by St. John Chrysostomos
1. I
know well that to coarse-minded persons, who are greedy in the pursuit
of present things, and are nailed to earth, and enslaved to physical
pleasure, and have no strong hold upon spiritual ideas, this treatise
will be of a strange and paradoxical kind: and they will laugh
immoderately, and condemn me for uttering incredible things from the
very outset of my theme. Nevertheless, I shall not on this account
desist from my promise, but for this very reason shall proceed with
great earnestness to the proof of what I have undertaken. For if those
who take that view of my subject will please not to make a clamour and
disturbance, but wait to the end of my discourse, I am sure that they
will take my side, and condemn themselves, finding that they have been
deceived hitherto, and will make a recantation, and apology, and crave
pardon for the mistaken opinion which they held concerning these
matters, and will express great gratitude to me, as patients do to
physicians, when they have been relieved from the disorders which lay
seige to their body. For do not tell me of the judgment which is
prevailing in your mind at the present time, but wait to hear the
contention of my arguments and then you will be able to record an
impartial verdict without being hindered by ignorance from forming a
true judgment. For even judges in secular causes, if they see the first
orator pouring forth a mighty torrent of words and overwhelming
everything with his speech do not venture to record their decision
without having patiently listened to the other speaker who is opposed to
him; and even if the remarks of the first speaker seem to be just to an
unlimited extent, they reserve an unprejudiced hearing for the second.
In fact the special merit of judges consists in ascertaining with all
possible accuracy what each side has to allege and then bringing forward
their own judgment.
Now in the
place of an orator we have the common assumption of mankind which in the
course of ages has taken deep root in the minds of the multitude, and
declaims to the following effect throughout the world. “All things” it
says “have been turned upside down, the human race is full of much
confusion and many are they who every day are being wronged, insulted,
subjected to violence and injury, the weak by the strong, the poor by
the rich: and as it is impossible to number the waves of the sea, so is
it impossible to reckon the multitude of those who are the victims of
intrigue, insult, and suffering; and neither the correction of law, nor
the fear of being brought to trial, nor anything else can arrest this
pestilence and disorder, but the evil is increasing every day, and the
groans, and lamentations, and weeping of the sufferers are universal;
and the judges who are appointed to reform such evils, themselves
intensify the tempest, and inflame the disorder, and hence many of the
more senseless and despicable kind, seized with a new kind of frenzy,
accuse the providence of God, when they see the forbearing man often
violently seized, racked, and oppressed, and the audacious, impetuous,
low and low-born man waxing rich, and invested with authority, and
becoming formidable to many, and inflicting countless troubles upon the
more moderate, and this perpetrated both in town and country, 272and
desert, on sea and land. This discourse of ours of necessity comes in
by way of direct opposition to what has been alleged, maintaining a
contention which is new, as I said at the beginning, and contrary to
opinion, yet useful and true, and profitable to those who will give heed
to it and be persuaded by it; for what I undertake is to prove (only
make no commotion) that no one of those who are wronged is wronged by
another, but experiences this injury at his own hands.
