Chapter VII: Part I: The King’s Highway (3)

But some one might reasonably say that, if the Gospel is bound to conquer, and the Cross needs no eloquence, that it may not be proved vain, why is it that miracles have now ceased? Why is it? Do you speak as an unbeliever, and not receive those which took place in the case of the Apostles, or do you honestly seek to learn? If as an unbeliever, then I will first direct myself to this. Now, if miracles did _not_ take place then, how did they make themselves heard, standing up against whole peoples and speaking such things, driven about as they were, pursued, in fear, in chains; one and all an object of hatred to the world; at the mercy of everyone’s ill-treatment; having nothing attractive of their own—neither eloquence, nor fame, nor riches, nor city, nor nationality, nor family, nor career, nor reputation, nor any one of these things, but just the reverse of them all, an illiterate and sorry condition, poverty, hatred, and enmity? Their injunctions also entailed much hardship and their teaching many dangers, and the hearers too who were to be persuaded were given up to much feasting and drunkenness and vice. Now, tell me, whence their power of persuasion, whence their titles of credence? As I was saying, if they _did_ gain men without miracles, the wonder appears very much greater. Therefore do not conclude that because there are no miracles now there were none then. It was to the point, both that they took place then and that they do not take place now. Persuasion by word alone now is no security that the Gospel lies in the possession of wisdom. For they who in the beginning were sowers of the Word were uncultured and ignorant, and they spoke nothing of themselves, but they gave to the world that which they had received from God; now, we also spread abroad not our own inventions, but we speak to all what we have received from them. We do not persuade by arguments now but by Holy Scripture, and the signs which then took place inspire us with confidence in what we say. Neither did they persuade by signs alone, but also by discoursing, whilst the signs made their words appear the more powerful together with the testimony of the Old Testament, not the cleverness of what was said. ‘Why,’ you ask, ‘were miracles good then and not now?’ Let us suppose a case, for so far my contest has been directed against a heathen, and therefore I will suppose something that must undoubtedly happen; let us then suppose a case, and let the unbeliever submit to believe, for instance, that Christ will come, even if he take my word for it; well, then, when Christ shall come and all the angels with Him, and He is shown to be God, and all things are under His dominion, will not the heathen too believe? It is evident that he will fall down in adoration and confess Him to be God, however stubborn he may be. Who, indeed, seeing the heavens opened and Christ Himself seated on the clouds, with all the heavenly host surrounding Him, the rivers running fire, all men standing by in great fear, would not worship Him and acknowledge Him as God? Tell me now, shall that worship and knowledge be accounted to the heathen as faith? By no means. For it is _not_ faith; sheer force produces it, and the manifestation of visible things. It is not a matter of choice, but reason is constrained by the greatness of the vision. Therefore, the more evident and undeniable that which happens is, by so much is faith diminished, and this is why miracles are not worked now. And that it is so, listen to Our Lord’s words to St. Thomas: _Blessed are they who have not seen yet have believed_. Therefore the reward of faith is diminished just in proportion to the greater evidence of the sign, so that if signs took place now the same would follow. In the words, _Now we walk through faith, not through sight_, Paul made it clear that then we shall no longer know Him by faith. Thus, if you believe then, you will not be convinced by the wonder of the thing, so neither would you be now if the same signs took place as of old. Whenever we receive things which are in no sort of way discoverable to anyone by reasoning, that is faith. On this account, too, hell is threatened, but is not apparent, for if it were, the same would be the case here also. Still, if you seek for miracles, you will see them even now, though they are not the same kind of miracles. You will see a thousand prophecies concerning a thousand things, the conversion of the world, the holy life of barbarians, the change of cruel habits, the increase of piety.

