Homily

ADMONITION CONCERNING THE TWO FOLLOWING HOMILIES ON EUTROPIUS

Eutropius the eunuch possessed great influence with the Emperor Arcadius, and by his counsel and authority the most important affairs of the Empire were conducted. Having been the author of the promotion of John Chrysostom to the see of Constantinople, he at first obeyed his admonitions and pronouncements not unwillingly. But when the holy doctor persistently rebuked him for his avarice and ambition, albeit with a friendly spirit, he finally incurred his hostility. Among other things which Eutropius performed contrary to the counsel and wish of Chrysostom, he caused a law to be passed that the right of asylum and immunity should be taken away from the churches. But he plotted this for his own destruction: for when, by the will of Arcadius, he had attained the consulship of the year 399, he stirred up against himself the hatred of all. Then the tribune Tribigild, secretly favored by Gainas, assembled a band of soldiers and obtained from the fearful prince the decree that Eutropius be removed from his rank. Consequently, Eutropius retreated into the church, the only place of refuge remaining to him, and was forced to become a suppliant seeking the very asylum he had endeavored to abolish. At that time, Chrysostom alone stood forth as the defender of both the asylum and Eutropius, bravely resisting the onslaught of the soldiers and the decree of the Emperor, and ensuring that the rights of the Church were not violated. But more of this is in the *Life of Chrysostom*.

On the day following Eutropius’s reception into the church, Chrysostom delivered this most elegant homily, in which he discourses wonderfully upon the fleeting condition of human affairs, addresses Eutropius, and exposes how imprudently he had attempted to violate the immunity of the Church, which he himself had subsequently been compelled to approach and entreat. Yet, he so moved the assembly of the people to mercy toward him that he drew tears from everyone. A few days after that homily was delivered, Eutropius, in order to elude the watch set by his enemies and to escape, fled from the church. However, he was captured, soon relegated to Cyprus, and then, after not much time had passed, was brought to Chalcedon, condemned, and beheaded. You have this tragedy recounted at more length in the *Life of Chrysostom* under the year 399; and we trust that we have restored to their true and genuine order many things pertaining to this history, whether hitherto untouched or quite intricate.

Scarcely two days after the flight of Eutropius, Chrysostom delivered the following homily: there, after some introductory remarks on the utility of reading the divine Scriptures, he recounts that the church had been besieged a few days earlier, yet Eutropius had not been handed over to his enemies, and that, had he not deserted the church, he never would have been captured. He again sets before their eyes the fleeting condition of human faculties and riches, and states that Eutropius had been deserted by his friends, his household, and all his fortunes. Adding many things concerning the true and legitimate use of riches, and concerning the present life, which he demonstrates to be a pilgrimage, he moves to the praises of the Church and treats at length of her marriage with Christ, frequently using this verse of the forty-fourth Psalm: *The queen stood at thy right hand in gilded clothing,* etc.

On the occasion of this verse, Savile and Fronto Ducaeus placed this homily among the *Various Homilies on the Psalms*, even though the title and the first part of the homily—where the capture of Eutropius by the soldiers is discussed at length—protest against it. For where could this homily more appropriately be placed than after that one delivered while Eutropius was himself present? In that former one, the discussion concerns Eutropius imploring the asylum and protection of the church; in this one, however, the discourse is held concerning the same eunuch, who was captured after he had left the asylum of the church. Both reason itself and the judgment of the learned men whom we have consulted suggested that homilies of this kind should not be separated.

HOMILY ON EUTROPIUS THE EUNUCH, PATRICIAN AND CONSUL

^A It is now truly opportune to say: "Vanity of vanities, all is vanity" (Eccles. 1:2). Where now is the illustrious splendor of the consulship? Where are those bright torches? Where the applause, the choirs, the banquets, the festival gatherings? Where the crowns and the tapestries? Where the hubbub of the city, and those lucky acclamations in the hippodromes, and the flatteries of the spectators? All those things are gone. A violent wind struck them, stripping the tree, which is already shaking from the root, and the force of the blast was such that, having shaken all its sinews, it now threatens to uproot it entirely. Where now are those painted-on friends? Where are the drinking parties and the dinners? Where the swarm of parasites, and the pure wine consumed throughout the day, and the various arts of the cooks, and those worshippers of power who were accustomed to do and say everything for favor? All that was but night and a dream, and with the coming of the day it vanished. They were spring flowers, and when spring passed they all withered. They were a shadow, and they passed by. They were smoke, and were dissolved. They were bubbles, and burst. They were cobwebs, and were torn ^B to pieces. For this reason we sing this spiritual saying, repeatedly saying: "Vanity of vanities, all is vanity." This saying ought to be inscribed continuously in walls, and on garments, and in the marketplace, and in houses, and in roads, and on doors, and in entrances, but most of all in the very conscience of every person, and reviewed at every time. For since fraudulent affairs and masked, mimetic deeds have procured for themselves the reputation of truth among the majority, one ought to call out to one's neighbor day by day, while at lunch, at dinner, or in an assembly, and in turn to hear the same from him: "Vanity of vanities, all is vanity."

Was I not repeatedly telling you that wealth is a fugitive? But you would not endure us. Was I not saying that it is an ungrateful servant? But you did not wish to believe. Behold, experience has shown that it is not only fugitive and ungrateful, but also a murderer, for it has now plunged you into trembling and fear. Did I not say to you, when you were incessantly rebuking me for advising you truly, that I was a better friend to you than those who flattered you? That I who was reproving you had greater concern for you than those who complied with everything for you? Did I not also add, that wounds from friends are more trustworthy than the voluntary kisses of enemies (Prov. 27:6)? If you had endured my wounds, those kisses of theirs would never have brought this destruction upon you; for my wounds bring health, while their kisses have incurred for you an incurable malady. Where now are your cupbearers? Where are those who in the market forced the people to clear the way, and everywhere proclaimed your praises to all? They have deserted, they have renounced your friendship, ^C they seek their own security through your perils. But we are not like that; rather, we did not abandon you then, even though you were resentful, and now that you have fallen, we protect and care for you. The Church, which was treated by you in a hostile manner, has opened its bosom and received you; but the theaters, which were cultivated by you with great obsequiousness and for whose sake you were often hostile to us, both betrayed you and destroyed you. And yet, we never stopped addressing you with these words: "Why do you do these things? You rave against the Church, and cast yourself headlong to destruction"—and you were neglecting and running past all these warnings. The crowd at the circus, indeed, having exhausted your resources upon themselves, sharpened the sword against you; but the Church, agitated by your untimely fury, runs here and there, if by any means she might be able to disentangle you from the snares in which you are caught.

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Homily on Eutropius the Eunuch, Patrician

^B And these things I say now, not to trample upon the one who is lying low, but wishing to make those who are standing more secure; not to irritate the wounds of the one who has been stricken, but to preserve those not yet stricken in healthy safety; not to sink the one being tossed by the waves, but to train those sailing with a fair wind, so that they may not be submerged. But how could this happen? If we contemplate the changes in human affairs. For if that man had feared change, he would not have suffered change; but since he did not become better either from his own initiative or from others, do you at least, you who are gorged with wealth, profit from his misfortune: for there is nothing more feeble than human affairs. Therefore, whatever name anyone might call their worthlessness, he would say less than the truth; even if one calls them smoke, or hay, or a dream, or spring flowers, or whatever—they are so perishable and more insubstantial than things that do not exist; and that along with this worthlessness it also possesses much that is precipitous is clear from what follows. For who became higher than this man? Did he not pass through the entire inhabited world in wealth? Did he not ascend to the very peaks of honors? Did not everyone tremble before him, and fear him? But behold, he has become more wretched than prisoners, more pitiable than slaves, and more destitute than the poor who are wasting away from hunger, seeing sharpened swords every day, and the abyss, and executioners, and the abduction to death; and he does not even know if he has ever experienced that pleasure, nor does he perceive that illumination; but at high noon, just as in the thickest night, surrounded by this gloom, he is blinded. Or rather, however much we might strive, we shall not be able to represent in words the suffering which it is probable that he is enduring, expecting to be killed at every hour. But why is there need of words from us, when he has clearly depicted these things for us as in an image? For the day before, when they came to him from the royal courts, wishing to drag him away by force, and he ran to the holy vessels, ^C his face was just as it is now—no better disposed than one who has already died; the chattering of the teeth, and the clatter and trembling of his whole body, and his voice broken, and his tongue faltering, and his posture such as a stony soul would likely have.

