A consideration of the circumstances of his affairs. And so he said: *The fear which I feared has come upon me, and the danger which I dreaded has met me* (Job 3.25). For he always kept [his attention] fixed upon that fear in his thoughts, covering himself with it, hoping and awaiting; therefore, when it had arrived, it did not disturb him. *I did not have peace, nor did I have rest, but wrath came upon me* (Job 3.26). He did not say, "I do not have peace, nor do I have rest," in the present tense, but, "I did not have rest," in the past tense. For even if the prosperity of his affairs encouraged arrogance, the expectation of sad things did not allow me to rest. Although the abundance of his possessions strongly urged him to delight, the harshness of the things that were expected banished security; and although the present happiness compelled him to enjoy his circumstances, the concern for the future nevertheless interrupted the pleasure. Therefore, because he had foreseen these future events while meditating in his own mind upon his prosperous affairs, he bore these struggles bravely and spiritedly after they happened, being already long since exercised for them; and because he had already apprehended them in that expectation, he was not disturbed when he saw them at hand. B But that he did not become strongly attached to them even when the joyous things were present, hear what he says: *If I have rejoiced when many riches flowed to me, if I have set gold as my strength, if I have placed my trust in precious stones, if I have put my hand to countless things* (Job 31.24–25). What do you say, man? You did not rejoice when riches flowed to you? By no means, he says. Why so? Because I saw their unstable and fleeting nature; I saw that the possession was not durable. For I see, he says, the sun rising and failing, the moon waning; for they are not [independently] in control of themselves (Ib. v.26). What he says is of this kind. If the stars which are in the heavens and shine perpetually receive some mutation—namely, the sun failing and the moon waning—is it not of extreme madness to consider earthly things as stable and fixed? And so he was neither greatly delighted by the present, nor vehemently saddened by their departure, because he knew well the nature of those things. Hearing these things, beloved, let us not be cast down by poverty, nor puffed up by riches; but keeping our soul immutable amid the permutation of affairs, let us reap the fruit of philosophy, that we may both enjoy pleasure here and attain future blessings; which may it be granted to us all to obtain, by the grace and kindness of our Lord Jesus Christ.
MONITUM
We possess these minor works in Latin only; for the Greek texts are either entirely lost or lie hidden somewhere. That they are genuine, however, is suggested both by the sequence of the matters and affairs discussed, and by the style itself. All learned men likewise admit that they are genuine, except for one recent author who, as Tillemont observes (p. 586), denied they were genuine, and yet later, forgetful of his words, counted them among the authentic works; he indeed achieved the result that we care no more for his denial than for his assertion. C The first homily was given by Chrysostom on the day after he had returned to Constantinople from Asia. He had undertaken the journey into Asia in order to settle the disputes of the Ephesian Church and to depose simoniacal bishops, which he also accomplished; being absent for more than a hundred days, as he himself says at the beginning, he had left behind a great longing for himself among the people who loved him exceedingly. The Constantinopolitans had hoped, at the very least, that he would return to celebrate Pascha with them; this, however, they were unable to achieve. Having returned after Pascha, he consoles them and says that it can be celebrated daily: "For we celebrate Pascha," he says, "whenever, by partaking of the body and blood of Christ, we proclaim the death of the Lord." Throughout the whole homily, he congratulates the people for the good order, faith, and charity kept and exhibited both in his presence and during his absence. The following minor oration was given by Chrysostom on this occasion. Severianus, bishop of Gabala, who D