‘What prophecies are these?’ you ask. ‘For all that was foretold was written down after the event.’ Tell me when, and where, and by whom, and how long ago? Shall we say it was fifty years ago or a hundred? Therefore a hundred years ago there was nothing at all written down. Then how did the world receive the teaching and all other things, as memory did not suffice? How did they know that Peter was crucified? How after this did it occur to men to foretell such things, for instance, as that the Gospel should be preached in the whole world, that the Jewish dispensation should stop and not come back again? How would those who had staked their lives for the Gospel have borne to see it counterfeited? How were the writers trusted when there were no more miracles? How did those writings penetrate into uncivilised lands, and into India, and even unto the farthest extremities of the ocean, if the speakers were not worthy of faith? Now, who were the writers? When and where did they write? Why did they write? Was it to make themselves famous? Why did they ascribe the Scriptures to others? Were they desirous of embodying a system of doctrine? Then was it true or false? For if they looked upon it as false, there was no pretext for their coming forward at all; but if as true, there was no need of counterfeits, as you truly say. Moreover, the prophecies are such that up to the present day what has been said cannot be restricted by time. If, on the one hand, the destruction of Jerusalem took place many years ago, there are other prophecies dating from the same time which reach up to His coming. Examine these, if you like—as, for instance, _I am with you always, even unto the consummation of time_, and, _Upon this rock I will build My Church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it_; again, _This Gospel shall be preached to all nations_, and the deed of the woman who was a sinner, and many more than these. Now, whence comes the truth of this prophecy if it was an invention? How have the gates of hell not prevailed against the Church? How is Christ always with us? If He were not with us, the Church would not have conquered. How has the Gospel been spread about the whole world? Our adversaries are able to bear witness to the antiquity of our Scriptures—I mean Celsus and his party, and the man of Batavia after him—for they did not contradict what those who came after them put together; moreover, the whole world with one voice has received it. For if it was not the grace of the Spirit, there could not have been so great an unity from end to end of the earth, but the inventors would speedily have been convicted, nor would successes so great have been produced by forgeries and falsehood. Do you not see the whole world coming to meet it, and error extinguished?—the mortification of monks shining brighter than the sun? Do you not see bands of virgins, the piety of barbarians, men all serving under one yoke? Nor are these things foretold by us alone, but first by the prophets. You must not overlook those prophecies of theirs either, for our Scriptures are present to our enemies, and Greeks have set themselves eagerly to translate them into the language of Greece. These prophecies foretell many things, and show that He Who was to come is God.

Now, why do not all men now believe? Because things have been going to the bad, and it is we who are the cause of it. The rest of my discourse is for your benefit. It was not, indeed, through signs only that they then believed, but many were led on by an example of life. _Let your light shine before men_, Our Lord says, _that they may see your good works and glorify your Father Who is in heaven_. And, again, _They all had one heart and one mind, and no man among them called anything his own, but they had all things in common, and to each man was given according to his need_, and their life was an angelical one. And if this were to take place now, we should convert the whole world even without wonder-working. In the meantime, let those who wish to be saved follow the Scriptures: there they will find both these successes and many more besides. For the teachers themselves surpassed those deeds, living their lives in hunger and thirst and nakedness; we, on the contrary, wish to enjoy much feasting, and refreshment, and security. Not so those men who cried out: _Up to the present hour we are in hunger and thirst and nakedness, and are homeless and beaten about_. Some went out from Jerusalem as far as Illyria, one to the Indies, one to the Moors, another to all parts of the earth; we, on the other hand, have not courage to leave even our own country, but seek for luxury, and splendid households, and abundance of every kind. Which of us ever suffered hunger for God’s Word, or went into the desert, or took a long journey for it? What teacher living by his hands has come to the help of others? Who has encountered death day after day? Hence our people are growing softer. For if anyone were to see soldiers and generals wrestling with hunger and thirst, and death, and every possible evil, and bearing cold and dangers with the fortitude of lions, and conquering; and if, after this, he were to see them giving up their life of heroism, becoming faint-hearted, loving money, absorbed in their own affairs and business, and then defeated by their enemies, it would be extreme folly to seek for the reason. Let us apply this to ourselves and our forefathers, for we have grown weaker than anyone else, and we are nailed to this present life. Even if a man be found with a trace of the old mortification, who leaves the city and the market-place, and the thick of the fray, and the ordering of others, and flies to the mountain, and if anyone ask why he retires, he will discover no sound reason for it. He says: ‘I withdraw that I may not perish, and that I may not become weak in goodness’. How much better it would be that you _should_ grow weaker and gain others, than remain on the heights and see your brethren perishing. Now, when some neglect goodness, and others who _do_ care for it are withdrawn from their rank in the fight, how shall we gain our enemies? If signs took place now, who would be convinced? Or who of those without would attach himself to us whilst vice is so apparent? An upright life on our part seems to the multitude more convincing. For signs from shameless and bad men arouse a suspicion of evil, but a pure life is able to shut the devil’s mouth with great force. These things I say both to rulers and ruled, and to myself, before all, in order that we may show forth an admirable life, and, forming ourselves into battle array, may disregard all present things. Let us despise money, and not despise hell; think little of fame, but not little of our salvation; let us endure struggles and labours here, that there we may not encounter chastisement. Thus let us fight the heathen, thus let us take them prisoners in a captivity which is better than freedom. But we talk persistently and often about these things, and scarcely ever do them. However, whether we do them or not, it is right always to insist upon them. For if some cheat through fine words, how much more should those who are leading others to the truth not weary of speaking what is due. For if cheaters make use of these tactics—for they lay up money, and bring arguments to bear, and encounter dangers, and make their power felt—how much more should we, who lead men away from deceit, endure dangers, and death, and all things, so that, gaining ourselves and others, and standing invincibly against our adversaries, we may arrive at the promised goods in Christ Jesus our Lord, to Whom be glory and power for ever and ever. Amen.

The Secret of our Faith.
(_Homilies on First Epistle to Corinthians_, iii., vol. ii., p. 27.)