3. And these things I say, not to reproach, nor to trample upon his misfortune, but wishing to soften your mind, and to draw you to mercy, and to persuade you to be satisfied with the punishment that has already occurred. Since there are many among us who are inhuman, so as to accuse even us, that we received him at the bema; wishing to soften their heartlessness with my account, I display his sufferings. For on what account are you indignant, tell me, my beloved? Because, he says, he who has constantly warred against the Church has fled to it. For this very reason, one ought to praise God, that He allowed him to fall into such necessity, so that he might learn both the power of the Church and its philanthropy; the power, from the fact that he suffered such a change from his wars against her; and the philanthropy, from the fact that now, though she was warred against, she puts forward the shield, and has received him under her own wings, and has set him in complete safety, not remembering any of the things from before, but opening her bosom to him with great affection. For this is more brilliant than any trophy, this is a manifest victory, this puts the Greeks to shame, this also confounds the Jews, this shows her face to be radiant: that having taken the enemy captive, she spares him, and while all have passed him by in his isolation, she alone, like a loving mother, has hidden him under her curtains, and has stood against royal wrath, against the fury of the populace, and against unbearable hatred; this is the ornament of the altar. What sort of ornament, one says, is it for the polluted, the greedy, and the rapacious man to touch the altar? Do not say these things; since the harlot also touched the feet of Christ, she who was exceedingly polluted and unclean; and what happened was not an accusation against Jesus, but a miracle and a great hymn; for the unclean woman did not harm the Clean One, but the Clean and Blameless One, through the touch, made the polluted harlot clean. Do not, I beseech you, be resentful, O man. We are servants of that One who was crucified and who said: "Forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing." But, one says, he walled off the refuge here with letters and various laws. But behold, through his deeds he has learned what he did, and he was the first to dissolve his own law through what he did, and he has become a spectacle to the world, and even while silent he emits a voice, exhorting everyone: "Do not do such things, so that you may not suffer such things." He has appeared as a teacher through his misfortune, and the altar emits a great brightness, now most formidable and appearing as such from this, that it holds the lion bound; for just as for a royal image a great ornament would be not only when the king sits upon the throne clothed in purple and wearing the diadem, but also when under the royal foot, barbarians, with their hands bound behind them, lie with their heads bowed down. And that I have not used persuasiveness of words, you are witnesses of the eagerness and the gathering. For our spectacle is brilliant today, and the assembly is radiant, and as many as I saw gathered in the holy Pascha, so many do I see here now; and thus, while silent, he has called all, emitting a voice more resonant than a trumpet through the events. And virgins having left their chambers, and women their women’s quarters, and men the marketplace, you have all gathered here, so that you might see human nature being put to the proof, and the perishability of life's affairs stripped bare, and the harlot-like aspect—which yesterday and the day before was shining radiantly (for such is the prosperity that comes from greed, appearing uglier than any little old woman with wrinkles)—now, as if with a sponge through this change, wiping away the pigments and the inscriptions.

4. For such is the strength of this calamity; it has made him who was radiant and famous appear more worthless than all. And if a rich man enters, he gains much; for seeing him who used to shake the entire inhabited world brought down from such a height, and compressed...

^A and contracted by dread, and more timid than any hare or rabbit, and hanging onto this pillar without chains, and trembling, held fast by fear instead of a chain, will repress his arrogance, shed his pride, and, having pondered what must be pondered regarding human affairs, will depart having learned in very deed what the Scriptures teach us: such as that, "All flesh is grass, and all the glory of man as the flower of grass; the grass withered, and the flower fell" (Isa. 40:6, 7); and likewise that, "As grass they shall quickly wither, and as the green herb of the field they shall quickly fall" (Ps. 37:2); and, "For my days have vanished like smoke" (Ps. 102:4), and other similar things.

Conversely, the poor man who enters and takes note of this spectacle is not displeased with himself, nor does he lament his lot; but he gives thanks, moreover, to his poverty, which serves him as a very safe asylum, a most tranquil harbor, and a most fortified citadel; and having seen these things, if the option were given, he would prefer to be content with his present state rather than to occupy the wealth of all for a short time and soon come into danger of losing his own blood. Do you see not a small benefit arising from this refuge here for the rich and the poor, for the high and the humble, for slaves and the free? Do you see how each one departs from here with a remedy, treating his own affairs through the spectacle of this matter?

Have I, therefore, softened your spirits, or expelled your indignation? Have I extinguished your inhumanity? Have I led you to commiseration? I believe indeed that I have led you so; and this I gather from your countenances and tears. Since, therefore, the rock of your heart has been turned into a fat and fertile field, come now, producing also the fruit of mercy, and bringing before us the rich ears of compassion, let us fall at the knees of the Emperor, or rather let us beseech the most kind God to mollify the anger of the Emperor, and to deign to give him a tender heart, by which we may be able to take away this grace whole and entire from him.

For already from that day in which he fled hither, a not small change has occurred: for after the Emperor learned that he had taken refuge in this asylum, while the army was swarming and agitated on account of his crimes, and demanding the man for punishment, he held a long discourse by which he calmed the military indignation, requesting that they should take into account not only their faults, but also their good deeds: that he who had reason to be grateful for them should, if anything else had happened, consider that it ought to be forgiven as to a man. But when they insisted entirely on revenge for the insulted Emperor, shouting, leaping up, demanding death, brandishing spears: then indeed, shedding fonts of tears from his most merciful eyes, and striking them with the awe of the sacrosanct table to which he had fled, he at last with difficulty appeased their anger.

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^A it is right to be restrained. For what forgiveness would you yourselves be worthy of, if, while the Emperor forgives and forgets his own proper injury, you who have suffered nothing of the kind were to proceed obstinately in anger? Or how, once this spectacle is finished, will you partake of the sacraments and say that prayer by which we are commanded to ask, "Forgive us as we also forgive our debtors" (Matt. 6:12), if you exact punishment from your debtor? He perhaps afflicted you with great injuries and insults? Not even we will deny that. But the present time is not for a tribunal, but rather for mercy: not for the recovery of damages, but for clemency: not for examination, but for pardon; not for votes and calculations, but for mercy and grace.

Therefore, let no one among you be inflamed, nor let him take it ill, but rather let us beseech the most mild God that He may prolong the life of the accused, and rescue him from the impending slaughter, so that he may correct his own errors: and with common effort let us intercede with the most clement Emperor for the Church and the altar, beseeching that one man be granted to the sacrosanct table. For if we do this, we shall both do something pleasing to the Emperor, and God shall approve of our action before the Emperor does, and shall return to us a great reward for this humanity. For just as He turns away from and hates the cruel and inhuman, so He embraces and loves the merciful and humane: and to him, whether he be just, He weaves more splendid crowns; or if he be a sinner, He overlooks his sins, returning to him a requital of compassion toward his fellow-servant: "I desire mercy," He says, "and not sacrifice" (Hos. 6:6); and through all the Scripture you see Him always requiring this, and saying that this is the healing of sinners.

Accordingly, let us also return Him to kindness in this manner, thus let us redeem our sins, thus let us adorn the Church, thus also the most clement Emperor, as I have said, will praise us: it will come to pass that all the people will applaud us, and our fame for humanity and clemency will be celebrated to the ends of the earth, and upon discovering this we shall be praised everywhere on earth. In order, therefore, that it may happen to us to enjoy such good things, let us fall to our knees, let us entreat, let us beseech: let us snatch the prisoner, the fugitive, the suppliant from dangers, so that we ourselves may obtain future good things, by the grace and kindness of our Lord Jesus Christ, to whom be glory and empire, now and always, and unto the ages of ages. Amen.

