PART I. THE KING’S HIGHWAY.

The Way, the Truth, and the Life. (Homilies on St. Matthew,[4] lxxvi., vol. ii., p. 395.)

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Is not it with justice, then, that He turns away from us and chastises us, since in everything He is offering us Himself, and we are resisting Him? This is clear to all. ‘For,’ He says, ‘if you wish to adorn yourself you have My adornment, or to arm yourself you have My arms, or to dress yourself you have My clothing, or to eat you have My table, or to walk you have My road, or to inherit you have My inheritance, or to go into your own country you have that city of which I am the Builder and the Architect, or to build a house you have My tents. I do not demand of you a reward for the things which I give, but I owe interest to you besides for that reward if you are willing to make use of all that is Mine.’ What could equal this munificence? ‘I 24 am father, I am brother, I am bridegroom, I am dwelling-place; I am food, I am clothing, I am root and foundation; I am all things whatsoever you desire: stand in need of no man. I will also be a slave, for I came to minister, not to be ministered to. I am a friend too; I am member and head, and brother, and sister, and mother; I am all things; only hold Me for your own. I am poor for you, and a wanderer for you; I was on the cross for you, and in the tomb for you; I intercede with the Father for you up above, and I came down to earth as a messenger to you from the Father. You are all things to Me—brother and co-heir, and friend and member.’ What more do you ask? Why do you turn away from Him, your Lover? Why do you labour for the world? Why do you pour water into a broken pitcher? For this is to toil for the life which now is. Why do you spin a web for burning? Why beat the air? Why run at random? Has not every art an object? This is clear to everyone. Show me, then, you also, the object of your labour in life. You have none.

Vanity of vanities, and all is vanity. Let us go into a churchyard; show me now your father, show me your wife. Where is he who was clothed in gold? Where is he who rode in his chariot? Where is he who had an army at his command, he who had a treasury, and he who held a public office? Where is he who killed some and cast others into prison, who slew whom he pleased and 25 acquitted whom he pleased? I see nothing except bones, and the moth and the cobweb; all those things were dust and fable, and dream and shadow, and idle talk and an epitaph—indeed, not even an epitaph, for we see an epitaph on a figure, but in this place not even a figure. And would that evils ended here! Now, that which pertains to honour and feasting and great name is like a shadow and idle talk, but that which they produce is by no means a shadow or idle talk. Their effects remain, and will abide with us there and be evident to all—rapacity and selfishness, fornication, adultery, and a thousand vices of the same kind. These are not in the image nor in the ashes, but both words and deeds are written above. With what eyes, then, shall we look upon Christ? For if a man would not venture to see his father if he were conscious in his own mind of sinning against him, how shall we in that hour confront Him Who is infinitely gentler than a father? How shall we bear Him? For we shall stand before the tribunal of Christ, and there will be a strict scrutiny of all things. But if anyone disbelieve in that future judgment, let him consider things as they are on earth—those in prisons, for instance, those in mines and on dung-hills, possessed men, madmen, those who are fighting with incurable disease, those who are pinched by persistent poverty, those who are mated with hunger, those who are given over to unhealable sorrow, those who are in captivity. Men, indeed, would not now suffer these 26 things if He did not ordain that reward and punishment should await all those who have been guilty of the like transgressions. And if these men incur no penalty in this world, you must take this to yourself as a sign that there is to be something in the next after our departure hence. For He Who is the Lord of all would not chastise some and leave others, who had been guilty of the same or of worse things, unchastised, if He did not reserve a punishment for them in the next world.

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Who is the Greater? (Homilies on St. Matthew, lviii., vol. ii., p. 167.)

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At that time the disciples came to Jesus, saying: Who, then, is the greater in the kingdom of heaven? The disciples had a human feeling, this is why the Evangelist lays special stress upon it, saying, at that time—that is, when He had singled out Peter for special honour. For in the case of James and John one was the first-born, but He did nothing of the kind for them. As, then, they are ashamed to own to their annoyance, they do not say openly: ‘Why hast Thou honoured Peter more than us?’ or, ‘Is he greater than we?’ they would not say this, but ask indefinitely: Who is the greater? When they saw 27 the three singled out for special honour, they had felt nothing of the kind; they were grieved, however, when so great a distinction was conferred upon one. This was not all, for their feeling was intensified by putting many other favours together. For Our Lord said to him: I will give thee the keys, and, Blessed art thou, Simon Bar Jona, and again, Give it to them for Me and thee; and, seeing Peter’s great fearlessness, they were irritated. And if Mark says that they did not put their question, but thought it in their own minds, this is not in any way contrary to Matthew’s account. For it is probable that they did both one and the other, both that they felt this at one time, and that at another they spoke out, and also had their own thoughts about it. Now, do not look merely at the accusation, but consider further, first, that they are not seeking earthly things, and secondly, that they afterwards overcame this feeling, and ceded the first places to each other. We, on the contrary, are neither able to reach their defects, nor do we seek who is the greater in the kingdom of heaven, but who is the greater in the kingdom of the world, who is the richer and the more powerful.

Now, what does Christ say? He reveals their conscience to them, and answers this feeling rather than their mere words. Calling unto Him a little child, He said: Unless you be converted and become as little children, you shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven. ‘You, indeed, enquire who is the greater, and dispute 28 about the first places; I tell you that he who has not become meeker than all the rest is not worthy even to enter into that kingdom.’ And He brings the example before them in a beautiful way; and not only does He bring it before them, but He sets the child in the midst of them, admonishing them by the sight, and urging them to be both humble and unaffected. For a child is free from envy and from vainglory, and from the love of the first places, and he possesses the greatest virtue—simplicity, and unaffectedness and humility. It is not sufficient to have courage and prudence, but this virtue also: I mean humility and simplicity. For with the greatest, our salvation will be at fault, if we have not these. Contempt, blows, honour, or praise cause a child neither annoyance nor envy, nor is he thereby inflated. Do you see again how He excites us to natural qualities, showing us that these may be rightly directed by a free choice, and how He thus condemns the wretched fury of the Manicheans? For if nature be bad, why does He take from nature illustrations in favour of asceticism? The child seems to me most truly a child standing in the midst of them, free from all these passions. Such a child, indeed, is without folly, and the love of reputation, without jealousy and envy, and every affection of the kind; and having many virtues—simplicity, humility, unmeddlesomeness—he is not puffed up by any one of them; it is doubly wise to possess these things and not to be vain of them. 29 This is why Our Lord called the child and set him in the midst of them; nor did He close His argument here, but He adds this further exhortation, saying: He who shall receive one of these children in My name receives Me. ‘Not only if you have become like to them shall you have a great reward, but also if you honour those like them for My sake, I will give you a kingdom as a reward for your honour of them.’ He says, indeed, more than this in the words receives Me. Thus, ardently am I to desire meekness and unaffectedness. Hence He calls men who ate thus simple and humble, and cast off by the multitude, and despised, children.

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The First are Last and the Last First. (Homilies on St. Matthew, lxvii., vol. ii., p. 285.)

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Let no sinner despair: let no just man give way to sloth. Neither let the just be presumptuous, for it often happens that the harlot outstrips him; nor let the sinner be downcast, for he may overtake those who are first.