2. But in
order to make my argument plainer, let us first of all enquire what
injustice is, and of what kind of things the material of it is wont to
be composed; also what human virtue is, and what it is which ruins it;
and further what it is which seems to ruin it but really does not. For
instance (for I must complete my argument by means of examples) each
thing is subject to one evil which ruins it; iron to rust, wool to moth,
flocks of sheep to wolves. The virtue of wine is injured when it
ferments and turns sour: of honey when it loses its natural sweetness,
and is reduced to a bitter juice. Ears of corn are ruined by mildew and
drought, and the fruit, and leaves, and branches of vines by the
mischievous host of locusts, other trees by the caterpillar, and
irrational creatures by diseases of various kinds: and not to lengthen
the list by going through all possible examples, our own flesh is
subject to fevers, and palsies, and a crowd of other maladies. As then
each one of these things is liable to that which ruins its virtue, let
us now consider what it is which injures the human race, and what it is
which ruins the virtue of a human being. Most men think that there are
divers things which have this effect; for I must mention the erroneous
opinions on the subject, and, after confuting them, proceed to exhibit
that which really does ruin our virtue: and to demonstrate clearly that
no one could inflict this injury or bring this ruin upon us unless we
betrayed ourselves. The multitude then having erroneous opinions imagine
that there are many different things which ruin our virtue: some say it
is poverty, others bodily disease, others loss of property, others
calumny, others death and they are perpetually bewailing and lamenting
these things: and whilst they are commiserating the sufferers and
shedding tears they excitedly exclaim to one another “What a calamity
has befallen such and such a man! he has been deprived of all his
fortune at a blow.” Of another again one will say: “such and such a man
has been attacked by severe sickness and is despaired of by the
physicians in attendance.” Some bewail and lament the inmates of the
prison, some those who have been expelled from their country and
transported to the land of exile, others those who have been deprived of
their freedom, others those who have been seized and made captives by
enemies, others those who have been drowned, or burnt, or buried by the
fall of a house, but no one mourns those who are living in wickedness:
on the contrary, which is worse than all, they often congratulate them, a
practice which is the cause of all manner of evils. Come then (only, as
I exhorted you at the outset, do not make a commotion), let me prove
that none of the things which have been mentioned injure the man who
lives soberly, nor can ruin his virtue. For tell me if a man has lost
his all either at the hands of calumniators or of robbers, or has been
stripped of his goods by knavish servants, what harm has the loss done
to the virtue of the man?
But if it
seems well let me rather indicate in the first place what is the virtue
of a man, beginning by dealing with the subject in the case of
existences of another kind so as to make it more intelligible and plain
to the majority of readers.
3. What then
is the virtue of a horse? is it to have a bridle studded with gold and
girths to match, and a band of silken threads to fasten the housing, and
clothes wrought in divers colours and gold tissue, and head gear
studded with jewels, and locks of hair plaited with gold cord? or is it
to be swift and strong in its legs, and even in its paces, and to have
hoofs suitable to a well bred horse, and courage fitted for long
journies and warfare, and to be able to behave with calmness in the
battle field, and if a rout takes place to save its rider? Is it not
manifest that these are the things which constitute the virtue of the
horse, not the others? Again, what should you say was the virtue of
asses and mules? is it not the power of carrying burdens with
contentment, and accomplishing journies with ease, and having hoofs like
rock? Shall we say that their outside trappings contribute anything to
their own proper virtue? By no means. And what kind of vine shall we
admire? one which abounds in leaves and branches, or one which is laden
with fruit? or what kind of virtue do we predicate of an olive? is it to
have large boughs, and great luxuriance of leaves, or to exhibit an
abundance of its proper fruit dispersed over all parts of the tree?
Well, let us act in the same way in the case of human beings also: let
us determine what is the virtue of man, and let us regard that alone as
an injury, which is destructive to it.
What then is the 273virtue
of man? not riches that thou shouldest fear poverty: nor health of body
that thou shouldest dread sickness, nor the opinion of the public, that
thou shouldest view an evil reputation with alarm, nor life simply for
its own sake, that death should be terrible to thee: nor liberty that
thou shouldest avoid servitude: but carefulness in holding true
doctrine, and rectitude in life. Of these things not even the devil
himself will be able to rob a man, if he who possesses them guards them
with the needful carefulness: and that most malicious and ferocious
demon is aware of this. For this cause also he robbed Job of his
substance, not to make him poor, but that he might force him into
uttering some blasphemous speech; and he tortured his body, not to
subject him to infirmity, but to upset the virtue of his soul. But
nevertheless when he had set all his devices in motion, and turned him
from a rich man into a poor one (that calamity which seems to us the
most terrible of all), and had made him childless who was once
surrounded by many children, and had scarified his whole body more
cruelly than the executioners do in the public tribunals (for their
nails do not lacerate the sides of those who fall into their hands so
severely as the gnawing of the worms lacerated his body), and when he
had fastened a bad reputation upon him (for Job’s friends who were
present with him said “thou hast not received the chastisement which thy
sins deserve,” and directed many words of accusation against him), and
after he had not merely expelled him from city and home and transferred
him to another city, but had actually made the dunghill serve as his
home and city; after all this, he not only did him no damage but
rendered him more glorious by the designs which he formed against him.
