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?