Listen to what God says to Jerusalem: I said all these things after her adultery, Turn to Me, and she did not turn. As often as we return to the burning charity of God, He no longer remembers 30 our former sins. God is not as man: He does not reproach those who come to Him, or say, if we be really changed, ‘Why hast thou wasted so much time?’ but He loves us whenever we go to Him. Let us only go to Him in the right way. Let us cling fast to Him, and nail our hearts to His fear. These things have taken place not only recently, but they happened also of old. What was worse than Manasses? Yet he was able to appease God. Who was more blessed than Solomon? But torpor made him fall. Indeed, I can show the two things happening in one man; in Solomon’s father, for he himself was just and became wicked. Who was more blessed than Judas? Yet Judas became a traitor. What could be more miserable than Matthew? But he became an evangelist. What was worse than Paul? Still, Paul became an apostle. Who was more zealous than Simon? And yet Simon himself became the most wretched of all. How many more of the same vicissitudes would you contemplate—those both of the past and those which are taking place every day? So I say, neither let the man who is on the stage despair, nor let the man who is in the Church make too bold. To the latter it was said: He who seems to stand, let him be careful lest he fall, and to the former: Does the fallen man not rise up again? and, Restore languid hands and disabled knees. Again, to the just it was said: Watch, but to sinners: Arise, thou who sleepest, and rise from the dead. The former 31 have need to watch over what they possess, and the latter to become that which they are not as yet: the just to preserve their health, sinners to put off their sickness. For they are sick, but many of the sick are sound, and some of the sound, by their carelessness, become sick. For it was to these that Our Lord said, Go, thou art sound: sin no more, lest something worse should befal thee; but to sinners, Wilt thou be made sound? Take up thy bed and walk, and go into thy house. Sin is indeed a dire paralysis, or, rather, it is not only a paralysis, but something more fearful. For a paralysed man is not only lacking good things, but is also a prey to bad ones. Still, if you are even in this state, and are willing to make a small effort to rise, all sins are remitted. Even if your sickness has lasted thirty-eight years, yet you strive to become sound: there is no one to prevent you. Christ is at hand now as then, and He says, Take up thy bed. Only be willing to rise; do not lose heart. Have you no man? You have God. Have you no one to put you into the pool? But you have One Who will not allow you to require the pool in vain. Have you no one to hold you in it? You have One Who commands you to take up your bed. You have not to say, When I come, another gets down before me. For if you wish to go down to the fountain no man hinders you. Charity is not spent nor consumed: it is a source which is always flowing upwards: out of His fulness we are all cured as to our soul and as to our 32 body. Now, therefore, also, let us approach Him. Rahab was a harlot, yet she was saved; and the thief was a murderer, but he became a citizen of paradise; and Judas, being in the society of the Master, was lost, whilst the thief on the cross became a disciple. These are God’s paradoxes. Thus it was that the Magi found favour, that a publican became an evangelist, and a blasphemer an apostle.

Consider these things, and never despair, but be of good heart always, and raise yourself up. Keep to that path alone which leads above, and you will make rapid progress. Close not the doors nor block up the entrance. This time is short and the labour small. And if it were heavy, even then we should not refuse it. For if you are not weary with this most delicious weariness of wisdom and virtue, you will be weary with the weariness of the world, and will be worn out in another way. But if there be weariness here too, why do we not choose for ourselves that other which is so productive of fruit and has so great a reward? And yet this last weariness is not as the former. For in worldly things there are always risks and continuous penalties: hope is uncertain, much slavery of spirit is required, and there is expenditure of money, and of strength of body and of mind, and even then the compensation of results is far below the expectation, if there be any results at all. The sweat and toil of worldly business do not, indeed, in all cases produce fruit. Even in those instances in which they are not fruitless, 33 but rich in results, these are short-lived. For it is when you grow old, and have no longer an acute sense of enjoyment that your labour yields its fruit. The hard work falls to the lot of the body at its prime, whereas the fruit and its enjoyment come when it is worn and aged, and time has dulled its perceptions, or, if it has not dulled them, the prospect of an approaching end forbids enjoyment. It is not so in the other case, but labour is the part of a mortal and corruptible body, and the crown belongs to a glorified and immortal one which is eternal. The labour comes first and is slight, but the reward comes last and is infinite, so that you may rest with security and be untroubled as to the future. There is no fear of change or of misfortune as there is here on earth. What goods, then, are these—insecure, slight, and earthly, which disappear before they appear, and are possessed with so much toil? How are they equal to those immutable, undecaying good things which are free from all hardships, and crown you in the time of warfare? The man who despises money receives his reward even on earth: he is free from care and envy, slander, treachery, and heart-burnings. The wise man, he who lives decorously, is crowned and in luxury before his flight hence, in his freedom from unseemliness and senseless laughter, and dangers and accusations, and all evils. In the same way, virtue, of whatever other kind, puts us already in possession of our reward. Let us then, fly from evil and choose the good, so that we 34 may arrive at both present and future rewards. Thus we shall both enjoy our lives here and possess our crowns in heaven, which may it be given to us all to do through the love and mercy of Our Lord Jesus Christ, to Whom be glory and power for ever and ever. Amen.

Variety of Human Lot. (Homilies on the First Epistle to the Corinthians,[5] xxix., vol. ii., p. 359.)

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One and the same Spirit worketh all things, distributing to each his own gifts according to His pleasure. Therefore he says, let us not be troubled or grieved, thinking to ourselves, ‘Why have I received this and not received that?’ Neither must we scrutinise the doings of the Holy Spirit. For if you know that He has shown you favour out of kindness, considering that out of the same kindness He has also put a limit to His gift, acquiesce and rejoice in what you have received, and be not down-hearted about what you have not received, but rather give thanks that your gift is not beyond your power. If it behoves us not to be over-eager in spiritual things, how much less in those of the flesh; but we should be at ease, and not be disturbed because one man is rich and another 35 poor. In the first place, not every rich man gets his wealth from God, but many become rich through injustice and avarice and graspingness. For how could He, Who commands us not to lay up riches, have given that which He prohibited our taking? Now, in order that I may silence those who differ from us in this with the more authority, let us go deeper into the argument. Tell me why were riches given by God? Why was it that Abraham was rich, and that Jacob even wanted bread? Were not both righteous men? Had not God said equally of the three, I am the God of Abraham, and of Isaac, and of Jacob? Why then was the one rich and the other in poverty? Or, rather, why was Esau, the unjust and fratricidal man, rich, and Jacob in servitude for so long? Again, why did Isaac pass his whole life in ease, and Jacob in toils and hardships, so that he said, My days are short and miserable? Why did David, too, being both prophet and king, as he was, live his life in labour, whilst his son Solomon was, during forty years, the richest of men, in the enjoyment of enduring peace, glory, and honour, and every possible luxury? Why, in short, amongst the prophets was one tried more and another less? Because thus it was profitable to each. Therefore, every man should say, Thy judgments are a deep abyss. For if God exercised those great and admirable men in different ways—one through poverty, another through riches; one by a life of ease, another by tribulation—it behoves us all the more to take the same lesson now 36 to heart. Together with these considerations, we must admit that many things happen to us, which are not according to His judgment, but the result of our own wickedness. Say not, then, ‘Why is it that a man is rich, being bad, and another man is poor, being just?’ We may easily explain this, and say that neither does the just man suffer any harm from his poverty, which is a source of greater merit to him, and that the unjust man, unless he be converted, possesses in his riches a store of wrath, and that, in place of chastisement, the riches of many men have often been the cause of evil to them, and led them into a thousand abysses. But God leaves them these riches, showing everywhere the free action of divine choice, everywhere teaching other men not to fight nor to strive for money. ‘What, then,’ you say, ‘if a bad man becomes rich, and suffers no harm? If a righteous man were to become rich, it would be just, but what are we to say when a bad man does?’ That on this account he is to be pitied. For wealth added to wickedness increases the intensity of passions. But a man is just, and he is starving. Well, it does him no harm. But he is bad, and starving. Well, he has his just deserts, or, rather, what is for his good. ‘But so and so,’ you say, ‘received his wealth from ancestors, and has squandered it on bad women and parasites, and he is none the worse.’ How is this? Will you call him a dissolute man, and say he is none the worse? He is a drunkard, and do you call it enjoyment? 37 He wastes for no good purpose, and do you look upon him as enviable? What could a man do worse than to be making his soul an ignominy? If a body were to be distorted or maimed, you would think it the saddest matter in the world; yet, contemplating that man’s soul wholly maimed, do you consider him a happy man? ‘But,’ you say, ‘he does not feel it.’ And for this very reason he is the more to be pitied, just as men who lose their wits are. For he who knows that he is ill will seek the physician honestly and apply remedies; whereas he who does not know it will be beyond cure. Tell me, then, is this the man you consider happy? But this is not astonishing, for the majority of men are devoid of a right estimate of things. So it is that, when chastised, we pay the extreme penalty, and are not freed from wrath; hence come desires and despondencies and perpetual anxieties, since, when God shows us a painless life, that of goodness, by removing ourselves from it, we choose another road, the way of riches and money, which is productive of a thousand evils. We act as a man would act, who, not being able to judge of physical beauty, but, ascribing everything to clothes and adornment, should pass over a young woman, possessing comeliness of body, and take to himself an ugly one, deformed and crippled, merely for her fine dress. The great mass of men now do something of this kind in the matter of goodness and badness, by following their bad nature on account of its outward attraction, and by turning away from 38 the good nature, which is blooming and beautiful, on account of its unadorned comeliness, the very reason why they should have chosen it.