· · · · · · ·

Show me, if you can, whether Peter and Paul were scholars. But you cannot; for they were ordinary men and unlettered.[7] Just as Christ, when He sent His disciples out into the world, showed His power first to them in Palestine, saying, _When I sent you without purse, and scrip, and shoes, did you want anything?_ Afterwards He charged them to have a scrip and a purse, and so He did in this case. For that which was aimed at was to show the power of Christ, not that the lack of external accomplishments should cause those who approached to be rejected from the faith. Now, whenever heathens accuse the disciples of being unlearned, let us be even louder than they in our accusations. Let no one say that Paul was skilful, but praising great men amongst them for their skill, and those remarkable for their clever speeches, let us say that all of ours are unlearned. We shall not a little overthrow them on this side too, so brilliant will be the victory. I have said these things because I once heard a Christian making himself ridiculous in discussion with a heathen, and each in their fight against the other destroying his own side. That which the Christian should have said the heathen said, and that which it would have been natural for the heathen to say the Christian put forward. For, Paul and Plato forming the subject of dispute, the heathen, on the one hand, tried to show that Paul was uneducated and unlearned, and, on the other, the Christian, out of simplicity, was all eager to prove that Paul was a better reasoner than Plato. Thus the heathen gained the victory, as this consideration prevailed. For, if Paul _had_ been a better dialectician than Plato, many would naturally have used the argument that he succeeded through his skilful speech rather than by grace. So the Christian’s argument told for the heathen, and the heathen’s for the Christian. For if Paul was untaught and still conquered Plato, as I have said, it was a triumphant victory. The unlearned Paul, taking Plato’s disciples, convinced them and drew them to himself. Hence, it is evident that the Gospel was not preached by human wisdom, but by the grace of God. In order, then, that we may not encounter the same defeat, nor make ourselves ridiculous when we are thus in discussion with heathens, let us condemn the Apostles as unlearned: this very condemnation is praise. And when they tell us that the Apostles were rustic, let us admit and confess that they were untaught, and unlearned, and poor, and needy, and unintelligent, and obscure. This is no blasphemy of the Apostles, but their glory, that, being what they were, they appeared more famous than the whole world. Those very unlearned, rustic, untaught men beat down men wise in their conceits, powerful men, tyrants, men who were enjoying riches and glory and all outward goods, as if they had not been men at all. Whence it is clear that the power of the Cross was great, and that it was not through human strength that these things took place. They do not, indeed, come from nature at all, but that which was accomplished was above nature. Whenever something takes place which is above nature, and very much above it, and is also opportune and good, it is evident that it happens by a certain divine power and co-operation. For, consider—a fisherman, a tent-maker, a publican, an unlearned man, and an untaught man, coming from their outlandish province of Palestine, drove out from their own stronghold philosophers, and orators, and rhetoricians, and overcame them in a short time in the midst of many dangers, peoples and kings resisting them, nature itself being adverse: inveterate custom, force of habit, fighting them to the teeth: evil spirits armed against them: the devil in agitation setting all things in motion—monarchies, and rulers, and democracies, and nations, and cities, barbarians, heathens, philosophers, orators, sophists, lawmakers, laws, tribunals, every sort of chastisement, and manifold deaths. And yet all these things were overcome, and gave way at the voice of fishermen, just as a little dust which is unable to resist the force of strong winds. Let us learn, therefore, so to speak with the heathens as not to be like a herd of sheep or cattle, but let us be prepared to prove the hope which is in us. And, meanwhile, let us insist on the chief point, which is no small one, and say to them, How was it that the weak circumvented the strong, that twelve men conquered the world, not in the strength of their own weapons, but in their nakedness fighting armed men? For, say, if twelve men, inexperienced in war, breaking in upon a huge array of armed warriors, not only weaponless themselves, but feeble in body, were to suffer nothing at their hands, and were to escape scatheless from a thousand missiles, and, standing in their midst with unprotected bodies, were to put them all to flight, not using weapons, but fighting with their hands, slaying some and taking others into captivity, and not receiving a scratch themselves, nor reached by a thousand blows aimed at them—who would ascribe this to man alone? Yet the victory of the Apostles was far more wonderful than this. For it is much more stupendous that an unlearned man, an untaught man, and a fisherman should circumvent so much cleverness, than that an unarmed man should come scatheless out of the fight: that they should be held back neither by their small numbers nor their poverty, nor by dangers, nor by force of habit, nor by the difficulty of the enterprise which they had undertaken, nor by death looking them daily in the face, nor by the multitude of those deceived, nor by the fame of deceivers.