HOMILY WHEN EUTROPIUS WAS SEIZED AFTER BEING CAUGHT OUTSIDE THE CHURCH. CONCERNING PARADISE OR THE GARDEN, AND CONCERNING THE SCRIPTURES; AND ON THAT WORD, "THE QUEEN STOOD AT THY RIGHT HAND" (Ps. 44:10).

a). Sweet is the meadow, sweet is the garden, but far sweeter is the reading of the divine Scriptures. For there the flowers are fading, here the thoughts are in full bloom; there the zephyr blows, here the breath of the Spirit; there thorns hedge in, here the providence of God protects; there the cicadas chirp, here the prophets modulate [their song].

the protection of God securing it; there cicadas sing, here prophets cry aloud; there is delight from the sight, here is profit from the reading. The garden is in one place, but the Scriptures are everywhere in the habitable world; the garden is subject to the needs of seasons, but the Scriptures both in winter and summer are leafy, and abound with fruit. Let us attend, therefore, to the reading of the Scriptures; for if you attend to the Scripture, it casts out your despondency, it implants pleasure, it destroys wickedness, it roots virtue, it does not allow you, in the turmoil of affairs, to suffer what those who are tossed by waves suffer. The sea is raging, but you sail in calm; for you have the reading of the Scriptures as a helmsman; for this rope is not snapped by the temptation of affairs. And that I do not lie, the affairs themselves testify. The church was besieged a few days ago; an army came, and breathed fire from its eyes, and yet it did not wither the olive; swords were drawn, and no one received wounds; the royal gates were in anxiety, and the church in security; and yet the war flowed in here. For here was sought the one who had taken refuge, and we stood by not fearing their rage. Why so? We possessed a secure pledge, namely this: *You are Peter, and upon this rock I will build my Church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it* (Matt. 16. 18). And I mean the Church not merely as a place, but as a manner of life; not the walls of the church, but the laws of the Church. When you take refuge in the church, do not take refuge in the place, but in the purpose. For the Church is not wall and roof, but faith and life. Do not say that he who was betrayed was betrayed by the Church; if he had not left the church, he would not have been betrayed. Do not say that he both took refuge and was betrayed; the Church did not leave him, but he left the Church. He was not handed over from within, but from without. Why did he leave the church? Was he afraid of being saved? You ought to have held fast to the altar. There were no walls here, but the providence of God securing it. Were you a sinner? God does not send you away; for *I came not to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance* (Matt. 9. 13). A harlot was saved, because she grasped His feet. Did you hear what was read today? I say these things, so that you may never doubt when taking refuge in the Church. Remain in the Church, and you are not betrayed by the Church. But if you flee from the Church, the Church is not to blame. For if you were inside, the wolf does not enter; but if you go outside, you become prey to beasts; but this is not the fault of the sheepfold, but of your own faint-heartedness. Nothing is equal to the Church. Do not speak to me of walls and arms; for walls indeed grow old with time, but the Church never ages. Barbarians destroy walls, but not even demons prevail against the Church. And that these words are not boasting, the events testify. How many have fought against the Church, and the fighters have perished? But this has ascended above the heavens. Such greatness does the Church possess: when fought against, it conquers; when plotted against, it prevails; when insulted, it becomes more brilliant; it receives wounds, and does not fall under the gashes; it is tossed by waves, but is not submerged; it is weathered by storms, but does not suffer shipwreck; it wrestles, but is not defeated; it boxes, but is not overcome. Why then did He allow the war? In order that He might show the trophy more brilliantly. You were present on that day, and were seeing how many weapons were moved, and the military rage more fierce than fire, and we were hastening to the royal courts. But what happened? By the grace of God, nothing of those things terrified us.

^B 2. I say these things, so that you too may imitate us. And why were we not terrified? Because we feared none of the present terrible things. For what is terrible? Death? This is not terrible; for quickly we depart to the waveless harbor. But confiscations? *Naked I came from my mother's womb, and naked shall I return* (Job 1. 21). But banishments? *The earth is the Lord's, and the fullness thereof* (Psalm 23. 1). But false accusations? *Rejoice and be exceeding glad, when they shall say all manner of evil against you falsely, for your reward is great in the heavens* (Matth. 5. 12). I was seeing the swords, and I was considering heaven; I was expecting death, and I was contemplating the resurrection; I was seeing the lower sufferings, and I was counting the, crowns above; I was seeing the plots, and I was reflecting upon the crown above; for the subject matter of the contests was sufficient for consolation and comfort. I was being led away, but what was happening was not an insult to me; for there is only one insult, sin. For even if the whole world insults you, if you do not insult yourself, you have not been insulted. Betrayal is only that of the conscience. Do not betray your conscience, and no one betrays you. I was led away, and I was seeing the events, or rather my words becoming events, my sermon, that which I spoke through my words, being proclaimed in the marketplace through the events. What sermon? That which I was always saying: *The wind blew, and the leaves cast down. The grass withered, and the flower fell* (Isai. 40. 8). The night departed, and the day appeared; the shadow was exposed, and the truth appeared. They ascended as far as the heavens, and descended as far as the plains. For the waves were calmed above through human events. How? The things that were happening were a teaching. And I was saying to myself: Shall those who come after be made wise? Or are two days passing, and the happenings are being handed over to oblivion? The reminders were fresh. I will say it again, I will speak again. What profit? Or rather, there is profit. For even if not all hear, half will hear; and if not half, the third part; and if not the third, the fourth; and if not the fourth, ten; and if not ten, five; and if not five, one; and if not one, I have my reward completed. *The grass withered, and the flower fell; but the word of God abides forever* (Isai. 40. 8).

^C 3. Have you seen the worthlessness of human things? Have you seen the fleeting nature of power? Have you seen the wealth, which I always called a runaway, and not only a runaway, but also a murderer? For it does not only leave those who possess it, but also slays them; for when someone nurtures it, then most of all it betrays him. Why do you nurture wealth, which is with you today, and tomorrow with another? Why do you nurture wealth, which can never be held fast? Do you wish to nurture it? Do you wish to hold it fast? Do not bury it, but…