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Whence the Rich? (Homilies on First Epistle to Corinthians, xxxiv., vol. ii., p. 430.)

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You ask, ‘Whence come the rich?’ for it is written, Riches and poverty are from the Lord. Now let us ask those who urge this upon us, ‘Then is all wealth and all poverty from the Lord?’ Who would say as much? For we see many laying up riches for themselves through rapacity, through the spoliation of tombs, through sorcery, and other means of the same kind, and that those who possess these riches are unworthy even of living. Now, tell me, is this the wealth we recognise as from God? No, far from it. Whence, then, does it come? From sin. For a bad woman grows rich by misusing her body, and the handsome youth often bartering the flower of his years possesses his money in ignominy, and the invader of graves who unearths tombs amasses the wealth of unrighteousness, just as the thief does by breaking down walls. Therefore not all wealth is from God. How then, you ask, shall we answer this argument? In the first place, understand that 39 poverty was not made by God either, and then we will examine our argument. When a licentious youth either spends his riches upon bad women, or upon magical arts, or upon any other lusts of the same nature, and thus becomes poor, is it not evident that it is brought about not by God, but by his own riotousness? Again, if a man were to become poor through sloth, or to fall into poverty because of his want of sense, or to engage in perilous and unlawful pursuits, is it not evident once more that no one of these or those like them would be thrust into this want by God? Then, is the Scripture false? God forbid, but those who lay down the law on all the Scripture with insufficient discernment are wanting in sense. For if it be asserted that the Scripture is trustworthy, and it be proved that not all wealth is from God, then the difficulty lies in the weakness of those who put an inconsiderate construction upon such things. I ought indeed to have let you alone on this point, having first cleared the Scripture of blame, in order to make you pay a penalty for your carelessness concerning it; yet since I have great pity on you, and cannot bear to see you more troubled and confounded, let me add the explanation, considering in the first place who said it, then when it was said, and to whom.

For God does not speak in the same way to all, just as we ourselves do not use children as we use men. Now, when is it said, and by whom, and to 40 whom? By Solomon of old to the Jews, who were familiar with sensible things only, and measured God’s power by these. It is they who say, Is He not able to give us bread? and, What sign dost Thou show us? Our fathers ate manna in the desert, whose belly is their God. Since they estimated Him by these things, he tells them that God is also able to make men rich and poor, not that He Himself does it altogether, but that He can do it if He choose, as when He says, He rebuketh the sea, and drieth it up, and bringeth all the rivers to be a desert, although this never happened at all. How, then, does the prophet say that it did? Not as really taking place, but implying His power to do it. Now, what sort of poverty does He give and what sort of wealth? Call to mind the patriarch, and you will see what the riches are which God bestows. For it was He Who made Abraham rich, and Job after him, as Job admitted in the words: If we have received good things from the Lord, shall we not endure the bad things as well? And later on their twofold increase was His gift. And Jacob’s riches began from the same source. There is a poverty which is praised by Him, that which He proposed to that rich young man, saying, If thou wilt be perfect, go sell what thou hast, and give to the poor, and come and follow Me; and again, when legislating for the disciples, He said, Ye shall not possess gold nor silver nor two cloaks. Therefore, do not say that He gives wealth to all without exception, for I have shown you that it is put together by 41 murders and covetousness and a thousand other like causes.

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The Rich Young Man. (Homilies on St. Matthew, lxiii., vol. ii., p. 227.)

And behold one came and said to Him: Good Master, what shall I do that I may inherit eternal life? Some reject this young man as insidious and bad. I, however, would not deny that he was a lover of money, and unable to resist it, since Christ convicted him of this; but I should not admit that he was insidious, because it is not safe to make a venture upon what is unknown, especially in accusations, and because St. Mark has removed this doubt. For he says that running up and kneeling before Him, he asked Him a question, and again, that Jesus, looking upon him, loved him. But great is the tyranny of money as we gather from this; for even if we be quite faultless as to other things, it alone spoils everything else. St. Paul too justly called it the root of all evils. The love of money, he says, is the root of all evils. Now, why did Our Lord answer him by saying, No man is good. Because the youth approached Him as a mere man, as one of many, and a Jewish teacher: on this account Our Lord spoke as man to man with him. For He frequently answers according to the 42 secret mind of those who come to Him, as, for instance, when He says, We adore what we know, and, If I bear witness to Myself, My witness is not true. When, then, He says, No man is good, He does not say it to repudiate His own goodness—far from it; for He does not say, ‘Why do you call Me good? I am not good,’ but, No man is good, that is, no man at all.

When He speaks in this way, He is not defrauding men of all goodness, but making a distinction as to God’s goodness. So He added: Only God is good. And He did not say, ‘Only my Father,’ that you may know that He did not disclose Himself to the youth. Thus, higher up, He called all men bad, saying, But if you who are bad know how to give good gifts to your children. And if He called them wicked in this place, He did not condemn human nature as altogether bad (for He says you, not ‘you, the human race’). He so called them, because He was putting the goodness of man by the side of the goodness of God, and therefore He added, How much more will your Father give good gifts to those who ask Him. And, you may say, what necessity or advantage was there that He should answer the young man in this way? He leads him up by degrees, teaches him to put off all deception, withdraws him from the things of earth, nailing him to God, inducing him to seek the things to come, to know the good, the root and foundation of all things, and to refer honour back to Him. And thus when He says, You shall call no man master upon earth, He 43 said it to make a distinction as to Himself, that they might learn Who was the first Beginning of all things. For, so far, the young man had shown no slight willingness by rushing eagerly to embrace this love; and whilst others had come, some to tempt, others for the curing of disease, whether it was their own or their neighbours’, he had come and had spoken for the sake of eternal life. The soil indeed was rich and moist, but the brambles overpowered and stifled the seed. For consider how far up to this point he is disposed to obey commands. What shall I do, he says, that I may inherit eternal life? Thus ready was he to accomplish what he should be told. But if he had come to Our Lord to tempt Him, the Evangelist would have told us so, as he does in other instances, and in that of the advocate. But if the young man was silent, Christ would not have allowed him to escape unknown, but would have convicted him wisely, or have hinted at his meaning, so that the youth should not think he had deceived and escaped without recognition, and so have been misled. If he had come to tempt, he would not have gone away sad, because of what he heard. This, at least, was not what any one of the Pharisees of the day did; but when they were silenced, they were angry. It was not so with the young man: he went away cast-down, which was no small proof that he had come with a weak rather than a bad intention, with the desire of life, but weighed down by another and a stronger passion.

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Therefore, when Our Lord said, If thou wilt enter into life, keep the commandments, he asks, Which commandments? This was not said tempting—far from it—but thinking that he was to know of other commandments besides those of the Law, which would help him to life. This showed a great desire on his part. Then, when Jesus enumerated those of the Law, he said, All these have I kept from my youth. And he did not stop his enquiry here, but asked further, What is yet wanting to me? which in itself was a proof of his eagerness. His thinking himself to be still wanting in something, and his deeming that the things already specified were not sufficient, was no small step towards gaining what he desired. What does Christ say? As He was about to accomplish a great work, He put the prize before the youth and said, If thou wouldst be perfect, go, sell what thou hast and give to the poor, and thou shalt have a treasure in heaven, and come and follow Me. Do you see what rewards and crowns He sets for this career? If the young man had been tempting, he would not have spoken these things to Him. But now He does speak, and, as it were, draws him to Himself, shows him the reward to be exceedingly great, and unfolds the whole before his mind, hiding throughout the semblance of irksomeness in the advice. Therefore, before speaking of the combat and the labour, He shows him the reward, saying, If thou wilt be perfect; then He adds, Go, sell what thou hast and give to the poor, and, again returning to 45 the rewards, thou shalt have a treasure in heaven, and come and follow Me. For the following Him is a great compensation. And thou shalt have a treasure in heaven. Hence, as the matter turned on money, and He was exhorting the young man to strip himself of everything, He points out that He does not take away possessions, but adds to them, and that He gives more things than those of which He commanded the sacrifice; and not merely are they more, but they are as much greater as heaven is than earth, and even more. He spoke of a treasure which is double the thing given, showing it to be abiding and secure, intimating thus through human things what His listener was to understand. Indeed, it is not enough to despise money, but a man must also feed the poor and follow Christ above all things; that is, he must carry out all His commandments, hold himself in readiness to be slaughtered and to suffer death any day. If any man wish to come after Me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow Me. As this command was a much higher one than the giving up of money—even the shedding of blood—so the giving up of money is no slight help towards its fulfilment. And when the young man had heard this word, he went away sad. Then, as if to show that he had felt nothing unreasonable, the Evangelist said, for he was very rich. Those who possess a little and those who are steeped in abundance are not equally restrained; then it is that love becomes more tyrannical. So I 46 will not cease to say that the addition of superfluities is fuel to the fire, that it makes their possessors poorer, that it increases, indeed, their desires, and makes them conscious of greater needs. See how, in this case, passion showed its strength. For when Our Lord commanded the man, who came to him with joyful readiness, to renounce his money, he was so cast down and perturbed as to go away without giving any answer at all; and having become silent and sad and gloomy, he thus departed.