In like manner, then, let us overthrow them, and fight against them, and let us strike them down rather by our life than by arguments. For this is the great strife, and the most unanswerable argument is that of works, since we may philosophise with our tongues in a thousand ways, and yet if we show not forth a better life than theirs, we gain nothing whatever. They do not give heed to our reasonings, but take note of what we do, and they say, ‘First yield obedience to your own words, and then advise others. If you speak of the innumerable goods of the next world, and yet seem to be given up to present ones, as if those others did not exist, your deeds are more convincing to me than your words. For when I see you seizing others’ property, grieving inordinately over the dead, committing many other sins, how can I believe you when you tell me that there is a resurrection?’ Even if they do not put this into words, they think it, and bear it in their minds. And this it is which prevents infidels from becoming Christians. Let us, then, lead them by our life. Many illiterate men have thus struck down the mind of philosophers, by showing them the philosophy of works, sending forth a voice louder than a trumpet through their own manner of life and conduct: this voice is indeed much more powerful than the tongue. Whenever I say that it is not lawful to bear malice to anyone, and then injure a heathen in a thousand ways, how shall I be able to persuade him by my words since I frighten him away by my deeds? Let us, therefore, catch them by our daily life, and build up the Church through these souls, and collect this wealth. Nothing whatsoever is of so much worth as a soul, not even the whole world. If you should give thousands of pounds to the poor, you do nothing in comparison to the one who converts a soul. _He who makes an honourable man out of a worthless one shall be as My mouth_, God says. Compassion for the poor is also a great good, but it is nothing compared to withdrawing a soul from error; the man who does this becomes like Peter and Paul. For we may point out the Gospel which they preached; not that we be imperilled as they were, and have hunger and pestilence and other evils to endure, for this is a time of peace, but so that we may show forth the zeal of a willing spirit. _This_ fishing may, indeed, be carried out by those who sit at home. If any man have a friend, or relation, or servant, this let him do and say, and he will become like Peter and Paul. And why do I say Peter and Paul? He will be the mouth of Christ. For _he who makes an honourable_ _man out of a worthless one shall be as My mouth_, He says. If you should not persuade to-day, you will to-morrow, and, even if you never persuade at all, you will have the full reward. And if you cannot persuade all, you can persuade a few out of many, since the Apostles themselves did not convince all the men of their day; but still they conversed with them all, and have the reward for all. For God is wont to bestow His crowns, not according to what is accomplished by good deeds, but according to the intention of those who do them. If you put down only two mites He receives them, and He will do for those who teach what He did for the widow. Therefore, because you are not able to save the world, do not despise the few, nor turn away from small things in your desire for great things. If you cannot give a hundred, look after the ten; and if you cannot give ten, do not despise the five; and if five are beyond you, do not overlook the one; and if you cannot even give the one, do not lose courage, and do not neglect your part.

· · · · · · ·

The Victory of Our Faith.
(_Homilies on St. Matthew_, lxxv., vol. ii., p. 376.)