399 S. JOANNIS CHRYSOSTOMI ARCHIEP. CONSTANTINOP.

Chapter 4: Only sin can cause harm

where are they? Do not bury them, but hand them over to the hands of the poor. Riches are living creatures: if they are held fast, they flee; if they are scattered, they remain. For *He has scattered*, he says, *He has given to the poor, His justice remains forever* (Ps. CXI, 9). ^A Scatter, that they may remain; do not bury them, that they may not flee. Where is the wealth? I would gladly ask those who have departed at that time. I do not say this to reproach them, nor to rub at their sores—far from it—but so that I might turn the shipwrecks of others into a harbor for you. When the soldiers were present, when the swords were there, when the city was being burned, when the diadem could do nothing, when the purple was suffering insults, when all things were full of madness, where then was the wealth? Where were the silver vessels? Where were the silver couches? Where were the domestics? All were in flight. Where were the eunuchs? They all dashed away. Where were the friends? They were putting off their masks. Where were the houses? They were being closed. Where was the money? Its owner fled. But where, finally, is the money? It was buried. Where was it hidden? Am I burdensome to you, am I tedious, while I always say that wealth betrays those who use it poorly? The time has come in which the truth of my words could be demonstrated. Why do you hold onto those things which can help you in nothing during a trial? If they have any strength, let them be present to you when you fall into necessity: if they then run away, of what use are they to you? The facts themselves bear witness. What benefit is there from them? Sharp swords, imminent death, a raging army, the expectation of so many threats; ^B truly, the wealth is nowhere to be seen. Whither have those fugitives withdrawn? They themselves procured all these evils for you, and in time of necessity they flee. Although many always accuse me, saying that I attack the rich: yet they always attack the poor. But I always attack the rich—not, I say, the rich, but those who use their wealth badly. For I always say that I do not attack the wealthy man, but the rapacious one. One thing is a rich man, another is a rapacious one; one is the opulent man, another is the greedy one. Distinguish the things, lest you confuse those which cannot be mixed. Are you rich? I do not forbid it. Are you rapacious? This I bring as a charge. Do you possess your own? Enjoy these things. Are you snatching at the property of others? I will not be silent. Do you wish to stone me? I am prepared to pour out my blood, provided only that I restrain your sin. I do not care about hatreds, I do not care about war: my one care is the progress of my listeners. The rich and the poor are my children, for the same womb has brought forth both, both were born with the same pains. If, therefore, you attack the poor man, I refute you; the loss to the poor man is not as great as it is to the rich man. For the poor man does not suffer loss of much; for he is harmed in his money; but you, indeed, are harmed in your soul. He who wishes may strike, may attack with stones, may hold me in hatred; for the snares are the core of crowns, and the number of rewards is the same as the number of wounds. I do not fear; I fear one thing: sin. ^C Lest anyone might be able to accuse me of sin, even if the whole world were to attack me in war. For this war indeed makes me more splendid. I wish to institute you in the same way. Do not fear the snares of a powerful man, but fear the power of sin. A human being will not harm you, unless you harm yourself. If you do not have sin, and even if countless swords are present, God will snatch you away; if you have sin, and you were even in Paradise, you would fall from there. Adam was in Paradise and he fell; Job was sitting in the dung and he was crowned. What did Paradise profit the former, and what did the dung harm the latter? No one lay in wait for the former, and he was supplanted; the devil lay in wait for this one, and he was crowned. Did he not take away his possessions? But he did not take away his piety. Did he not take away his children? But he did not shake his faith. Did he not wound his body? But he did not find the treasure. Did he not arm his wife against him? But he did not defeat the soldier. Did he not send out missiles and arrows? But he did not receive wounds. He moved his machines against him, but he did not shake the tower; he brought in surges, but he did not sink the ship. Keep this law for me, I pray, and I grasp your knees, if not with my hand, at least in my spirit, and I pour out tears. Keep this law for me, and no one will harm you. Never call the rich man blessed; call no one wretched except him who is in sin; ^D declare him blessed who is in justice. For it is not the nature of things, but the mind of men that makes both this one and that one such. Never fear swords, unless your conscience accuses you; never fear in war, if your conscience is pure. Where are those who have departed from here? Did they not all stand cast down? Did not those who were established in the greatest dignity tremble before them? Did they not venerate them? But sin came, and all things were prostrated; servants became judges, flatterers became executioners; those who were kissing his hands tore him away from the church; he who was kissing his hand yesterday, is his enemy today. Why? Because yesterday he did not truly love him. The time came, and the masks were unmasked. Were you not kissing his hands yesterday, and calling him a savior, and curator, and benefactor? Were you not weaving numberless praises? Why do you accuse him today? Yesterday a praiser, today an accuser? Yesterday you offered praises, today crimes? What change? What transposition? Am I rendered into a beast? Having suffered countless heavy things, I have not rendered back like for like. I imitate my Lord, who on the cross said: *Forgive them, for they do not know what they do* (Luke XXIII, 34). How many changes have arisen since I have presided over this city, and no one brings himself back to a better way of life? When, however, I say "no one," I do not condemn all, far from it. For it cannot be that this fat field, receiving seed, does not bring forth a crop: but I am insatiable, I do not want a few, but all to attain salvation. If even one perishes, I have perished: I think I am imitating that shepherd who, when he had ninety-nine sheep, ran toward the one that had strayed (Luke XV, 4). How long the money? How long the silver, how long the gold, how long the wine poured out? How long the flatteries of servants? How long the crowned craters? How long the satanic banquets, full of diabolical operation?

401 is this life a pilgrimage? For you are not a citizen; you are a wayfarer. Have you understood what I have said? You are not a citizen, but a wayfarer and a traveler. Do not say, "I have this city, and I have that." No one possesses a city. The city is above. The present things are a road. We are journeying, therefore, by the day, as long as nature permits. Is there anyone who stores up money on a road? Is there anyone who buries gold on a road? When, therefore, you enter an inn, tell me, do you embellish the inn? No, but you eat and drink, and you hasten to leave. The present life is an inn. We have entered, we lodge in the present life; let us be eager to leave with good hope, let us leave nothing here, so that we may not lose it there. When you enter the inn, what do you say to the servant? "See where you put the belongings, that you leave nothing here, so that nothing is lost, neither small nor trivial, so that we may carry everything to the house." Thus also let us do in the present life; let us regard life as an inn, and let us leave nothing here in the inn, but let us carry everything to the mother-city. You are a wayfarer and a traveler, or rather, even less fortunate than a wayfarer. And how so? I will tell you. The wayfarer knows when he enters 391 the inn, and when he leaves; for he is the master of his leaving, just as of his entering. But I, entering the inn—that is, the present life—do not know when I am leaving. And sometimes I prepare provisions for a long time, and the Master suddenly calls me: "Fool, whose will those things be which you have prepared? For on this very night they are taking your soul" (Luke 12:20). Uncertain is the departure, unstable is the possession, there are countless precipices, waves on every side. Why are you mad about shadows? Why, having abandoned the truth, do you run toward shadows?

6. These things I say, and I will not cease saying them, producing constant pain and binding up wounds—and not for the sake of those who have fallen, but for the sake of those who stand. For those have departed and have reached their end; but those who stand have become more secure through others' misfortunes. And what, you say, shall we do? Do one thing only: hate money, and love your own life. Cast away your possessions—I do not say all, but prune away the superfluous. Do not covet the things of others; do not strip bare the widow; do not plunder the orphan; do not take away the house. I am not speaking of persons, but of things. If anyone's conscience is pricked, he himself is the cause, not my discourse. Why do you plunder where there is envy? Plunder where there is a crown. Do not plunder the earth, but heaven. "The kingdom of heaven is taken by violence, and the violent take it by force" (Matt. 11:12). Why do you plunder the poor man who is accusing you? Plunder Christ who is praising you. Have you seen ingratitude and madness? You plunder a poor man who has little? Christ says: "Plunder Me; I am grateful to you for the plunder; plunder My kingdom and use force." If you wish to plunder the kingdom below—or rather, if you even wish to imagine it—you are punished; but if you do not plunder the one above, then you will be punished. Where worldly things are, there is envy; where spiritual things are, there is love. Meditate on these things every day, and do not, when you again see someone passing by two days later, draped in a silken garment and haughty, be troubled or disturbed. Do not praise the rich man, but only him who is in righteousness. Do not reproach the poor man, but learn to possess a correct and unwavering judgment of things. Do not abstain from the Church; for nothing is stronger than the Church. Your hope is the Church, your salvation is the Church, your refuge is the Church. It is higher than heaven, and broader than the earth. It never grows old, but is always in its prime. For this reason, the Scripture, declaring its firmness and unshakeableness, calls it a mountain; it calls it a virgin, on account of its incorruptibility; it calls it a queen, on account of its magnificence; it calls it a daughter, on account of its kinship with God; it calls it a barren woman bearing seven, on account of its fruitfulness; it has myriad names, that it may display its nobility. For just as its Master has many names—He is called Father, and He is called the Way, and He is called Life, and He is called Light, and He is called Arm, and He is called Propitiation, and He is called Foundation, and He is called Door, and He is called Sinless, and He is called Treasure, and He is called Lord, and He is called God, and He is called Son, and He is called Only-Begotten, and He is called the form of God, and He is called the image of God—is not one name sufficient to represent the whole? By no means; but for this reason there are myriad names, so that we may learn something about God, even if only a little. Thus, truly, the Church also is called many things. It is called Virgin, and yet it was a harlot before this; for the wonderful thing about the Bridegroom is that He took a harlot and made her a virgin. O new and paradoxical things! Marriage among us destroys virginity; marriage with God has resurrected virginity. Among us, she who is a virgin, on being married, is no longer a virgin; with Christ, she who was a harlot, on being married, has become a virgin.

