warrior into battle and, having cut off the point of his spear and stripped him of his breastplate, were to command him to fight with a naked body, while he, though struck and wounded and pierced with six hundred blows, were yet to erect a trophy. For when they had dragged the naked martyrs into the arena, and had beaten them on every side with their hands bound behind their backs, they were thus being conquered; but they, having received their wounds, were erecting a trophy against the devil. And just as a diamond being struck does not yield or soften, but rather breaks the iron by which it is struck, so indeed the souls of the saints, when so many tortures were applied, themselves suffered nothing grievous, while they prostrated the power and virtue of those by whom they were being beaten, and dismissed them from the contests having been basely and ignominiously defeated after many intolerable blows. For when those were tied to the rack, they were digging into their sides, making deep furrows, as if they were plowing the earth with a plow, and not lacerating bodies. One could see open cavities, exposed sides, and torn-open chests, yet those blood-fed beasts did not satisfy their rage with that torture; but having dragged them from the rack, they stretched them upon an iron grate with coals placed beneath. And then, one could see spectacles much more bitter than the former, double drops flowing from their bodies, these of trickling blood, and those of melted flesh. The saints, however, as if lying among roses on the coals, in this way watched what was being done with pleasure.2. But when you hear of a ladder of iron, call to mind the ladder of the mind A which the patriarch Jacob saw reaching from the earth to heaven: by that ladder the angels descended, but by this one the martyrs ascend; and the Lord stood atop both. These saints could not have borne their pains had they not been supported by this. B And while it is manifest to everyone that by that one angels ascend and descend, it is no less manifest that by this one martyrs ascend. Why so? Because those were sent for the ministry of them who shall inherit salvation (Heb. 1. 14), but these, like athletes and those crowned, having finished their contests, departed at length unto the Contender-judge.
But let us not listen to what is said in a simple manner, hearing that coals were laid beneath their mangled bodies; rather, let us contemplate who we are when fever befalls us: we think life unendurable, we grow slack, we are distressed, we complain like little children, thinking that fire to be nothing less than Gehenna; but these men, with no fever attacking them, but a flame besieging them on every side, and sparks leaping upon their wounds, and stinging their gashes more sharply than any wild beast, stood fast—as if they were made of adamant, and as if one were watching these things happening to other bodies—so nobly and with the courage that was fitting for them, they stood upon the steps of confession, remaining unshaken through all their torments, and exhibiting their own strength and the grace of God in a radiant manner.
A For they themselves alone shall know this clearly, those who enjoy it through such experience. For the martyrs suffer these terrible and unbearable things in but a brief moment of time; but after their departure from hence, they ascend into the heavens, with angels going before them and archangels acting as their guard; for they are not ashamed of their fellow-servants, but would choose to do all things for them, since they too chose to suffer all things for their Master, Christ. And when they ascend into heaven, all those holy powers flock together. For if, when strange athletes visit a city, all the people in every quarter converge, and surrounding them, contemplate the healthy condition of their limbs, much more, when the athletes of piety ascend into the heavens, do the angels flock together, and all the powers above gather from every side to contemplate their wounds; and as one welcomes those who have returned from war and battle as victors after many trophies and victories, so they welcome and embrace them all with joy; then they lead them with a great retinue to the King of the heavens, unto that throne filled with much glory, where the Cherubim and Seraphim stand. And having arrived there and worshipped Him who sits upon the throne, they are received by the Master with benevolence much greater than that of their fellow-servants: for He does not receive them as servants (although even this is a very great honor, and one for which none can be found equal), but as His friends: *For you*, He says, *are my friends* (John 15. 14); and very reasonably; for He Himself said again: *Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends* (Ibid. 13). Since, therefore, they demonstrated the greatest love, He welcomes them, and they enjoy that glory; they share in the places, and participate in the mystical members. For if, while in the body, according to the communion of the mysteries, they used to enter into that choir, chanting the thrice-holy hymn with the Cherubim—as you know, you who have been initiated—much more now, having regained their fellow-choristers, do they partake of that glorification with great boldness.
Does not the thought of martyrdom make you shudder before this? Do you not now desire martyrdom? Do you not grieve now that the time of martyrdom is not present? But let us exercise ourselves for the time of martyrdom. They despised life; do you despise luxury. They surrendered their bodies to the fire; cast your money now into the hands of the poor; they trampled upon the coals; extinguish the flame of desire. These things are burdensome, but also profitable. Do not see the present things as grievous, but the things to come as good; not the terrible things in our hands, but the good things in our hopes; not the sufferings, but the prizes; not the toils, but the crowns; not the sweats, but the rewards; not the pains, but the compensations, not the burning...
not bitterness, nor retribution: not burning fire, but the promised kingdom: not executioners standing around, but Christ bestowing the crown.