· · · · · · ·

We may wonder the more at the power of Christ, and at the courage of the Apostles, because they were announcing the Gospel at the very time when everything Jewish was particularly attacked, and the Jews were proscribed as seditious, and the Roman emperor commanded their total dispersion. And this happened in a state of things which we may describe in this way. There is a great tempest at sea, the whole atmosphere is wrapped in darkness, wreck follows upon wreck, on board all the sailors are in open rebellion, and from below monsters are darting up, and together with the waves are destroying the men; thunderbolts are falling, pirates attacking, and on board all is mutiny. Suppose that in this extremity anyone should order men who were ignorant of nautical matters, nor even knew the sea, to sit at the rudder, to guide the helm, and to fight their way. And then, in the face of an experienced crew equipped with much labour suppose that these men should use a light boat, in the state of tumult which I have described, and overcome and master it. For as Jews they were hated by the Gentile world, and as the enemies of their own laws they were stoned by the Jews; nowhere was there any standing-ground. Thus, on all sides there were precipices, chasms, and rocks; cities, country-places, dwelling-houses, offered them nothing else; one and all opposed them—commander, and magistrate, and the man in private life, all races and all peoples—and there was a disturbance with which men could not reason. For, indeed, the Jewish race was exceedingly hateful to the Roman rulers, inasmuch as it had caused them trouble in a thousand ways, and yet the Gospel tidings were not prejudiced thereby, but the city itself was ravaged and set on fire, and numberless ills fell upon its inhabitants. Nevertheless the Apostles, going forth from that city, bringing in new laws, mastered even the Romans. Oh, what new and wonderful deeds are these! The Romans at that time subdued countless thousands of Jews, and they did _not_ circumvent twelve poor unarmed men. What words can adequately express this wonder? For there are two things which teachers should possess—the being worthy of confidence and the love of their disciples; and over and above these, that what they say should be well received, and the time in which they say it free from agitation and fear. But then everything was just the reverse. For neither did they appear to be worthy of confidence, and yet they were to detach those whom men, apparently thus worthy, had deceived. They were not loved, but even hated, and they drew men off from those things which they clung to, from habits of life, and from country, and from laws. Moreover, their injunctions were exceedingly hard, but those from which they took men were most pleasant. Many were the dangers and the deaths to be encountered both by them themselves and by those who listened to them; and with all this, the time itself was a time of great trouble, fruitful in wars, tumults, and agitation, so that if there had been no one of the things which we have enumerated, it alone might have upset everything. We may say, pertinently: _Who shall declare the powers of the Lord? who shall set forth all His praises?_ For if the friends of Moses did not listen to him when he spoke with miraculous signs simply because of bricks and clay, who was able to withdraw from an idle life men who day after day are killed and slaughtered, and are suffering intolerable evils? Who was able to make them prefer this insecure life of blood-shedding and death even to the other, the heralds of these tidings being of another race, and on all accounts most hostile? Let a man bring in, not to a race, or city, or people, but into one small household, one who is hated by everybody in it, and let him try hard through that person to withdraw men from those he loves, from father and wife and children, will he not be seen torn to pieces before he opens his mouth? And if he bring to the house contention and strife between husband and wife, will they not take and stone him before he again crosses the threshold? If besides he is contemptible, and yet enjoins disagreeable things, ordering luxurious men to practise an ascetic life; and with all this, if the combat be against men much more numerous and powerful than himself, is it not evident that he is wholly undone? And yet this very thing which it was impossible to do in one household is what Christ has done in the whole world, through precipice and fire, and chasm and rock, with earth and sea fighting against Him, by introducing the healers of the world. And if you wish to learn these things more accurately,—I mean famines, and plagues, and earthquakes, and other visitations,—go over the history of these things as it is contained in Josephus, and you will see it all most clearly. This is why He Himself said: _Be not disturbed, for all things must come about_; and _He who perseveres unto the end shall be saved_; and again, _This Gospel shall be preached throughout the whole world_. For He revives those who are discouraged and drooping for fear at what He has told them, by saying, that whatever happens, the Gospel must be preached in every part of the world, and that then the end will come. Do you see what a state things were in at that time, and how war was everywhere? And this at the outset, when that which is established most especially requires much peace. Now, what was this state? There is no reason why we should not recapitulate the same things. The first war was that of deceivers, for He said: _There shall arise false Christs and false prophets_; the second, that of the Romans: _You are about to hear wars_; the third was that which was to bring in famine; the fourth, that of plagues and earthquakes; the fifth, _They shall give you up to fear_; the sixth, _You shall be hated by all_; the seventh, _They shall traduce and hate each other_; hence clearly civil war; hence false Christs and false brethren; hence _Charity shall grow cold_, which is the cause of all evils without exception. Do you see how war was there in every shape, both novel and marvellous? Still, with all this and much more (for war amongst kindred was added to civil discord), the Gospel tidings took possession of the whole world. _For_, He said, _the Gospel shall be preached in the whole world_.

· · · · · · ·

Marriages as they were and as they are.
(_Homilies on St. Matthew_, lxxiii., vol. ii., p. 355.)