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Different Kinds of Friendship. (Homilies on St. Matthew, lx., vol. ii., p. 199.)

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Let us now consider the various forms which friendship takes with the majority of men. One man loves because he is loved; another because he has been honoured; another shows a liking for a man who has been of use to him in some practical matter or other; another, again, for some such similar reason; but it is difficult, indeed, to find a man who loves his neighbour thoroughly and as he ought for Christ’s sake. For in most cases it is temporal business which brings men together. St. Paul did not love in this way: he loved for Christ’s sake, so that he loved others whether he was loved 47 by them or not, and did not break charity, since he had laid a strong foundation for his love-charm. It is not so now; indeed, if we search diligently, we shall find in most men a fictitious friendship rather than this. And if anyone gave me power to enquire into the matter in so great a multitude, I could show that the majority are bound to each other for worldly reasons. This is apparent from the causes which produce enmity. Since, then, men are bound to each other for motives so paltry, there is neither warmth nor fidelity in their mutual dealings; but contempt, and money losses, and jealousy, the love of honour, or any similar thing showing itself, destroys the love-charm. It rests not upon a spiritual foundation. If it were so, worldly things would never break up spiritual things. The love, indeed, which is born of Christ is strong and enduring and invincible, and nothing has power to dissolve it—neither calumnies, nor dangers, nor death, nor any other of these things whatsoever. If a man who thus loves should suffer in a thousand ways, contemplating that on which love rests, he stands unmoved. But the man who loves because he is loved, if he should suffer some foolish thing or other, breaks up his friendship, whilst the former is firm to the end. This is why St. Paul said, Charity never falleth away. What answer would you make? That the man whom you have honoured is a reviler? or that the one whom you have benefited would wish to put you to death? 48 But if you love for Our Lord’s sake, this encourages you to love all the more. For those things which are destructive to love in other cases become productive of it in this particular one. How so? In the first place, because the man so loved is the cause of your reward; secondly, because one thus situated requires special help and much care. On this account a man who loves for Our Lord’s sake does not enquire about family, or country, or riches, or demand love in return: he concerns himself about none of these things, but even if he be hated, or despised, or destroyed, he still loves, because his affection is built on a strong foundation—Christ. Hence he stands firm, steadfast, immutable, with his eyes on Our Lord. So it was that Christ loved His enemies—harsh men, scoffers, blasphemers, haters, those who wished not even to see Him, those who preferred stones and wood to His love, and He loved them with the charity from above, in comparison with which there is no other charity to be found. For, He says, no man hath greater charity than this, that he giveth his life for his friends. See how loving He ceases not to be towards the very men who crucified Him and reviled Him. He even spoke for them to His Father, saying, Forgive them, for they know not what they do. And, later on, He charged His disciples with those same men. Let us, then, be zealous for this same charity, and strive to possess it, that, being made the imitators of Christ, we may enjoy both present and future good 49 things by the grace and tenderness of Our Lord Jesus Christ, to Whom be honour and glory for ever and ever. Amen.

The Buyers and Sellers in the Temple. (Homilies on St. Matthew, lxvii., vol. ii., p. 277.)

And Jesus went into the temple of God, and cast out all them that sold and bought in the temple, and overthrew the tables of the money-changers, and the chairs of them that sold doves. And He saith to them: It is written, My house shall be called the house of prayer; but you have made it a den of thieves. John says the same thing, but he says it in the beginning of his gospel, whereas Matthew says it towards the end. Hence it is evident that the thing recounted took place twice and at different times. This is clear from the time and from the answer. In St. Matthew it happened at the very time of the Pasch; in St. John a good deal before it. In the latter the Jews say, What sign dost Thou show us? but in the former they are silent as if rebuked, because He was an object of wonder to all men. His doing the same action twice, and this in an authoritative way, strengthens the charge against the Jews, for they remained at their traffic, and called Him God’s enemy, when they should have learnt from this His action how much He honoured His Father and what His own power was. For He 50 was working wonders, and they saw a correspondence between His words and His deeds. Still they were unmoved and discontented, and this in the face of the loud testimony of the Prophet and of children witnessing to Him, with a wisdom beyond their years. This is why He Himself uses as an arm against them the accusing words of Isaias: My house shall be called the house of prayer. He shows His power not only in this way, but in the curing of many kinds of diseases; for the lame and the blind came to Him and He cured them, and He shows forth His power and His authority. They, however, were not persuaded in this way; but after seeing these wonders, and listening to children bearing witness to Him, they say, Dost Thou not hear what these say? This was what Christ might have said to them: ‘Do you not hear what these say?’ for they sang to Him as to God. What does He do? Since they spoke against visible signs, He makes use of a stronger correction, saying, Have you never read, Out of the mouths of infants and of sucklings Thou hast perfected praise? He said well, out of the mouths. For that which they said did not come from themselves, but from that power of His which controlled the words of their tongues. This indeed was a type amongst the nations of those who faltered and cried out confusedly, speaking great things with discernment and faith. Hence it was no small encouragement to the Apostles also. In order that they should not be perplexed as to how they, being 51 unlearned, are to announce the Gospel tidings, these children by anticipation have cast out their fear, because He who has caused the children to sing will give them also reasoning powers. This was not all that the wonder made manifest: it showed Him to be the Lord of creation. These children of unripe age, on the one hand, gave voice to words of good omen which were in harmony with the things above; but men, on the contrary, to outbursts of folly and madness. Such was their badness. Whilst then, they had many incitements to anger, the attitude of the crowd, the throwing over of the tables of the buyers, the voice of His wonders, that of the children, He again leaves them, allowing their passion to cool, and not wishing to begin His teaching lest, boiling over with jealousy, they should be still more angered at what had been said.

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The Voice of Good Deeds. (Homilies on St. Matthew, xlvi., vol. ii., p. 14.)