7. Let the heretic interpret this alone, he who acts with curiosity about the birth from above, and says, "How did the Father beget?" Tell him: "How did the Church, being a harlot, become a virgin? And how did she who gave birth remain a virgin?" "For I am jealous for you with a godly jealousy," says Paul; "for I betrothed you to one husband, to present you as a pure virgin to Christ" (2 Cor. 11:2). O wisdom and understanding! "For I am jealous for you with a godly jealousy." What is this? "I am jealous," he says. Are you jealous, O spiritual man? "I am jealous," he says, "as God is." Does God have jealousy? Yes, He has jealousy, not through passion, but through love and zeal. "For I am jealous for you with a godly jealousy." Let me tell you how He is jealous: He saw the earth being corrupted by demons, and He gave up His own Son. For the terms spoken concerning God do not have the same force; for instance, "God is jealous," "God is angry," "God repents," "God hates." These terms are human, but the concepts are god-befitting. How is God jealous? "For I am jealous for you with a godly jealousy." Is God angry? "O Lord, do not rebuke me in your wrath" (Ps. 6:1). So also, does God sleep? "Awake, why do you sleep, O Lord?" (Ps. 43:23). Does God repent? "I repented that I made man" (Gen. 6:7). Does God hate? "Your feasts and your new moons my soul hates" (Isa. 1:14). But do not pay attention to the lowliness of the words; but receive the concepts as god-befitting. God is jealous, for He loves. God is angry, not with passion, but for retribution and punishment. God sleeps, not as one actually sleeping, but as long-suffering. Choose the

and choose with discernment. Thus, when you hear that God begets, do not think of divisions, but of consubstantiality. For God has borrowed many words from us, just as we have borrowed from Him, so that this might be an honor to us. ^A You have need of my words: I have no need; but because my substance is incorruptible, while you are a human being, entangled with a body, seeking corporeal expressions, so that you, entangled with a body, might understand truths that transcend you through expressions familiar to you. What names did He receive from me, and what did He give me? He Himself is God, and He called me god: there, it is the nature of the thing; here, the honor of the name. "I said: You are gods, and all of you are sons of the Most High" (Ps. 81:6). Here are words; there, the nature of things. He called me god, for He deemed me worthy of this honor: He was called man, He was called son of man, He was called way, door, rock. These He received from me, but those He gave me—His own proper names. Why was He called the way? So that you might learn that through Him we ascend to the Father. Why was He called the rock? So that you might learn of a sincere and unshaken faith. Why was He called the foundation? So that you might know that He supports all things. Why was He called the root? So that you might learn that we flourish in Him. Why was He called the shepherd? Because He feeds us. Why was He called the sheep? Because, having been slaughtered for us, He became a propitiation. Why the life? Because He raised us from the dead. Why the light? Because He delivered us from darkness. Why is He called the arm? Because He is consubstantial with the Father. Why the Word? Because He was begotten of the Father. For just as my word is begotten of my soul, so also the Son was begotten of the Father. Why was He called a garment? Because I was clothed with Him in baptism. Why a table? Because I eat Him, while I enjoy the mysteries. Why a house? Because I dwell in Him. Why is He called the inhabitant? Because we are made His temple. Why head? Because I am constituted His member. Why was He called spouse? Because He joined Himself to the bride. Why is He called chaste? Because He took me as a virgin. Why is He called master? Because I am His handmaid.

^B For consider the Church, as I said, that sometimes she is a bride, sometimes a daughter, sometimes she is a virgin, sometimes she is a handmaid, now she is a queen, now she is barren, sometimes she is a mountain, she is paradise, she is sometimes fertile, now a lily, sometimes a fountain: she is everything. Therefore, having heard these things, do not think—I beseech you—that they are corporeal; but direct your mind to the goal; for such things certainly cannot be corporeal. For example: a mountain is not a virgin; a virgin is not a bride; a queen is not a handmaid; yet the Church is all these things. Why? Because these are not in the body, but in the soul. For they cannot be contained in the body; but in the soul, there is a great sea. "The queen stood at your right hand" (Ps. 44:10). A queen? She who was trodden down and destitute, how has she become a queen? Where has she ascended? This queen stood above. How? Because the King was made a servant: He was not, but He was made so. Learn, therefore, what pertains to the Divinity, and understand wisely those things that pertain to the economy. Learn who He was, and who He was made for your sake: do not confuse the things, nor make the argument of His benevolence toward us an occasion for blasphemy. ^C He was sublime, and this is humble; sublime not in place, but in nature. His substance was incorruptible and immortal, an incorruptible nature, unthinkable, invisible, incomprehensible, always existing, existing in the same way, transcending the angels, superior to heavenly powers, surpassing reason, transcending the mind: He cannot be seen, He can only be believed. The angels saw and trembled, the Cherubim veiled their wings for fear. He would look upon the earth, and made it tremble: He would threaten the sea, and dry it up. He drew rivers forth from the desert; He set the mountains in a balance, and the forests in a scale. How shall I describe it? How shall I declare it? Of His greatness there is no end, of His wisdom there is no number, His judgments are unsearchable, His ways are past finding out. Yet He, being so great and such as this—if it can be said without danger—is so great and such as this. But what shall I do? I am a human being, and I speak in human terms; I possess a weak tongue, I ask for pardon from the Master. For I have not used these terms out of arrogance, but out of the poverty of infirmity, and the nature of our tongue. Be propitious, O Master, for I do not use such expressions out of arrogance, but because there are none other available. Nor, however, do I persist in the vileness of the speech, but I ascend on the wings of understanding. So great and such as this. I say these things, so that you, not lingering in the poverty of the expressions or the words, might also learn to do the same. Why are you surprised if I do what He Himself also does, when He wishes to indicate something that transcends human things? Because He speaks to human beings, He uses human images, which are indeed unable to demonstrate fully what is said, nor to bring the whole measure of the thing into our midst, but they suffice for the infirmity of the hearers.

Do not grow weary ^D from the length of the discourse. For just as when He appears, He is not seen as He is, nor does His naked substance appear: (for no one has seen God, that is, what He is; for although He appeared by a certain condescension, the Cherubim trembled; He descended with condescension, and the mountains smoke; He descended with condescension, and the sea is dried up; He descended with condescension, and the heaven is shaken: and if He had not descended with condescension, who could have borne it?) for as He does not appear as He is, but according to the capacity of him who looks: therefore He sometimes appears as an old man, sometimes as a youth, sometimes in fire, sometimes in a breeze, now in water, now in arms, not changing His substance, but conforming the vision to the variety of the subjects. Thus, as often as He wishes to say something about Himself, He uses human images. For example: He ascends the mountain, "And He was transfigured before them, and His face shone like the light, and His garments were made white as snow" (Matt. 17:2). He revealed to them how far He opened His divinity to them, showing the God who dwells in Him, "And He was transfigured before them." Attend to the sermon diligently. He says: "And He was transfigured before them, and His garments shone like the light, and His countenance like the sun." When I said, "So great and such as this," and I said, "Be propitious, Master" (for I cannot—

that is, and I said also, "Be merciful to me, O Lord" (for I do not persist in this wording, but I am at a loss, and I have no other form of speech composed), I want you to learn that I was taught this from the Scripture. Therefore, the evangelist wished to show His radiance, and he says, "He shone." 395 How did He shine? Tell me. Vehemently. And how do you say? "As the sun." "As the sun," you say? Yes. Why? Because I have no other more radiant star. And was He white "As snow"? Why, "As snow"? Because I have no other whiter material. For that it did not shine thus, is shown from what follows. "And the disciples fell to the ground." If He had shone as the sun, the disciples would not have fallen; for they saw the sun daily, and did not fall; but because He shone above the sun, and above the snow, for this reason, not bearing the radiance, they fell.