· · · · · · ·

Have you not heard that men and women were assembled together in the upper room, and that that gathering was worthy of heaven? And with reason. The women of those days put in practice a high ascetic life, and men were grave and wise. Listen at least to the seller of purple saying: _If you have judged me to be faithful to the Lord, come unto my house and abide there_. Listen to the women who followed the Apostles about from place to place with the spirit of true men—a Priscilla, and a Persis, and the others—from whom the women of to-day are as far removed as the men are from the men. For then even when going about they gave no scandal, but now, delicately nurtured in their houses, they hardly avoid this suspicion. These scandals arise from people decking themselves out and from luxury. Those women of old made it their business to spread abroad the Gospel tidings: _now_ women’s anxiety is to have fine figures and comely faces. They care no more for their good name than for their salvation; and as to high and great deeds of goodness, they do not even dream of them. What woman shows eagerness to make her husband better? What man is anxious to bring his wife to amendment? Not one; but the wife’s whole anxiety is about jewels and clothes, and the other adornments of the body, and how she may increase her substance; and the husband’s is the same, except that he has many more cares, and they are all worldly cares. Who that is about to marry would inquire into the girl’s manners and education? No one; but he would be particular enough about money and land, and the accurate estimate of her fortune, as if he were going to buy something, or to carry out some low contract. This is why they speak of marriage as a contract. For I have heard many say, ‘Such a man has made a contract with such a girl; that is, he has married’. They trample upon the very gifts of God, and marry and are married, as if they were buyers and sellers. Indeed, deeds require more accuracy than the business of buying and selling. Consider how men married of old, and emulate their example. Now, _how_ did they marry? They enquired about the ways and habits of their bride, and about her goodness of heart. Therefore they had no need of contracts, nor of pen-and-ink settlements; the bride’s character was everything to them. So I admonish you, too, not to look for money and wealth, but for disposition and goodness. Seek out a virtuous and earnest girl, and she will be of more worth to you than thousands of pounds. If you look for the things of God, the other things will come of themselves; but if you pass over the former and insist on the latter, you will not gain even these. But you will say, ‘Such a man became rich through his wife’. Are you not ashamed to bring forward such instances? I have heard many say, ‘I would rather be poor a thousand times over than grow wealthy through my wife’. For what is more unacceptable than that wealth? What is more pungent than that abundance? What is more humiliating than to be the man thus noted and pointed at by everyone as the ‘man who became rich through his wife’. I would set forth the domestic vexations which would of necessity befal this man from his act, viz., his wife’s temper, his state of slavery, their contentions, the scoffs of servants who call him ‘a poor beggar, a nobody sprung from nowhere, for what had he to offer? Did not everything belong to the lady?’ But these words make no impression on you, for you have not an independent spirit. Since toad-eaters, too, have to hear what is still more outrageous, and do not care, so neither are these men troubled, but they glory in their shamelessness, and when we talk to them about it, one of them answers, ‘Let me alone, it is very pleasant; and it can put an end to me for all I care’. Oh! the malice of the devil for making certain sayings commonplaces in life, which are capable of poisoning the whole existence of such men. See, at least, what deadly havoc this one diabolical phrase works; for it says in so many words, ‘Have no care for sobriety or for justice: let everything of the kind be thrown aside, and look only for one thing—pleasure’. Even if this pursuit oppress you, choose it; even if all who meet you spit upon you, and throw mud in your eyes, and drive you about like a dog, bear it. What else could swine say if they had a voice? or unclean dogs? Indeed, often _they_ would not give voice to those things which the devil has induced men to rave about. Therefore I strongly advise those who know the heartlessness of these words to fly from such proverbial sayings, and to confute them by the contrary ones of Holy Scripture. Which are they? _Go not after thy lusts, and turn away from thy own will._ And, again, concerning the harlot, its words are opposed to that other phrase: _Mind not the deceit of a woman. For the lips of a harlot are like a honeycomb dropping, and her throat is smoother than oil. But her end is bitter as wormwood, and sharp as a two-edged sword._ Let us listen to these, and not to those words. For on the latter base-minded and servile men ground their sophistry; hence, in this, men become unreasoning things, in that they elect to seek pleasure everywhere according to the world’s standard, which is despicable even apart from our showing. For after the surfeiting, what is the gain of a sweet taste? Cease, then, from this mirth, and from committing yourselves to hell and the unquenchable fire, and let us look forward as we ought to the things to come, putting off the scales from our eyes, so that we may reach that future life in due time in great piety and contentment, and may gain its good things through the love and kindness of Our Lord Jesus Christ, to Whom be power for ever and ever. Amen.

“Use a Little Wine.”
(_Homilies de Statuis_,[8] xxi., _preached at Antioch_, tom. ii., p. 2.)

· · · · · · ·

Since, therefore, we melt down the gold of the Apostle’s mines, not throwing it into the furnace, but putting it by in the understanding of our soul, not enkindling a flame, but the fire of the Spirit, let us pick up diligently even the tiny shavings. For if the word is brief, its power is great. If the special worth of pearls lies not in their bulk but in their beauty, so is it in the reading of the Divine Scriptures. On the one hand, secular education has a care for much that is trifling, is full of silly talk to its pupils, and sends them away empty-handed, without gain small or great. It is not so with the grace of the Spirit, but just the contrary. By a few words it brings asceticism before all, and often one word is sufficient for the provision of a whole lifetime.