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If twelve men leavened the whole world, consider what our wickedness must be, inasmuch as we, being so many, are unable to convert the remainder, when we ought to suffice for the leavening of a thousand worlds. ‘But,’ some one says, ‘they were apostles.’ 52 What does this matter? Had not they the same surroundings as you? Were they not reared in cities? Did they not lead the same sort of life? Did they not follow a trade? Were they angels? Did they come down from heaven? ‘But,’ you say, ‘they worked wonders.’ It was not the wonders which made them famous. How long shall we use our own softness as a pretext for not considering those wonders? For many who cast out devils, since they afterwards worked iniquity, did not become renowned, but were even chastised. And what is it, you ask, which pointed them out as great? The despising of money and of reputation, and the withdrawal from worldly business. If they had been without these things, and had been slaves to their passions, even if they had raised up a thousand dead men, not only they would have done no good, but they would have been looked upon as deceivers. Thus, it is the life in every case which is resplendent, and which draws upon itself the unction of the Spirit. Did not John work a sign when he made so many cities hang upon his words? Yet listen to the Evangelist saying that he worked no wonder: John did no wonder. How did Elias become renowned? Was it not by his outspokenness with the king—by his zeal for God’s service—by his possessing nothing—by his sheep-skin, and his cavern, and his mountains? For he worked his wonders after all these things. What sign did the devil see Job doing when he was struck with amazement? Not any at 53 all, but he found him leading a resplendent life, which showed forth an endurance firmer than adamant. What sign had David accomplished for God to say of him, when still a youth, I have found David, the son of Jesse, a man after My own heart? What dead man did Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob raise to life? What leper did they cleanse? Do you not know that, if we are not watchful, wonder-working is often harmful? Thus it was that many of the Corinthians fell into schism and many Romans lost their right mind. Thus, too, that Simon was cast out, and that the man who desired to follow Christ refused the call when he heard that foxes have holes, and birds of the air have nests. Each of these, the one seeking money, and the other glory from the working of signs, fell away and were lost. But purity of life and the love of goodness not only do not produce this desire, but they take it away where it exists. And what did He Himself say when He was laying down the law to His disciples? Did He say, ‘You shall do signs in order that men may see’? Not at all, but, rather, Let your light shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father Who is in heaven. Nor did He say to Peter, ‘If thou lovest Me, work wonders,’ but, Feed My sheep. And, honouring Peter, with James and John, in every instance more than the rest, how does He show this honour, tell me? Is it in the doing of wonders? No; for they all cleansed lepers, and raised the dead to life, and to all He gave authority in equal measure. 54 How then were those three distinguished? By interior virtue. Do you see that, everywhere, life is the need, and the manifestation of works? By their fruits, He said, you shall know them. What is it which approves our life? Is it the manifestation of wonders or an irreproachable conduct? Clearly it is the latter; for the reason which calls forth signs belongs to this world, and they cease in the next. The man who gives an example of a good life draws this charity upon himself; and he who shines by charity shines in this way, in order that he may correct the life of others. Since Christ also worked those wonders in order that He might appear worthy of confidence in this world, and, drawing men to Himself, might introduce virtue into life; therefore, more stress is laid upon this point. For He is not contented with signs alone, but He threatens hell, and He preaches the kingdom, and He enacts those marvellous laws, and everything is done with a view to His making men like to angels. But why do I say that Christ does everything unto this end? Tell me, if anyone gave you your choice either to raise up the dead in His name or to die for His name’s sake, which would you choose? The latter surely; for the one is a sign and the other is a deed. Again, if anyone offered you the power of turning grass into gold, or that of looking down upon all gold as if it were grass, would you not rather choose the latter, and with good reason? It would be this which would attract men. For if they were to see food 55 turned into gold, and were even desirous of taking the same power into their own hands, as Simon was, the love of money would be increased in them; but if they were to see all men looking down upon money as upon grass, and making little of it, they would be cured of this disease.

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The Best Controversy. (Homilies on St. Matthew, xv., vol. i., p. 201.)

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Then He goes on to a higher example—You are the light of the world. It is again of the world; not of one people, nor of twenty cities, but of the whole world; and it is a reasonable light, far superior to this physical light, just as spiritual salt is to material salt. And first they are salt, and afterwards light, in order that you may learn the force of strong words and the advantage of this holy teaching. For it is urgent and will not be diverted from its aim, and, leading us by the hand, makes us look towards goodness. A city seated on a mountain cannot be hidden. Neither do men light a candle and put it under a bushel. He leads them once more through these things to purity of life, teaching them to be soldiers, as if before the eyes of all men and wrestling in the 56 midst of the arena of the whole world. ‘Look not,’ He said, ‘to rest now whilst you are in a small corner; for you are to be visible to all men, like a city seated on a mountain, and like a candle shining upon all those in the house.’ Where, now, are they who have distrusted the power of Christ? Let them listen to these things, and, being frightened by the might of the prophecy, let them fall down and adore His almightiness. Think what great things He promised to those who were not known even in their native place: that they are to go over land and sea, and to lift up their voice against the temptations of the world, or rather not their voice, but the force of their goodness. For it was not their universal fame which made them conspicuous: it was the manifestation of works. As if they had had wings, they spread over the whole earth quicker than light, sowing the light of piety. Hence, it seems to me that He stimulates them unto fearlessness, for His saying, A city seated on the mountain cannot be hidden, was the manifestation of His own power; for, if it were useless to hide that, so neither could the Gospel tidings be hushed or concealed. And to prevent them from thinking that persecutions, and accusations, and plots, and wars, since He spoke of these things, would have power to check them, He encourages them by saying that not only these persecutions will not pass unnoticed, but that they will shine forth to the whole world, and that through this very fact they themselves were to be 57 renowned and famous. In this, then, His own power is manifested; but He furthermore requires fortitude from each one of them, saying, Men do not light a candle and put it under a bushel, but upon a candlestick, and it gives light to all in the house. So may your light shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father Who is in heaven. ‘For it is I Who have enkindled the light,’ He says. Whether, however, it remains lighted or not must depend upon your zeal, not on your own account alone, but for the sake of those who are to enjoy this beacon, and whom it is to lead to the truth. For the slanderings of men will not be able to veil your brightness if you yourselves are leading strict lives, and thus are preparing to convert the whole world. Show forth, therefore, a life worthy of grace, that, as the truth is preached everywhere, so your life may harmonise with it. And, again, He holds out another advantage besides the salvation of men, which is capable of firing them with courage and making all zealous. Not only will you reform the world, He says, by living upright lives, but you will also prepare the glory of God; just as by the contrary course you destroy men, and cause the name of God to be blasphemed. ‘And how,’ you ask, ‘is God to be glorified through us if men are to slander us?’ Not all men are to do this; but those who do so hypocritically will wonder and admire you in secret, just as outward flatterers of those who are living in wickedness despise them in their own 58 minds. ‘How, then, would you have us live for show and vainglory? No, indeed, I said nothing of the kind. I did not say, Make haste to bring forth your good deeds before men; nor did I say, Point them out; but, Let your light shine; that is, let your virtue be solid, and the fire plentiful, and the light undimmed.’ Whenever virtue is thus great, it cannot possibly be hidden, even if he who pursues it conceal it in a thousand ways. Show forth a spotless life and let them have no real ground of accusation, and then, even if accusers be numbered by hundreds, no man shall have power to overcloud you. And His expression, the light, was pertinent. For nothing distinguishes a man so much, even if he wish to be hidden a thousand times over, as an example of goodness. Just as physical light envelops a man, so does he shine forth with greater brightness, not letting his rays sink into the earth, but directing them beyond heaven itself. So He encourages them the more. ‘If,’ He says, ‘you are grieved at being reviled, many men through you will be in admiration of God.’ He lays both wages to your account—God’s glorification through you, and your being blasphemed for God’s sake. In order, therefore, that we should not give heed to evil speaking, knowing that it procures us a reward, He did not simply mention the thing itself, but made two distinctions—that of calumny and that of calumny for God’s sake; and He shows, moreover, that patience under it bears much fruit, by 59 referring the glory back to God; and He holds out pleasant hopes to them. The accusation of the wicked, He says, is in nothing so powerful as in helping others to see your light. When you act foolishly, then only it is that they will trample you down, not when, doing what is right, you are cast aside. Then many will be in astonishment, not at you alone, but, through you, at our common Father. He said the Father, not God, laying already the seeds of the spiritual birth which He was to give them. Then, showing His equality with the Father, He said higher up, ‘Grieve not for evil report; for it is sufficient for you that it is on My account’. Thereupon He speaks of the Father, manifesting their equality everywhere.