11. Explain to me, then, O evangelist, did He shine above the sun, and you say, "as the sun"? Yes; wishing to make the light familiar to you, I have no other greater star, I have no other image reigning among the stars. I said these things so that you might not remain in the insignificance of the wording. I showed you the fall of the disciples. They fell to the ground, and were stunned, and were overwhelmed. "Arise," He says, and He raised them, and they were weighed down. For they did not bear the excess of the radiance, but a stupor seized their eyes; so much was the light appearing above the sun. And the evangelist said, "as the sun," since this star is familiar to us, and is in excess of all the remaining stars. But, as I was saying, such and so great a one desired a harlot. Did God desire a harlot? Yes, I mean a harlot of our nature. Did God desire a harlot? And a man, if he desires a harlot, is condemned, but God desires a harlot? Indeed. Again, a man desires a harlot, so that he may become a harlot. God desires a harlot, so that He may make the harlot a virgin; so that the desire of man is the destruction of the one desired: but the desire of God is the salvation of the one desired. Did such and so great a one desire a harlot? And what? That He might become the bridegroom. What does He do? He sends nobody of the servants to her, He does not send an angel to a harlot, He does not send an archangel, He does not send the Cherubim, He does not send the Seraphim; but the Lover Himself arrives. Again, hearing of love, do not think it is sensible. Extract the meanings from the words, like a most excellent bee settling on the flowers, and taking the honeycomb, but leaving the herbs. He desired a harlot; and what does He do? He does not lead her up; for He did not wish to lead a harlot into heaven, but He Himself descends below. Since she could not ascend upwards, He Himself descended below. He comes to the harlot, and is not ashamed; He comes to her hut. He sees her drunken. And how does He come? Not in the bare essence, but He becomes what the harlot was; not in intent, but in nature He becomes this, so that, having seen Him, she might not be terrified, so that she might not jump away, so that she might not flee. He comes to the harlot, and becomes man. And how does He become? He is carried in a womb, increases little by little, and travels the path of my age. Who? The economy, not the divinity; 396 the form of the slave, not that of the Master; my flesh, not that essence of His; it increases little by little, and is mingled with men. And yet He finds her full of sores, brutalized, burdened by demons; and what does He do? He approaches her. She saw and fled. He calls the Magi. Why do you fear? I am not a judge, but a physician. "I did not come to judge the world, but to save the world" (John 12.47). He calls the Magi straightway. Oh, new and paradoxical things! The first-fruits are straightway the Magi. He lies in a manger who supports the world, and He is swaddled who sustains all things. The temple lies there, and God dwells within. And the Magi come, and worship straightway; a tax-collector comes, and becomes an evangelist; a harlot comes, and becomes a virgin; a Canaanite woman comes, and enjoys philanthropy. This is of a Lover, not to exact the penalties of sins, but to forgive the misdeeds of transgressions. And what does He do? He takes her, He marries her. And what does He give her? A ring. What kind? The Holy Spirit. Paul says: "He who establishes us with you is God, who also sealed us, and gave the earnest of the Spirit" (2 Cor. 1.21, 22). He gives her the Spirit. Then He says: "Did I not plant you in paradise?" She says: "Yes." "And how did you fall from there?" "The devil came, and threw me out of paradise." You were planted in paradise, and he threw you out; behold, I plant you in Myself, I support you. How? He does not dare to approach Me. Neither do I lead you into heaven; but greater here than heaven; in Myself, the Master of heaven, I support you. A shepherd supports, and the wolf comes no longer; indeed, I rather permit him to approach. And He supports our nature; and the devil approaches, and is defeated. "I planted you in Myself." For this reason He says, "I am the vine, you the branches" (John 15.5); and He planted her in Himself. And what then? "But I am a sinner," she says, "and unclean." Do not be concerned, I am a physician. I know My vessel, I know how it was perverted. It was clay before this, and it was perverted. I remodel it through the laver of regeneration, and I hand it over to the fire. For see: He took dust from the earth, and made man; He molded him. The devil came, he perverted him. He Himself came, took him again, bridged him over, re-smelted him in the baptism, but He did not let the body be clay, but He made it earthen. He handed the clay over to the fire of the Spirit: "He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit, and with fire" (Matt. 3.11); with water, so that it might be remodeled; with fire, so that it might be solidified. For this reason the Prophet, prophesying from above, said: "As vessels of a potter you will dash them" (Ps. 2.9). He did not say, as earthen vessels, which everyone possesses; for those are vessels of a potter which the potter works on the wheel; but the vessels of the potter are clay, but ours are earthen. Predicting therefore the re-smelting through baptism, "As vessels," he says, "of a potter you will dash them." He remodels, he says, and smelting occurs. I descend into the baptism, and my shape is remodeled, and the fire of the Spirit re-smelts it, and it becomes earthen. And that the words are not empty boasting, hear Job: "He made us clay" (Job 10.9); and Paul: "Having this treasure in earthen vessels" (2 Cor. 4.7). But see the strength of the earthenware. For it has not been fired by fire.

the treasures of royalty? For what can a royal pearl ever do that is equal to the words of the Apostle? Add countless diadems to the dead, and they will not be awakened; but one word that went forth from the Apostle led rebellious nature back, and restored it to its pristine state. ^B *Having this treasure* (2 Cor. 4:7). O treasure, which is not merely guarded, but which guards the house in which it is stored! Have you understood what I have said? The kings of the earth and the princes, when they have treasures, build great houses, by which I mean walls, bolts, doors, guards, locks, so that the treasure may be guarded; but Christ did the opposite; He placed the treasure not in a stone vessel, but in an earthen one. If the treasure is great, why is the vessel weak? But the vessel is weak for this reason: because the treasure is great; for it is not guarded by the vessel, but it itself guards the vessel. I place the treasure; who can steal it? The devil came; the world came; ten thousand men came, and they did not steal the treasure. The vessel was scourged, and the treasure was not surrendered. It was submerged in the sea, and did not suffer shipwreck. It died, and the treasure remains. He therefore gave the earnest-money. Where now are those who blaspheme against the majesty of the Spirit? Pay close attention. *He who confirms us with you in Christ is God, who also gave the earnest of the Spirit* (2 Cor. 1:21). You all know that the earnest is a small part of the whole; hear how. Someone goes to buy a house at a great price, and says: "Give me an earnest for a guarantee." Someone goes to take a wife, and negotiates about the dowry and the assets, and says: "Give me an earnest." Attend: in the auction of a slave there is an earnest, and likewise in all business dealings. Since, therefore, Christ was entering into covenants with us (for He was going to take me as a bride), He writes me a dowry, not of money, but of blood. He writes me a dowry of the gift of good things, *which eye has not seen, and ear has not heard, and which have not entered into the heart of man* (1 Cor. 2:9). In the dowry, therefore, He inscribed immortality, the chorus with the angels, immunity from death, freedom from sin, inheritance of the kingdom (the riches are vast), justice, sanctification, deliverance from the present, the acquisition of the future. The dowry given to me was great. ^C Attend carefully: see what He does. He came to take the harlot—I call her so because she was impure—so that you might learn the love of the bridegroom. He came, He took me, He wrote me a dowry. He says: "I give you my riches." How? "Have you lost," He says, "paradise? Take it. Have you lost," He says, "your form? Take it. Take all of these things." Truly, my dowry is not given to me here, He says. He inscribed for me in the dowry the resurrection of the bodies and incorruption. For to resurrection does not necessarily follow incorruption, but these two were present. But indeed many have risen, and have died again: just as Lazarus and the bodies of the saints. But here it is not the same; rather, He promises resurrection, incorruption, dances with the angels, the meeting of the Son in the clouds, *And so we shall always be with the Lord* (1 Thess. 4:17), freedom from death, freedom from sin, the submersion of destruction. What is that? *Eye has not seen, nor ear heard, nor has it entered into the heart of man, the things which God has prepared for those who love him* (1 Cor. 2:9). "Yes," He says, "here I betroth you, here love me." Why do you not give me the dowry here? "When you come to my Father, when you come into the royal courts." Did I come to you, or did you come to me? I came not that you should remain here, but that I might take you up, and ascend. Do not look for the dowry here; all is in hope, all is in faith. "Do you give me nothing here?" He answers: "Take the earnest, so that you may believe me concerning the future; take the pledges, take the betrothal gifts." For this reason Paul says, *I have betrothed you* (2 Cor. 11:2).