Since we have this wealth before us, let us rouse ourselves, and receive these words with a pure mind. And I am prepared to show that this word (of St. Paul to St. Timothy) contains a great deal. This advice has seemed to many superfluous and trifling, and they make some such remark as, ‘Might not Timothy have known himself how much wine he was to take, without waiting to be told it by his master?’ Now, as the master not only gave the order, but enforced it by letter, as on a metal slab, in the epistle which he wrote to him, was he not ashamed to establish a rule for such things in writing to his disciple? Learn, then, that this advice, far from being superfluous, was necessary and most useful. It is not Paul’s doing, but the grace of the Spirit. I am speaking not only of its having been said, but also of its having been made emphatic in writing, and published by this same epistle to all future generations. I shall come presently to this proof. Together with the remarks I have noted, some people question another and a not less important point, asking themselves why God allowed a man of so great courage, whose bones and body put forth devils, to fall into this great bodily weakness; for he was not merely ill, he was always and persistently ill with illnesses following close upon each other, so as to leave him no breathing time. How do we know this? From Paul’s own words; for he did not say, _because of thy infirmity_, nor thy infirmities alone, but to show that they were constant he said, _thy frequent infirmities_. Let as many as are given up to a long sickness, and are in great distress and weariness, listen to this. Our enquiry does not concern itself only with the fact that, being a holy man, he was sick, or that he was so thus constantly, but that he was entrusted with the concerns of the world. If he had been one of those dwellers on the mountain heights, or bound fast to a tent in the desert, and thus leading a life without business, the question would be less puzzling; but exposed to view as he was, with the cares of churches so great upon him, traversing entire cities and countries, and the whole world itself, with so much readiness, that _he_ should have been given up to the powerlessness of illness, this it is which is the most perplexing of all to a man without reflection; for if not for himself, he wanted his health for others. He was an excellent general: he had waged war, he said, not against unbelievers only, but against demons and the devil himself. All his enemies were fiercely assailing him, dispersing his army, and taking it captive. This man could lead thousands to the truth, and he was sick. If no further harm than this had been done to our work by that illness, a man says, that alone was sufficient to make believers grow more careless and negligent. If soldiers see their general confined to bed, they grow careless and less eager for battle; so it was much more natural that the faithful of those days, seeing the master who worked signs so great constantly ill and weak in his body, should suffer, humanly speaking, at the sight. This is not all; but enquiries go on to something else, and ask again why neither he cured himself, nor his master, who saw him thus prostrated, cured him either; whereas they were raising the dead, and casting out demons, and conquering death with authority, they did _not_ cure this one sick body; and whilst in life and in death they were showing forth a wonderful power in other bodies, they did _not_ restore this ailing stomach. And, what is more, Paul was not ashamed, after wonders so great as he had shown forth, by a mere word writing to Timothy, of advising him to try the remedy of wine-drinking. Not that drinking wine is bad. Far from it. This is what heretics assert; but that he deemed it not beneath him that the cure of one sick member could not be affected without this help. He was so far from being ashamed of this that he made it clear to all succeeding generations. Do you see how deeply we have gone into the matter: how that which appears a small thing gives rise to endless questions? Let us, then, add the explanation, for we _have_ gone into it thus deeply in order to rouse your minds and establish them in security.

You must allow me, before coming to the explanation in question, to say something about Timothy’s goodness and Paul’s care for him. What was kinder than he, who at so great a distance, and in a round of so much business, made the well-being of his disciple’s stomach his care, and told him clearly what to do for his restoration to health? And what could equal Timothy’s virtue? He so looked down on luxury and scorned a rich table as to grow weak from his extreme severity and excessive fasting. Listen to Paul’s words plainly showing that he was not this by nature, but that he had lost his strength of stomach through fasting and water drinking; for he did not merely say, _Use a little wine_, but saying in the first place, _Do not still drink water_, he added his counsel about drinking wine. The _still_ was a proof that until then he had drunk water, and had so become weak. Who would not be struck with his mortification and severity of life? Timothy was taking heaven itself by storm, and pressing on to the height of virtue, and to this his master bears witness in the words: _I have sent you Timothy, who is my beloved child and faithful in the Lord_. Now, when Paul calls him his child, and his faithful and beloved child, these words sufficiently show all his worth; for the judgments of the saints are not given either out of love or hatred, but are free from all prejudice. If Timothy had been Paul’s child according to nature, he would not have been as enviable as he is now renowned, for whereas Timothy was nothing to him according to the flesh, through the attraction of piety he drew him into his sonship, preserving carefully in all things the characteristics of Timothy’s asceticism. Just as a calf yoked with a bull, so did Timothy bear the yoke with him all over the world, and made no difference as he grew older, but his ardour induced him to vie with the labours of his master. Paul, again, witnesses to this, saying: _Let no one set him at nought, for he is doing the Lord’s work as I am myself_. Do you see how he proclaims Timothy’s zeal as equal to his own? And that you may not think that favouring prompted him so to speak, he makes his listeners themselves witnesses of his child’s goodness, saying: _You know what his test has been; how he has served with me in the Gospel as a child his father. You have had a proof by this of his virtue and of his tried spirit._ Yet whilst Timothy was rising to these great heights of goodness, he did not presume of himself. On the contrary, he was in wrestling and fear. On this account he was diligent in fasting, and did not act as the majority of men do, who, having given themselves up to fasting, some for ten months only, others for twenty, suddenly break up everything. He did not suffer this, nor did he say anything of this kind within himself: ‘Why should I go on fasting? I have got the better of myself: I have conquered my desires, I have mortified my body, I have terrified demons, I have cast out the devil, I have raised the dead, I have cleansed lepers, the opposing powers hold me in fear, what further need have I of fasting and of the weakness which it brings?’ He said none of these things, nor were they in his mind; but the greater his abundance of good deeds, the more he feared and trembled, and this asceticism he had learnt from his master; for he who had been rapt into the third heaven and taken into paradise, who had heard ineffable words and had participated in mysteries so high, who had traversed the whole world as if with wings, said, in writing to the Corinthians: _I fear lest, having preached to others, I myself should be cast out_. Now, if Paul, who was able to say, _The world is crucified to me and I to the world_, is in fear after all these his wonderful deeds, how much more should _we_ fear, and this should increase in proportion to the number of our good actions. For the devil storms and rages the more when he sees us ordering our lives with care. When he sees much goodness pressed together and an accumulation of merits, then it is that he sets himself to bring about a completer shipwreck. For a poor and abject man, even if he be supplanted and fall, does not so injure the common good. Now, when he who stands, as it were, gloriously on the heights of virtue, seen and known to all, the object of general admiration, falls into temptation, he effects great ruin and havoc, not only because he fell from a high place, but also because he made those who looked up to him more slothful. Just as in the body, when a member withers up, the harm is not great, yet, if the eyes fail or the head is injured, the whole body becomes useless, so is it with the saints and with those who do great things. When these are extinguished, when they admit any stain, they work immense harm to the whole body.