Recognising, therefore, our gain from this zeal and the danger of our negligence (for it is much worse that our Master should be blasphemed because of us than that we should be lost), Let us not give offence to the Jews, or to heathens, or to the Church of God; and, showing forth a life more shining than the sun, even if anyone should wish to accuse us, not grieving at evil report, but at hearing a just report unworthily. For if we are living in wickedness and there be no accuser, we are the most miserable of men, but if we are practising virtue, even if the whole world should speak ill of us, we shall be the most enviable of all, and we shall draw all those who are called to be saved to ourselves; for it is not by the accusation of the wicked but by 60 a good life that they will cleave to us. And a good example speaks louder than any trumpet, and a pure life is more resplendent than the very light, even if there be a thousand adversaries. If we are all that I have specified—if we are meek and humble and merciful, and clean of heart and lovers of peace, and when we are slandered do not repine but rejoice—we shall draw those who look upon us to ourselves no less than by signs, and every man will deal kindly with us, whether he be a wild beast or a demon, or anything else whatsoever. Still, if there should be calumniators, do not be troubled at this, nor at seeing yourself publicly accused, but examine their inmost heart, and you will find that they applaud and admire you, and are loud in your praises. Just consider how Nabuchodonosor praised the children in the furnace, although he was their declared enemy; and when he saw their brave endurance, he acclaimed and acknowledged them for nothing else whatever than for turning away from his commands to listen to those of God. For when the devil sees that he is accomplishing nothing, he desists, fearing lest he should be the means of increasing our crowns; and when he is gone, however bad and depraved a man may be, he recognises virtue, that mist being removed from before his eyes. And if men should form a wrong judgment, you will have greater praise and admiration from God. Therefore, be not sorrowful or wavering, since the Apostles themselves were an odour of 61 death to some and of life to others. If you have offered no offence to any man, and have kept free from all reproach, you are blessed indeed. Shine, then, by your life, and make no account of slandering words. For it is quite impossible that a man who cultivates goodness should not have many enemies; but this is nothing to him, for through these very enemies his life will shine the more. Taking these things to heart, let us seek for one thing—to order our own life with purity, for in this way we shall lead those who sit in darkness to that future life. Such, indeed, is the power of this light, that it not only shines here, but it escorts those who follow it to that heavenly country. Whenever men see you looking down upon all present things, and holding yourselves in readiness for eternal ones, your works will convince them better than any argument. Who so foolish as not to deduce a clear proof of the future life when he sees a man, thinking yesterday only of luxury and money-making, giving up everything, freeing himself from all cares, and stretching out his hand towards hunger, and poverty, and hardship, and dangers, and blood-shedding, and a violent death, towards everything which seems an evil? But if we are wholly engrossed with present things, and plunge into them deeper and deeper, how are men to be persuaded that we are looking for another home? What excuse shall we have if the fear of God cannot do among us that which human fame did amongst Greek philosophers? 62 Some of them also gave up money and despised death, in order to be a spectacle to men, and so their hopes were vain. What can be said for us with these things before us, and so great a philosophy being unfolded, that we cannot do even what they did, but are destroying ourselves and others too? For a heathen who acts against his conscience does not do the same harm as a Christian who thus acts, and most justly. Their reputation is corrupt, whereas ours, through God’s goodness, is sacred and manifest even amongst impious men. Consequently, whenever they want particularly to reproach us, and to make their accusation more telling, they bring this additional charge against us: ‘So and so is a Christian,’ which they would not do if they had not a great opinion of Christian teaching. Have you not heard how many and what great things Christ enjoined? Now, how can you observe one of those commandments when, forgetting the rest, you go about investing your money, looking greedily after interest, involving yourself in lawsuits, buying herds of slaves, preparing silver plate, laying up stores of fields and houses, and quantities of furniture? And would that this were all! When you add iniquity to these inopportune pursuits—encroaching upon the land of others, pulling down houses, aggravating poverty, increasing hunger—how will you be able to mount up to those gates? But supposing that you are merciful to the poor, I know what this means, and it again will call for a great expiation hereafter. 63 For if you are merciful through conceit or vainglory, so that you gain no merit even from good works, what could be more wretched than to be shipwrecked in harbour? In order to prevent this from happening, seek not a reward from me when you have done a good action, so that God may be your debtor. Lend, He says, to him from whom you expect no return.

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The Tongue a Royal Power. (Homilies on St. Matthew, li., p. 76.)

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Let us understand what those things are which sully a man, and when we have understood let us shun them. In the church we see a certain habit prevailing amongst the majority of men—how they are eager to come in with spotless clothes and clean hands, whilst they do not trouble themselves about how they are to offer up a pure heart to God. I say this, not forbidding men to wash their hands or their mouths; my wish, however, is that they should wash them in the right way, not with water alone, but rather with virtues. For slandering, blasphemy, foul language, bad words, laughter at low jokes, are the mouth’s defilement. If, then, you perceive that you are not dwelling on any of these 64 things, nor guilty of this uncleanness, approach with good heart; if, on the contrary, you have laid yourself open to these numerous stains, why are you so foolish as to rinse your tongue with water whilst you carry in it this pernicious and destructive impurity? Tell me, now, if you had dirt or dung in your hands, would you dare to utter a prayer? Certainly not. Yet one is not at all harmful, and the other is perdition. How comes it that you are particular in things of no consequence, and negligent about the prohibited ones? ‘What, then,’ you ask, ‘are we not to go on praying?’ Certainly you are, but not in this filthy condition, nor with this dirt upon you. ‘What am I to do,’ you ask, ‘if I fall by accident?’ Then, purify yourself. How, and in what manner? Be in mourning and groaning, give alms, apologise to the man you have insulted, and reconcile him to yourself by these things; purify your tongue in order that you may incite the less the anger of God. For if anyone with his hands full of mud were to grasp your feet in supplication, not only would you not listen to him, but you would kick him away; how, then, are you so bold as to approach God in this way? The tongue of those who pray is a hand, and through it we touch the knees of God.[6] Therefore do not defile that tongue, lest He should say to you, And when you multiply your prayer I will not hear. 65 For, in the hand of the tongue are life and death; and, again, By thy words thou shalt be justified, and by thy words thou shalt be condemned. Therefore guard the tongue more carefully than the pupil of the eye. The tongue is the horse of a king. If you put a bridle upon him and teach him to walk at a measured pace, the king will rest and lean upon him; but if you allow him to be at large unbridled, and to be unmanageable, he becomes the vehicle of the devil and his angels.... Dishonour not the tongue, for how will it pray for you when it has lost its proper confidence? Adorn it rather with mildness and humility; make it worthy of the God Whom you are invoking; fill it with words of kindness and much almsgiving. For there is an alms which is to be given by words: The good word is better than the gift; and, again, Answer the poor man in mildness and gentleness. And make the rest of your time profitable by dwelling on the divine laws. Let all thy conversation be on the law of the Most High. Thus adorning ourselves, let us go forth to the King and fall at His feet, not with the body only, but with our mind. Let us consider Whom we go to, for what purpose, and what it is we wish to accomplish. We go to that God from Whom the seraphim turned away their gaze, unable to bear His splendour, on Whom the earth trembles to look. We go to God, Who is in the region of light inaccessible. And we are going to Him in order to escape hell, for the remission of our sins, to deliver 66 ourselves from those overwhelming penalties, for the winning of heaven and the goods which are there.

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Golden Vessels and Golden Hearts. (Homilies on St. Matthew, l., p. 62.)

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Let us then, too, touch the hem of His garment, or rather, if we please, we have Himself whole and entire. For His body too is now put before us, not His garment only, but His very body, not to be merely touched, but to be eaten and taken away. Let us therefore approach with faith, each one with his own infirmity. For if those who touched the hem of His garment drew forth so much strength, how much more those who possess the whole of Him? Approaching with faith is not only taking what is there before us, but touching with a pure heart, and being so disposed as if we were going to meet Christ Himself. What matters it if you hear no voice? You see Him before you, or rather you do hear a voice, that of Himself speaking through the Evangelists. Believe, therefore, that even now there is that banquet at which He Himself sat. Nor is this banquet different from that; nor is ours the work of a man, and that the work of God, but God is the worker now as He was then. When, then, you see 67 the priest offering it to you, think that it is not the priest who is doing this, but that it is the hand of Christ which is presenting it. Just as, when he baptises, it is not he who is baptising you, but it is God Who is holding your head with an invisible power, and neither angel nor archangel nor anyone else whatsoever presumes to approach and touch you; so it is now. For whenever God generates, it is His gift alone. Do you not know how those who adopt sons in this world do not entrust their adoption to servants, but appear themselves in the court? In like manner God has not entrusted His gift to angels, but He is Himself present, commanding, and saying, You shall call no man your father upon earth, not wishing you to dishonour your natural parents, but that before all the rest you may prefer Him Who created you, and Who wrote your name amongst His children. For He Who gives more, that is, Who gives Himself, will all the more certainly not disdain to make over His body to you. Let us then, both priests and laity, consider what that is of which we have been made worthy; let us consider and be in awe. He gave us to be filled with His sacred flesh, and placed before us Himself offered up in sacrifice. Now, what will our excuse be, if feeding on such food we commit such sins; when we eat the Lamb and are become wolves; when we eat the sheep and ravage like lions? For this mystery obliges us to purify ourselves not only from robbery but from the merest enmity. This mystery 68 is indeed a mystery of peace; it cannot be conciliated with a struggle for money. For if He did not spare Himself for our sakes, what should we deserve for hoarding up money and neglecting our soul, on which account He did not spare Himself? God indeed bound the Jews to a remembrance of their domestic blessings every year at the feasts, but you He has bound to a daily remembrance, so to say, through these mysteries. Be not, then, ashamed of the cross, for these are our august things, these are our mysteries, we are adorned with this gift, and it is our beauty. Even when I say that He stretched the firmament overhead, and unfolded earth and sea, that He sent forth prophets and angels, I speak of nothing equal to this. This is the fountain-head of all good, that He did not spare His only Son in order to save alienated servants. Therefore, let neither Judas nor Simon approach this table, for avarice destroyed both one and the other. Let us avoid this abyss, and think not that it is sufficient for our salvation, if, after stripping widows and orphans, we offer a cup of gold and precious stones for this table. If you wish to show honour to the sacrifice, offer your soul for whose sake it was sacrificed. Make this golden, for if it should be inferior to lead and potsherd, what is the gain of the vessel being of gold? Then, do not let us be concerned only about how we are to offer a vessel of gold, but let it be also a vessel of honest labours, for that which is without avarice is more precious 69 than gold. The church is neither a gold nor a silver-smith’s shop, but an assembly of angels, therefore souls are what we want, and these things are acceptable to God through souls. The table which He then used was not of silver, nor was the chalice a golden one out of which Christ gave His own blood to His disciples; but all those things were sacred and terrible, since He filled them with the Spirit. Would you honour the body of Christ? Leave Him not naked, nor honour Him there with silk coverings, passing Him by outside in cold and nakedness. He who said, This is My body, ratifying the deed by His word, said likewise, You saw Me in want and did not feed Me, and, again, Inasmuch as you did not do it for one of the least of these, you did it not for Me. For the former does not require the giving of garments but a pure heart, whereas the latter demands great attention. Let us, then, learn to be wise and to honour Christ as He Himself wishes, for to Him Who is honoured, that honour is the sweetest which He chooses for Himself, not that which may be according to our judgment. Since Peter, too, thought to honour Him by forbidding Him to wash his feet, he was not showing honour, but the reverse. So in your case do you honour Him with the honour which He Himself laid down, by giving your riches to the poor. God has no need of golden vessels, but of golden hearts.