As betrothal gifts God has given us the present good things; the betrothal gifts and the pledges ^D are the present things: the whole dowry remains there. How? I will say. Here I grow old, there I do not grow old; here I die, there I do not die; here I suffer, there I do not; here there is poverty, and sickness, and snares, there is nothing of the kind; here there is darkness and light, there is only light; here there are snares, there is freedom; here there is sickness, there is health; here there is a life that has an end, there is a life that has no term; here there is sin, there is justice, but sin is nowhere; here there is envy, there is nothing like it. "These you give me," He says. "Wait, so that your fellow servants may also be saved: wait." *He who confirms us,* gave us an earnest. What earnest? The Holy Spirit, the gift of the Holy Spirit. But I am speaking of the Spirit. He gave a ring to the apostles, saying: "Take, and give to all." Is the ring cut into parts? It is cut into parts, and yet it is not divided; it is cut into parts, and yet it is not consumed. Learn the gift of the Spirit. Peter received, and Paul also received the Holy Spirit. He went round the world, he was freeing sinners from sin: he was raising the lame, clothing the naked, raising the dead, cleansing lepers, stopping the mouth of the devil, suffocating demons, he was talking with God, he planted the Church, he tore down temples, he overturned altars, he dissolved malice, he planted virtue, he made men into angels. He went round—just like one winged—Paul, with one mouth the world. And when I say the whole, I mean the earth, as much of it as the sun looks upon, the sea, the islands, the mountains, the glens, and

^A coils. He went about like a winged Paul, struggling with his mouth alone, the tent-maker, he who handled a chisel and stitched hides; and this craft was no hindrance to virtue, but the tent-maker was stronger than demons, the unlearned man more philosophical than the philosophers. Whence? He had received the pledge, he bore the ring and carried it about. All saw that the King had betrothed our nature; the demon saw, and retreated; his clothing was seen, and he fled. O the power of the Spirit! He gave authority not to the soul, not to the body, but even to the garment; not to the garment alone, but even to the shadow. Peter went about, and his shadow routed diseases, drove away demons, and raised the dead. Paul went about the world, cutting off the thorns of impiety, casting the seeds of piety, like an excellent plowman holding the plow of doctrine. And to whom did he come? To Thracians, to Scythians, to Indians, to Moors, to Sardians, to Goths, to wild beasts, and he changed all things. Whence? From the pledge. How did he suffice for these things? By the grace of the Spirit. An unlearned man, naked, barefoot; he who gave the pledge of the Spirit. Therefore he says: “And for these things who is sufficient? But our sufficiency is from God, who also made us sufficient ministers of the New Testament, not of the letter, but of the Spirit” (2 Cor. 3:5). Behold what the Spirit did: He found the earth full of demons, and he made it a heaven. Do not think of present things, but take them up in your mind. Then there was lamentation, then everywhere were altars, everywhere smoke, everywhere savory offerings, everywhere filth, everywhere rites, everywhere sacrifices, everywhere demons reveling, everywhere the citadel of the devil, everywhere impurity crowned; and Paul was one. How was he not submerged? How was he not torn apart? How did he open his mouth? He entered into the Thebaid, and took captives. He entered into the royal courts, and made the king a disciple. He entered into the tribunal, and the judge says to him: “In a little you persuade me to become a Christian” (Acts 26:28); and the judge became a disciple. He entered into the prison, and took the jailer (Acts 16). He departed to an island of barbarians, and made the viper a teacher (Acts 28). He departed to the Roman people, and drew the senate to him. He departed to rivers, he departed to desert places everywhere in the world. Neither land nor sea is devoid of his achievements; for he gave the pledge of the ring, and having given the pledge, he says: “Some things I already give to you, and some I promise.” Therefore the Prophet says to her: “The queen stood at your right hand in golden-embroidered clothing” (Ps. 44:9). He does not say clothing, but virtue. Therefore Scripture says elsewhere: “How did you enter here not having a wedding garment?” (Matt. 22:12). So it does not speak of a garment, but of impurity, and of a filthy and unclean practice. Just as dirty garments are sin, so golden ones are virtue. But this garment was the King’s; He Himself gave her a garment; for she was naked, naked and behaving indecently. “The queen stood at your right hand in golden-embroidered clothing.” He does not say garments, but virtue; he did not say “in gold.” Pay attention, for the word itself has much nobility of thought. ^B He did not say “in gold,” but “golden-embroidered” (diachryson). Hear intelligently. A golden garment is entirely gold; but a golden-embroidered one has parts that are gold, and parts that are silk. Why then did he not say that the bride wears a golden garment, but a golden-embroidered one? Pay close attention. He speaks of the conduct of the Church, which is varied. For since we are not all of one life, but one practices virginity, another widowhood, another piety; the garment of the Church is the conduct of the Church.

15. Since, then, our Master knew that if He had set one way, many would be lazy, He established varied ways. Can you not enter through virginity? Enter through monogamy. Can you not through monogamy? Then even through second marriage. Can you not enter through self-control? Enter through almsgiving. Can you not through almsgiving? Enter through fasting. Can you not do this one? Come to that one. Can you not do that one? Come to this one. Therefore He did not show the garment to be golden, but golden-embroidered. Either it is silk, or it is purple, or it is gold. Can you not be gold? Become silk. I accept you, as long as you are in the garment. Therefore also Paul: “If anyone builds upon this foundation, gold, silver, precious stones” (1 Cor. 3:12). Can you not be a precious stone? Become gold. Can you not be gold? Become silver, only be on the foundation. And again elsewhere: “There is one glory of the sun, and another glory of the moon, and another glory of the stars” (1 Cor. 15:41). Can you not be the sun? Become the moon. Can you not be the moon? Become a star. Cannot be a great star? Become even a small one, only in the heaven. Can you not be a virgin? Marry with self-control, only in the Church. Can you not be without possessions? Show mercy, only in the Church, only in the garment, only under the queen. Golden-embroidered is the garment, varied is the garment. I do not shut the way to you; for the abundance of virtues has made the administration of the King easy. “Clothed in golden-embroidered clothing, adorned” (Ps. 44:10). Varied is her garment; and if you wish, unfold the depth of the word spoken, and look at the golden-embroidered garment. For here, some are monks, and others practice an honorable marriage, not falling far behind them; and some are monogamous, and others are widows flourishing in age. Why a paradise? Why varied? Having various flowers, and trees, and many pearls. Many are the stars, but one is the sun; many the lives, but one the paradise; ^C many the temples, but one the mother. One part is the body, another the eyes, another the finger, but all are one. For the same is the small, and the great, and the lesser. The virgin has need of the married woman; for the virgin is from marriage, so that she may not despise marriage. The virgin is the root of marriage. Everything is connected, the small things to the great, and the great things to the small. “The queen stood at your right hand, clothed in golden-embroidered garment, adorned.” Finally, “Hear, O daughter” (Ps. 44:10). The escort says as you are about to go out to the bridegroom, who surpasses your essence, who surpasses your nature. I am the escort. “Hear, O daughter.” Was the woman made immediately? Yes; for it is nothing bodily. For as He betrothed her as a wife, and loves her as a daughter, and provides for her as a handmaid, and keeps her as a virgin, and as...