Now, Timothy had all this before him, and he fortified himself on all sides; for he knew that youth is hard to manage: unstable, easily deceived, unsteady, and that it needs a strong bridle; for it is a pyre which embraces all external things and is easily ignited. Therefore, he was careful to put a check upon it on all sides, and he tried in every way to quench this fire, and he drove the horse, which was unruly and refractory, with much spirit, until he had broken him in and made him obedient, and brought a strong hand to bear upon him, so that he listened to reason’s word of command: ‘Let my body be weak but not my soul,’ he said. ‘Let the flesh be bridled, and my soul in its course heavenwards not be impeded.’ Together with this, what we should especially wonder at in him was, that weakened down as he thus was, and fighting with weakness, he did not neglect God’s work, but was more active than those in full and robust health. He was seen with his master, now at Ephesus, now at Corinth, often in Macedonia, in Italy, everywhere by land and by sea, ever taking part in his toils and in his continual dangers, nor did his weakness of body get the better of his asceticism of spirit. This is zeal according to God, which makes high-soaring easy. Thus, they who are in good case and sound in body will gain nothing by it if their soul be cast down, and soft, and slothful; so the weak will not be harmed by their want of health if their soul be strong and alert. Now, this advice and counsel seem to some to warrant unlimited wine-drinking, which is by no means the case. If anyone would weigh the word carefully, he would find it is rather an exhortation to fasting. For consider, this advice of Paul’s was given not from the first and at the outset. It was given when he knew that Timothy’s whole strength was broken, and even then not unrestrictedly, but with a condition. He did not merely say, _Use wine_, but, _a little wine_, and this not because Timothy required the advice, but because _we_ do. Therefore, in writing to him, he limits and restricts wine-drinking, telling him to drink as much as would overcome weakness, and restore health to the body; not what would encourage another complaint. Immoderate wine-drinking breeds complaints no less than excessive water-drinking, or rather much worse ones, both in soul and body. It incites the war of passions, and leads a tempest of foolish fancies into the mind, weakens and enervates strength of body. An abundance of water falling on the earth does not more persistently break up the soil than constant wine-drinking does bodily strength by weakening and wasting it. Let us, therefore, avoid both extremes, and take care of our health, whilst we keep it within due bounds. For wine was given us by God, not that we should be drunk with it, but that we should be temperate, that we should be made glad and not sorry. _Wine rejoices the heart of man_, the Scripture says. Now, you turn it into a course for despondency. Those who drink too much are sullen, and their reason is overclouded. Used with moderation, it is the best medicine. This will be a useful argument against heretics who attack what God has made. If it had been forbidden, Paul would not have counselled it, nor have said, _Use wine_. And not against heretics only is it good, but against our own simpler brethren, who, when they see certain men degrading themselves by drink, instead of blaming _them_, attack God’s gift, saying, _Let there be no wine_. Then we may answer them: ‘Let there be no drunkenness’. For wine is God’s, whilst drunkenness is the devil’s. It is not wine which makes inebriety, but intemperance. Do not slander God’s creature, but the madness of your fellow-man. Will you neglect to punish and correct the sinner whilst you despise the Benefactor?

· · · · · · ·

Possessing the Land.
(_Homilies on Second Epistle to Corinthians_, ix., vol. iii., p. 110.)

· · · · · · ·

Since, then, the things which we see are temporary, but the things which we do not see eternal, let us turn our minds to these. For what excuse should we have for choosing passing things instead of eternal ones? If the present time be indeed pleasant, it does not last, whilst the pain which it produces endures relentlessly.

How will those who have been made worthy of the Spirit be justified, enjoying so great a gift, if they remain crawling upon the earth and clinging to it? For I hear many men making use of foolish speeches, such as: ‘Give me to-day and take to-morrow; for, if things are what you pretend hereafter, it is one thing against another; but, supposing there is no hereafter at all, it is two things instead of nothing’. What is more senseless or more idle than such words? We are talking about heaven and the ineffable goods of eternity, and you bring before us the arguments of a racing-course, and are not ashamed to speak words worthy of madmen. Do you not blush so to cleave to present things? Will you not desist from madness and foolishness, and from wasting your youth? That heathens should speak in this way is not astonishing, but what will believing men who so rave have to say for themselves? Would you call in question those immortal hopes or doubt them altogether?