And he not only failed to rob him of any of his possessions although he
had robbed him of so many things, but he even increased the wealth of
his virtue. For after these things he enjoyed greater confidence
inasmuch as he had contended in a more severe contest. Now if he who
underwent such sufferings, and this not at the hand of man, but at the
hand of the devil who is more wicked than all men, sustained no injury,
which of those persons who say such and such a man injured and damaged
me will have any defence to make in future? For if the devil who is full
of such great malice, after having set all his instruments in motion,
and discharged all his weapons, and poured out all the evils incident to
man, in a superlative degree upon the family and the person of that
righteous man nevertheless did him no injury, but as I was saying rather
profited him: how shall certain be able to accuse such and such a man
alleging that they have suffered injury at their hands, not at their
own?
4. What
then? some one will say, did he not inflict injury on Adam, and upset
him, and cast him out of paradise? No: he did it not, but the cause was
the listlessness of him who was injured, and his want of temperance and
vigilance. For he who applied such powerful and manifold devices and yet
was not able to subdue Job, how could he by inferior means have
mastered Adam, had not Adam betrayed himself through his own
listlessness? What then? Has not he been injured who has been exposed to
slander, and suffered confiscation of his property, having been
deprived of all his goods, and is thrown out of his patrimony, and
struggles with extreme poverty? No! he has not been injured, but has
even profited, if he be sober.
For, tell me, what harm did this do the
apostles? Were they not continually struggling with hunger, and thirst
and nakedness? And this was the very reason why they were so
illustrious, and distinguished, and won for themselves much help from
God. Again what harm was done to Lazarus by his disease, and sores, and
poverty and dearth of protectors? Were they not the reasons why garlands
of victory were more abundantly woven for him? Or what harm was done to
Joseph by his getting evil reported of, both in his own land, and in
the land of strangers for he was supposed to be both an adulterer and
fornicator: or what harm did servitude do him or expatriation? Is it not
specially on account of these things that we regard him with admiration
and astonishment? And why do I speak of removal into a foreign land,
and poverty, and evil report, and bondage? For what harm did death
itself inflict on Abel, although it was a violent and untimely death,
and perpetrated by a brother’s hand? Is not this the reason why his
praise is sounded throughout the whole world? Seest thou how the
discourse has demonstrated even more than it promised? For not only has
it disclosed the fact that no one is injured by anybody, but also that
they who take heed to themselves derive the greater gain (from such
assaults). What is the purpose then it will be said of penalties and
punishments? What is the purpose of eternal torment? What is the purpose
of such great threatenings, if no one is either injured or injures?
What is it thou sayest? Why dost thou confuse the argument? For I did
not say that no one injures, but that no one is injured. And how is it
possible, you will say, for no one to be injured when many 274are
committing injury? In the way which I indicated just now. For Joseph’s
brethren did indeed injure him, yet he himself was not injured: and Cain
laid snares for Abel, yet he himself was not ensnared. This is the
reason why there are penalties and punishments. For God does not abolish
penalties on account of the virtue of those who suffer; but he ordains
punishments on account of the malice of those who do wickedly. For
although they who are evil entreated become more illustrious in
consequence of the designs formed against them, this is not due to the
intention of those who plan the designs, but to the courage of those who
are the victims of them. Wherefore for the latter the rewards of
philosophy are made ready and prepared, for the former the penalties of
wickedness. Hast thou been deprived of thy money? Read the word “Naked
came I out of my mother’s womb, and naked shall I return thither.”And
add to this the apostolic saying “for we brought nothing into this
world; it is certain we can carry nothing out.” Art thou evil reported
of, and have some men loaded thee with countless abuse? Remember that
passage where it is said “Woe unto you when all men shall speak well of
you” and “rejoice ye and leap for joy when they shall cast upon you an
evil name.” Hast thou been transported into the land of exile? Consider
that thou hast not here a fatherland, but that if thou wilt be wise thou
art bidden to regard the whole world as a strange country. Or hast thou
been given over to a sore disease? quote the apostolic saying “the more
our outward man decayeth, so much the more is the inward man renewed
day by day.” Has any one suffered a violent death? consider the case of
John, his head cut off in prison, carried in a charger, and made the
reward of a harlot’s dancing. Consider the recompense which is derived
from these things: for all these sufferings when they are unjustly
inflicted by any one on another, expiate sins, and work righteousness.
