[LATIN COLUMN] 715 S. JOHN CHRYSOSTOM, ARCHBISHOP OF CONSTANTINOPLE. A Fear came to my aid, as the doctrine was losing its strength. I come to you now to speak for a little while, and I offer what is mine; when I have tightened the reins upon you, then I will yield to the discourse, so that the word may not toil in vain: I find stones and sprouting thorns, and I clear the field, so that the word may cast the seed with a lavish hand.
From the earthquake, how changed are the people of Antioch! B What loss have you suffered from this brief sorrow? You have become angels instead of men; you have been translated to heaven, if not in place, then in habits. And that I do not speak from adulation, the things themselves bear witness. For what was lacking to you for the sake of repentance? You cast out envy, you exterminated ungenerous affections, you sowed virtue, spending the whole night in sacred vigils, with much charity and intense fervor of spirit. No one remembers usury; no one speaks of avarice. Nor are the hands merely cleansed of sins, but the tongue also is free from iniquity and insult; no one offers injury to his neighbor, no one goes to satanic banquets; the houses are clean, the forum purified of filth as evening approaches, seeing nowhere the choirs of youths, or the theatrical songs of singers. There are indeed choirs, but not of lasciviousness; choirs, certainly, but of good deeds. In the forum, it is possible to hear hymns; and from those sitting at home, one psalm-singing, another chanting hymns; night arrives, and all gather into the church, a tranquil port and void of waves. C I thought that after one or two days the vigils would weigh down your bodies; but now, the longer the vigils proceed, the greater the increase of love becomes for you. Those who were chanting have failed, and you act manfully; those who were chanting are weary, and you have been increased in strength and vigor. Where are the rich now, I ask? Let them learn the philosophy of the poor. They sleep, but the poor, placed on the ground, do not sleep, but bend their knees, imitating Paul and Silas (Acts xvi).
D Verily, those men chanted and shook the prison; but you chant and have strengthened the shaken city. The ends of the things are contrary, but both tend toward the glory of God. For that one shook the prison so that he might shake the mind of the unfaithful, so that he might release the keeper of the prison, so that he might announce the word of God; you have strengthened the city so that you might release the wrath of God; and both this and that were dispensed in a varied manner. Yet I rejoice, not because the city has been strengthened, but because it has been strengthened by your prayers, because your psalmody served as foundations. Wrath [was] above, and your voice on the earth; the voice sent from the earth checked the wrath rushing down from above. The heavens were opened, and the sentence had slipped down: the sword [was] sharpened; the city was reduced to the ground, the wrath implacable. We had need of nothing else except repentance, tears, groanings, and all things were resolved. God uttered the sentence, and we have dissolved the wrath. Not at all has he erred who would call you the curators and saviors of the city. Where are the princes? Where those great defenders? You are truly the towers, the wall, the bulwark of the city. They through their own wickedness weakened the city, you through your virtue have strengthened the city. If anyone is asked why the city was shaken, even if he says nothing, it is yet acknowledged that it happened because of sins, avarice, injustice, wickedness, pride, and lies. Whose? The rich men's. Again, if anyone asks whence the city was strengthened, it is acknowledged that it was through psalmody, prayers, and vigils. Whose? The poor men's. The things that shook the city are theirs; those that strengthened it are yours; therefore you have been the saviors and curators. But here let us make an end of the sermon, persisting in vigils and psalmodies, sending forth glory to the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, now and always, and unto the ages of ages. Amen.