fences it in like a wall, serves it like a limb, provides for it like a head, makes it bud like a root, feeds it like a shepherd, weds it like a bridegroom, forgives it like a propitiatory, is sacrificed like a lamb, preserves the bride in beauty like a bridegroom, and provides for it like a husband. There are many varied meanings, so that we may enjoy even the smallest part of the dispensation. Hear, O daughter, and see and contemplate the nuptial and spiritual affairs. ^A Hear, O daughter. She was first a daughter of demons, a daughter of the earth, unworthy of the very soil; and now she has been made a daughter of the king. Her lover willed this. For he who loves does not look for form; love does not regard deformity—and that is why it is called *Eros*, because it often loves the deformed. So too did Christ: He saw her deformed (for I would not call her beautiful) and He loved her; and He makes her new, so that she has neither spot nor wrinkle. O bridegroom, adorning the deformity of the bride! ^B Hear, O daughter, hear and see. He says two things: "Hear and see." These two things are from you; the former from your eyes, the latter from your ears. Since, therefore, her dowry was in the hearing (if any of you have a sharper foresight, let them wait for the weaker ones—I praise you for being first, and I forgive those who follow), since her dowry was in the hearing (what does this mean, "in hearing"? In faith; for "faith comes from hearing" [Rom. 10:17]; in faith, not in fruition, nor in total experience), I said before that He divided her dowry into two parts, and gave some things to her as a pledge, while promising other things for the future time. What did He give her? Remission of sins, forgiveness of punishment, righteousness, sanctification, redemption, the Lord's body, the divine and spiritual table, the resurrection of the dead. These things, indeed, the apostles all had. Therefore, He gave some things and promised others: some were in experience and fruition, others in hope and faith. ^C Hear again. What did He give? Baptism, the sacrifice. These are in experience. But see: what did He promise? The resurrection of bodies, incorruption, union with the angels, dancing with the archangels, life in His own company, the immortal life, the good things "which eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, which God hath prepared for them that love Him" [1 Cor. 2:9]. Therefore I labor, that you may understand. Her dowry, then, was divided into two parts: in the present and in the future; in things perceived by sight and things perceived by hearing; in things given and things believed; in things of experience and in things of fruition; in things of the present life and things after the resurrection. These you see, those you hear. See, therefore, what He says to her, so that she might not think that she had received only these—even though they were great and ineffable, and surpassed all understanding. Hear, O daughter, and see; hear those things, and see these; so that you might not say: "Again in hope? Again in faith? Again in the future?" And see: I give some things, I promise others; therefore accept these as hope, but accept these as pledges, accept these as an earnest, accept these as proof. "I promise you a kingdom": believe from what is present, believe Me. ^D You promise me a kingdom? Yes. I gave you that which was greater, namely the Lord of the kingdom, "Who spared not His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all; how shall He not also with Him give us all things?" [Rom. 8:32]. Do you give the resurrection of bodies? Yes. I gave you that which was greater. What is that? That you might be freed from sin. How is that greater? Because sin begat death. Shall I kill the mother and not kill the son? Have I dried up the root and shall I not take away the fruit? Hear, O daughter, and see. What should I see? The dead raised, the lepers cleansed, the sea restrained, the paralytic restored to strength, paradise opened, loaves distributed in abundance, sins remitted, the lame leaping up, the robber made a citizen of paradise, the publican changed into an evangelist, the harlot become more chaste than a virgin. Hear and see. Hear those things, see these. Take proof from the present regarding those things also—I have given you sure pledges: these are better than those. What, then, will you say? "These are mine." Hear, O daughter, and see. These are the dowry. What does the bride bring? Let us see. And you should bring something too. What might you bring, so as not to remain without a dowry? What could I bring from the altars, from the smoke, from the demons? What do I have to bring? What? Your will and faith. Hear, O daughter, and see. What would you have me do? "Forget also thine own people" [Ps. 44:11]. Which people? Demons, idols, smoke, incense, blood. And see, "and forget also thine own people, and thy father's house." Leave your father, and come to Me. I left My Father, and came to you; and you will not leave your father? But that [concerning Him], "I left," is spoken of the Son, do not understand it as if He [truly] left. I conformed Myself to you, I used the dispensation, I assumed flesh. This is for the bridegroom, this is for the bride, that we should leave parents and be joined to one another. Hear, O daughter, and see, "and forget also thine own people, and thy father's house." What do you give me, if I forget? "So shall the king greatly desire thy beauty" [Ibid. v. 12]. You have the Lord as a lover. If you have that lover, you surely have what is His: if, however, you can understand what has been said; for the sentiment is subtle; and I wish to sew up the tongue of the Jews.

The beauty of the body proceeds from nature; that of the soul from virtue. But pay attention here: for whether one hears or not, I am digging, I am cutting the earth with the plow. Hear, O daughter, and see, "and forget also thine own people, and thy father's house, and the king shall greatly desire thy beauty." The Jew understands this beauty, which moves the senses; not the spiritual, but the corporeal. What is beauty, and what is spiritual? There is a soul, there is a body, they are two substances; there is the beauty of the body, and there is the beauty of the soul. What is the beauty of the body? Extended eyebrows, the smiling grace of the eyes, a blushing cheek, lips of crimson color, an erect neck, hair gently flowing, long fingers, an upright stature, blooming whiteness. This beauty of the body is produced either by nature or by will. It is acknowledged, however, to proceed from nature. Pay attention, that you may learn the thoughts of the philosophers. This beauty, whether of the face, or of the eyes, or of the hair, or of the forehead, comes from nature, and from—

...or by choice? It is evident that it comes from nature. For that which is without form, even if it uses countless arts, cannot become beautiful as far as the body is concerned; for the things of nature are fixed, bound by limits, and cannot be changed. Therefore, what is beautiful is always beautiful, even if it has no artifice; and that which is without form cannot make itself beautiful, nor can the beautiful make itself ugly. Why? Because these things belong to nature. You have seen, then, bodily beauty: let us lead [our discourse] within, to the soul; to the handmaid that belongs to the mistress. Let us lead it to the soul. Behold that beauty, or rather hear of it; for you cannot see it, since it is invisible. Hear of that beauty. What, then, is the beauty of the soul? Temperance, gentleness, almsgiving, love, brotherly affection, tenderness, obedience to God, fulfillment of the law, justice, contrition of mind. These are the beauties of the soul. These things, then, are not of nature, but of choice. And he who has them not, can obtain them; and he who has them, if he becomes slothful, has lost them. For just as I said regarding the body, that the ugly cannot become beautiful, so with the soul I say the opposite: that the ugly soul can become beautiful. For what was more ugly than the soul of Paul, when he was a blasphemer and a persecutor? And what was more beautiful than he, when he said, "I have fought the good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith" (2 Tim. 4:7)? What was more ugly than the soul of the thief? And what became more beautiful than it, when he obeyed: "Amen I say to thee, this day thou shalt be with me in paradise" (Luc. 23:43)? What was more ugly than the tax-collector, when he was plundering? And what more beautiful than he, when he gave his own judgment? You see that you cannot change the beauty of the body; for it is not of choice, but of nature. But the beauty of the soul is provided to us from our choice. You have received the definitions. Which ones? That the beauty of the soul comes from obedience to ^B God. For if the ugly soul obeys God, it puts off its ugliness and becomes beautiful. "Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou me?" He answered, "And who art thou, Lord?" "I am Jesus." And he obeyed, and obedience made the ugly soul beautiful. Again, He says to the tax-collector, "Come, follow me." And the tax-collector arose, and became an apostle; the ugly soul became beautiful. Whence? From obedience. Again, He says to the fishermen, "Come after me, and I will make you to be fishers of men" (Matth. 4:19); and from obedience their mind became beautiful. Let us see here what kind of beauty He speaks of. "Hearken, O daughter, and see, and incline thy ear, and forget thy people, and thy father's house, and the king shall desire thy beauty" (Ps. XLIV, 11). What beauty shall he desire? The spiritual one. Whence? Because she forgot [her people]. He says, "Hearken, therefore, and forget." These things are of choice. "Hearken," He said. The ugly one hearkens, and this ugliness, the one of the body, is not dissolved. Say to the sinner, "Hearken," and if he obeys, you will see what her beauty is. Since, therefore, the ugliness of the bride was not natural, but voluntary (for she did not listen to God, but transgressed), for this reason He leads her with another medicine. You became ugly, then, not from nature, but from choice; and you became beautiful from obedience. "Hearken, O daughter, and see, and incline thy ear, and forget thy people, and thy father's house, and the king shall desire thy beauty." Then, so that you may learn that He speaks of nothing sensible, when you hear of beauty, do not think of an eye, or a nose, or a mouth, or even a neck, but of reverence, faith, love, the things within: "For all the glory of the daughter of the king is from within" (Ps. XLIV, 14). For all these things, let us give thanks to God, the Giver, for to Him alone belongs honor, glory, and dominion for ever and ever. Amen.

MONITUM ON THE HOMILY WITH SATURNINUS AND AURELIANUS, ETC.

^C That this homily should be attached to the two previous ones concerning Eutropius, the very sequence of events persuades us. For when Gainas, after having obtained the ruin and destruction of Eutropius, partly by force and partly by guile, was becoming more insolent day by day, he reached such a pitch of impudence that, equipped with arms and troops, he demanded the heads of Saturninus and Aurelianus, who were prominent among the nobles of the empire, and threatened that he would not lay down his arms unless this condition were met. But the Emperor Arcadius, who, because of his indolence and fear, was vulnerable to any injury, not daring to deny a matter however indignantly, was about to hand over such great men to death; had not Chrysostom, as the common father of all, approached Gainas in this way—walking about, as it is said, exhorting, beseeching, supplicating, that he might... ^D

HOMILY COMPARED WHEN SATURNINUS AND AURELIANUS HAD BEEN SENT INTO EXILE, AND GAINAS HAD DEPARTED THE CITY; AND CONCERNING AVARICE.

1. I have been silent for a long time, and after a long time I have returned to your love; but not through any sloth or sluggishness of body, but by calming the tumults, lulling the waves, and correcting the winter—