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True Almsgiving. (Homilies on St. Paul’s Second Epistle to the Corinthians, xvi., vol. iii., p. 182.)

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Charity is, indeed, a great thing, and a gift of God, and when it is rightly ordered, likens us to God Himself as far as that is possible; for it is charity which makes the man. Some one, at least, wishing to characterise man, did it in these words: Man is great, and the merciful man is honourable. Kindness is better than raising up the dead. For it is a much greater thing to feed Christ in His hunger than to raise the dead in the name of Jesus. By feeding Christ you confer a benefit upon Him; in the other case He is benefiting you. And the reward is for doing, not for receiving. As to the signs, you are under an obligation to God, but with regard to the almsgiving, you put God under an obligation to you. It is an alms when you give willingly, generously, thinking that you are rather taking than giving; when you give as if you were receiving something, as gaining rather than losing, otherwise there would be no thanks in it. He who helps his neighbour should be in gladness, not in gloom. In truth, is it not foolish that in removing the despondency of another you yourself should be despondent? You will not suffer it to be a real alms. If you are sad because you are taking away another man’s sadness, you are giving a proof of 71 extreme unkindness and inhumanity; it is better to leave it undone than to do it in this way. Why are you sad at all? Is it for fear of diminishing your money? If this is your motive, then do not give; if you are not encouraged by the thought that it will be made up to you over and above in heaven, do not put out your hand in alms-giving. Perhaps you look for a compensation in this world. What is the good of this? Let your alms be alms and not traffic. Now, many have received their due here on earth, yet not so that they will be on this account much better than those who have not; these have been a few of the weaker, since they did not go vigorously after the things above. And like greedy and common people, slaves of their belly, who, called to a royal table, and not waiting for the right time, do as children do, spoil their own mirth by snatching up and satiating themselves with inferior food: so, indeed, is it that they who seek and receive temporal good things lessen the reward above. Again, in lending your money, you become desirous of securing the capital after a time, or, perhaps, of not spending it, so that you may lay up more for the future, whereas in this case you demand it at once, although you are not always to be here, but for ever there. Nor are you to be judged here, but to give an account there. Supposing that a man prepared houses for you where you did not mean to stay, you would view his act as a penalty; and would you wish to grow rich in a place from which you may be 72 called away before the evening? Know you not that we are spending our time in a foreign land, like sojourners and strangers, and that sojourners may be cast out when they are not thinking of it or expecting it. And this is our case. So it is that we leave behind us whatever we may have busied ourselves with on earth. Our Master does not allow us to take our labours with us, whether it is that we build houses, or buy estates, or slaves, or furniture, or anything else of the kind. Not only He does not allow us to go away with them, but He refuses you a reward for them. He told you beforehand that you should not build or spend with the property of others, but with your own. Why, then, leaving your own, do you labour with what is not yours, and squander it so that you will lose both your labour and your reward, and endure the extremity of punishment? Do not so act, I beseech you; but, as we are sojourners by nature, let us become so by choice, so that we may not be aliens there, rejected without honour. If we wish to be citizens in this world we shall be so neither here nor there, but if we remain sojourners, and spend our time after the fashion of sojourners, we shall receive the assurance of being citizens both here and there. For the just man, even with nothing, will be as free on earth with the common property of all as if it were his own, and when he departs hence to heaven he will look upon the eternal dwelling-places; he will neither suffer any unpleasantness in this world, nor 73 will any man be able to make him a sojourner, who has the whole world for his city; and in taking possession of his country, he will, moreover, receive true riches. In order, then, that we may gain both the things of time and the things of eternity, let us use present goods in the right way. Thus we shall become citizens of heaven, and enjoy much consolation. May this be the portion of us all, through the love and mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ, to Whom, with the Father and the Holy Ghost, be glory and power for ever. Amen.

I was hungry and you gave Me to eat. (Homilies on St. Matthew, xlv., vol. ii., p. 5.)

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Are you unable to practise the virginal life? Then make a prudent marriage. Are you unable to do without possessions? Give, then, of what you possess. Is such a burden too heavy for you? Divide your goods with Christ. Are you not willing to cede Him everything? Make over to Him at least the half or the third part. He is your brother and co-heir; make Him your co-heir even on earth. How much soever you give to Him you give that to yourself. Do you not listen to the Prophet’s words, Despise not thy own flesh? But if we may not despise relations, how much less the Master, Who, besides 74 His superiority, has the rights of relationship on His side, and many other stronger claims? He has made you a partaker of His own possessions, taking nothing from you, but being the first to give to you out of His unspeakable mercy. Then, is not it extreme folly neither to grow kind by this gift, nor to return a reward for a favour, and to give less instead of more? For He has made you heir to the kingdom of heaven, but you have not even given Him a share of the things of earth. You He reconciled without any merit of your own, when you were even His enemy; will you not make any return to your lover and benefactor, although, over and above the kingdom and all His other gifts, it was just that you should feel grateful to Him for the giving itself? Servants, indeed, when they call their masters to dinner, deem not that they are offering, but receiving; here, however, it was just the contrary. It was not the servant who first called the Lord, but the Lord Who first called the servant to His own table; and will you not call Him even after this? He was the first to bring you under His own roof; can you not even follow His example? He covered you in your nakedness, and in the face of this do you refuse to bring in a stranger? It was He Who first gave you to drink of His own cup, and will you not offer Him even cold water? He gave you the Holy Spirit to drink, and will you not relieve bodily thirst? He gave you the Spirit to drink, who were worthy of chastisement, but do you disregard a 75 thirsty man whilst you are about to do all this out of what is His? Do you not consider it a great honour to hold the cup out of which Christ is about to drink, and to approach it to His mouth? Do you not see that the priest alone may give the chalice with the Blood? ‘I go into none of these particulars.’ Our Lord says: ‘If you yourself give it I receive it; even if you are a layman I do not refuse it. I do not require what I have given, for I seek not blood but cold water.’ Consider, then, Whose thirst you are relieving, and be in awe. Consider that you have become Christ’s priest, giving with your own hands not flesh but bread, not blood but a drink of cold water. He has put on you the robe of salvation, and has clothed you through Himself; do you also clothe Him in the person of a child. He has made you a name in heaven; do you drive away cold, and nakedness, and unseemliness. He has made you a citizen of the angels; if you can bear it, give Him a portion only, give Him house-room as you would your servant. He says, ‘I will not turn away from this refuge, and that when I have opened all heaven to you. I have delivered you,’ He says, ‘from the bitterest captivity: I do not require this, nor do I say, Deliver Me; but if you only see Me in chains, this is sufficient to console Me. I raised you from the dead: this I do not require from you; but I say, only visit Me when I am sick.’ Since, then, the gifts given to us are thus great, and the things demanded of us so very small, and we do not offer even these, 76 what sort of hell should we not deserve? It is just that we should go down into the fire which was prepared for the devil and his angels, since we are harder than a rock. For, tell me, what insensibility is this, receiving gifts so great with the prospect of the same hereafter, to be the slaves of money, which in a little while we shall have to give up, and to give up unwillingly? Others have laid down their lives and shed their blood, but you have not hazarded the smallest thing for heaven or for those unfading crowns. What sort of excuse or pardon would you deserve for enjoying all things with the fat of the earth, neglecting nothing for putting your money out to interest, and yet being cruel and inhuman in feeding your Lord in the person of the indigent? Pondering all this in our minds, and considering what we have received, and what we are going to receive, and what we are asking for, let us show forth all our zeal in spiritual things. Let us, then, become gentle and kind, so that we may escape the weight of that tremendous judgment. What is there which is not sufficient to condemn us?—the enjoyment of things so wonderful, the being asked for nothing great, the fact that we shall have to give up what we are asked for in spite of ourselves when we leave this world, the ostentation of great ambition in worldly things. Each one of these is by itself sufficient to condemn us, but when they are all combined, what hope will there be of salvation? In order, then, that we may escape 77 this great condemnation, let us show ourselves kind towards the poor.