Chapter 3: By what means we may arrive at virtue expeditiously
This is the most direct and extremely easy way toward virtue: to observe not only the hardships, but also the rewards that accompany these hardships, and not to consider either of them in isolation. When, therefore, you are about to give alms, do not attend to the expenditure of money, but to the accumulation of righteousness. "He dispersed, he gave to the poor: his righteousness abideth for the age of the age" (Ps. CXI, 9). Do not look at the wealth that is being depleted, but observe the treasure that is being increased. If you are fasting, do not consider the maceration of the flesh from the fast, but the relief which you obtain from that maceration. If you spend a sleepless night in prayer, do not weigh the trouble from the vigil, but the confidence you acquire from the prayer. Soldiers do the same: they do not look at their wounds, but at their rewards; not at the slaughter, but at the victories; not at the falling dead, but at the crowned victors. So too, pilots see the harbors before the storms, the business profits before the shipwrecks; before the hardships of navigation, they see what gains are reaped from the maritime voyage.
Act in the same way yourself: consider how great a thing it is, when all mortals, beasts, and cattle are sleeping in the deepest quiet, for you alone to be awake and carry on free conversation with the common Lord of all. Is sleep sweet? But nothing is sweeter than prayer. If you can persevere alone, conversing with the Alone, with no one disturbing you, no one interrupting you and calling you away from prayer, you have time itself as an ally to obtain what you seek. But if you are lying in a soft bed, tossing from one side to the other, and are lazy to arise? Let there come to your mind those martyrs who were lying today on an iron grill, not with a bed beneath them, but with coals underneath.
Here I have decided to put an end to my discourse, so that you may depart with the memory of the grill still vigorous and fresh in your minds, and reflect upon it by night and by day. For even if six hundred chains should bind us, we shall be able to break through them all easily and rise up to pray, if we always keep the grill in our minds. And let us describe on the breadth of our heart not only the grill, but also the other tortures of the martyrs. Just as those who make their houses more elegant adorn them on every side with vivid paintings, so let us also depict the tortures of the martyrs on the walls of our mind.
For that painting is useless, but this one is full of profit; for it needs no money, no expenses, and not even any skill of painting at all, but a ready will and a generous and vigilant mind suffice across the board to apply these, as it were, with the most expert hands, and to describe their tortures. Let us depict, therefore, in our soul those lying on the frying-pan, others stretched upon coals; those cast into caldrons, others submerged in the sea; some torn, others twisted on the wheel, others thrown over a precipice; and those fighting with beasts, others fallen into the abyss, and others meeting death as it befell each one; so that when we have made our house more illustrious with the variety of this painting, we may prepare a suitable dwelling-place for the King of heaven.
For if He sees such paintings in our mind, He will come with the Father and make His abode with us, with the Holy Spirit; and our mind will henceforth be a certain royal house, and no absurd thought will be able to enter into it, as long as the memory of the martyrs, like a certain vivid painting, remains in us at every time and reflects great splendor within it; and the King of the universe will dwell within us continually. But if we have thus received Christ in this life, after our departure from it, we shall be able to be received into the eternal tabernacles: which may the grace and kindness of our Lord Jesus Christ deign to grant to us all, through whom and with whom to the Father be glory, together with the holy and life-giving Spirit, unto the ages of ages. Amen.
IN HOMILIAM DE TERRAE MOTU
We published another homily on the earthquake, which is the sixth on Lazarus (Vol. I), in whose *Monitum* (p. 772), we proved with many testimonies, both of Chrysostom and others, that Antioch was shaken by frequent earthquakes, and especially in the age of Chrysostom. Now, this earthquake which is treated here occurred at the time when Chrysostom was lying ill in bed; he, being as he was ardent in his zeal for instructing the people, seeing their grief at the impending calamity, and affected by no sensation of his illness, flew to the flock: a fact which he himself hints at when he says: "The teaching of the Word changed my sickness into good health." Furthermore, that this address was delivered outside the city in one of the churches which the Antiochene people, led by piety, frequented, is argued by the first words of Chrysostom, who praises the people not once for the labor of the journey undertaken for the sake of hearing.