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The Archetype and the Type. (Homilies on the Epistle to the Philippians, xiii., vol. v., p. 136.)

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The Apostles presented a type, maintaining in their own persons a certain archetype. Consider how austere their life was, as if offering an archetype, and example, and living laws. For they set forth to all, through their deeds, that which the Scripture said. This is the best teaching, which has power to lead the disciple. You may talk and use fine words, but if your actions do the contrary you are no teacher. The disciple thinks very little of fine words; they should be accompanied by the teaching and leading of works: this makes both the master venerable, and disposes the disciple to agree with him. How so? When he hears a man making a display of words, he says that he has enjoined what is impossible, and that he who is not a doer is the first to prove their impracticability. Now, if he saw a man practising goodness in deed, he would not be able to say this. Moreover, supposing the master’s life be careless, let us rouse ourselves, and listen to the Prophet, saying, All shall be taught by God, and again, They shall teach 78 no more every man his brother, saying: Know the Lord; for all shall know Me, from the least of them even to the greatest. Have you no righteous teacher? You have the real Master, Him Whom alone you may call Master, learn of Him. He said, Learn of Me, for I am meek. Cleave, then, to no teacher, but to Him and to His teaching. Take your model from Him; you have a most excellent one; fashion yourself after it. The Scripture offers us numberless examples of a holy life; choose which you will, and follow the Master with His disciples. One shone by poverty, another through riches; for instance, Elias by poverty, Abraham by his wealth; choose whichever you think the easier and securer. Again, the one was holy through marriage, the other through virginity, as Abraham and Elias: choose your road, for each leads to heaven. John was holy by fasting, and Job without it. Job, moreover, was what he was by despising wife, and sons, and daughters, and house, having great wealth, whilst John possessed nothing except his sheep-skin. And why do I speak of house and abundance and money, since a king has it in his power to win goodness for himself. A royal palace would be found to be far more troublesome than any private house. David, then, shone in his royalty, and his purple and his crown impeded him in nothing: another was entrusted with the leadership of a whole people—I mean Moses—which is a more difficult thing. In the latter, power was greater, therefore the difficulty was greater. Do 79 you see men who gained a good name both in riches and in poverty, in marriage and in continency? Now look, on the other hand, at those who were lost both in marriage and in continency, in riches and in poverty. For instance, many men, living in the married state, have been lost, like Samson, not because of marriage, but through their own will; in virginity, too, as the five virgins; in abundance, as the rich man who despised Lazarus; in poverty, for thousands of poor are lost every day. I can show you many men lost in monarchy, many in leading the people. Would you like to know of some in armies who have been saved? There is Cornelius. And of some in stewardships? There is the eunuch of the Ethiopian. Thus, if everywhere we use wealth as we should, it does us no harm; if we do not, everything harms us—royalty and poverty and riches. Nothing can hurt the man who is watching. Tell me, has captivity ever harmed anyone? No, never. Think of Joseph in servitude, bearing goodness in his mind; think of Daniel and the three children taken captive, how they shone the more. Everywhere goodness is resplendent and invulnerable, and nothing can master it. Why do I speak of poverty and captivity and slavery? I may add hunger and ulceration and a painful illness, for this is worse than slavery. Lazarus suffered this, and Job, and Timothy with his frequent infirmities. Do you see how nothing can overcome goodness? Neither wealth, nor poverty, nor power, nor leadership, 80 nor being at the head of affairs, nor illness, nor being unknown, nor cast aside: disregarding all these things on the earth, it makes its way to heaven. Only have a brave spirit, and there is no obstacle against goodness. When the labourer is strong, no external thing hinders him. And so, in the case of handicrafts, when a mechanic is experienced and steadfast, and possesses all his art, even if illness should come, he has it still; or if he should be in poverty, he has it; and whether he has the instrument in his hands or not, whether he works or not, it is not diminished, because the science is in himself. So is it with God’s servant: even if you throw him into riches, his art is shown forth; or into poverty, or disease, or health, or contempt, or fame, it is all the same. Did not the Apostles work through everything? Through honour and dishonour, and evil report and good report. This shows the soldier, the being invulnerable against everything. For this is the nature of virtue. If you say, ‘I am unable to be set over many, I do best alone,’ you insult virtue, for it can benefit all, and show itself, let it only be in the mind. Has hunger to be endured? or is there abundance? Virtue, again, shows its own strength; as Paul said: I know both how to be brought low, and I know how to abound. Was it necessary to work? He was not ashamed, but laboured for two years. Was hunger to be borne? He neither pined nor doubted. Had he to die? He did not lose heart, but showed in all things a brave soul and his 81 skill. Now let us emulate him, and we shall have no cause for sorrow. For, tell me, what is capable of grieving such a man? Nothing. As long as no one robs us of virtue, the man who possesses it is the happiest of creatures even here—not only there. Supposing there is a holy man, with wife and children, and money, and a great name, and he still remains holy in spite of them: take them away, and he will still be holy: neither dejected by tribulation, nor elated by his righteousness, but like a rock which stands immovable whether the sea rages or whether it is calm, not troubled by the waves nor affected by the calm, so does the steadfast soul stand bravely both with calm, and with foaming waves. And, as children sailing on the sea are frightened whilst the pilot sits still and laughs at them, sees their trouble and is of good cheer, so does the mortified soul recline as if on some land or oasis of contentment, whilst all men are troubled, and laughing in an untimely way at the vicissitudes of things. For what can disturb the soul of a peaceful man? Death? But this is the beginning of a better life. Or poverty? This helps that soul on to virtue. Or illness? It accounts both refreshment and suffering as nothing, for it punished itself beforehand. Or being defamed? But the world is crucified to it. Or the loss of children? It had no fear if fully convinced of the resurrection. What, then, can make it miserable? Nothing whatever. If this man be 82 rich, is he puffed up? By no means, for he knows that money is nothing. What of fame, then? He has been taught that all human glory is like the flower of the field. Or luxury, again? He has listened to Paul’s words: She that liveth in pleasure is dead while she is living. Now, since this soul is neither lifted up nor dejected, what could come up to this well-being? Not all souls are so disposed, but they are more changeable than wind or weather, so that it is most ludicrous to see the same man now laughing, now weeping, now buried in thought, now loquacious beyond measure. Therefore he said: Be not conformed to this world: our citizenship is in heaven, where there is no change. Immutable rewards are offered to us: let us show forth that citizenship whence we have already received good things. But what if we cast ourselves into uncertainty and a surging sea, into a storm or a hurricane? Let us be at peace. The point lies not in riches or poverty, or glory or dishonour, or sickness or health, or weakness, but in our own soul. If this be steadfast and well-grounded in goodness, all things will be easy to it, and even here it will behold its rest, and the peaceful harbour, and departing hence it will gain endless goods. May it be granted to us all through the love and kindness of Our Lord Jesus Christ, to Whom, with the Father and the Holy Spirit, be glory, power, and praise now and for ever. Amen.