So great is the advantage of them in the case of those who bear them
bravely.
5. When then
neither loss of money, nor slander, nor railing, nor banishment, nor
diseases, nor tortures, nor that which seems more formidable than all,
namely death, harms those who suffer them, but rather adds to their
profit, whence can you prove to me that any one is injured when he is
not injured at all from any of these things? For I will endeavour to
prove the reverse, showing that they who are most injured and insulted,
and suffer the most incurable evils are the persons who do these things.
For what could be more miserable than the condition of Cain, who dealt
with his brother in this fashion? what more pitiable than that of
Phillip’s wife who beheaded John? or the brethren of Joseph who sold him
away, and transported him into the land of exile? or the devil who
tortured Job with such great calamities? For not only on account of his
other iniquities, but at the same time also for this assault he will pay
no trifling penalty. Dost thou see how here the argument has proved
even more than was proposed, shewing that those who are insulted not
only sustain no harm from these assaults, but that the whole mischief
recoils on the head of those who contrive them? For since neither wealth
nor freedom, nor life in our native land nor the other things which I
have mentioned, but only right actions of the soul, constitute the
virtue of man, naturally when the harm is directed against these things,
human virtue itself is no wise harmed. What then? supposing some one
does harm the moral condition of the soul? Even then if a man suffers
damage, the damage does not come from another but proceeds from within,
and from the man himself. “How so,” do you say? When any one having been
beaten by another, or deprived of his goods, or having endured some
other grievous insult, utters a blasphemous speech, he certainly
sustains a damage thereby, and a very great one, nevertheless it does
not proceed from him who has inflicted the insult, but from his own
littleness of soul. For what I said before I will now repeat, no man if
he be infinitely wicked could attack any one more wickedly or more
bitterly than that revengeful demon who is implacably hostile to us, the
devil: but yet this cruel demon had not power to upset or overthrow him
who lived before the law, and before the time of grace, although he
discharged so many and such bitter weapons against him from all
quarters. Such is the force of nobility of soul.
And what shall I say of
Paul?
Did he not suffer so many distresses that even to make a list of
them is no easy matter? He was put in prison, loaded with chains,
dragged hither and hither, scourged by the Jews, stoned, lacerated on
the back not only by thongs, but also by rods, he was immersed in the
sea, oftentimes beset by robbers, involved in strife with his own
countrymen, continually assailed both by foes and by acquaintance,
subjected to countless intrigues, struggling with hunger and 275nakedness,
undergoing other frequent and lasting mischances and afflictions: and
why need I mention the greater part of them? he was dying every day: but
yet, although subjected to so many and such grievous sufferings, he not
only uttered no blasphemous word, but rejoiced over these things and
gloried in them: and one time he says “I rejoice in my sufferings,” and
then again “not only this but we also glory in afflictions.” If then he
rejoiced and gloried when suffering such great troubles what excuse will
you have, and what defence will you make if you blaspheme when you do
not undergo the smallest fraction of them.
6. But I am
injured in other ways, one will say, and even if I do not blaspheme, yet
when I am robbed of my money I am disabled from giving alms. This is a
mere pretext and pretence. For if you grieve on this account know
certainly that poverty is no bar to almsgiving. For even if you are
infinitely poor you are not poorer than the woman who possessed only a
handful of meal, and the one who had only two mites,each of whom having
spent all her substance upon those who were in need was an object of
surpassing admiration: and such great poverty was no hindrance to such
great lovingkindness, but the alms bestowed from the two mites was so
abundant and generous as to eclipse all who had riches, and in wealth of
intention and superabundance of zeal to surpass those who cast in much
coin. Wherefore even in this matter thou art not injured but rather
benefitted, receiving by means of a small contribution rewards more
glorious than they who put down large sums. But since, if I were to say
these things for ever, sensuous characters which delight to grovel in
worldly things, and revel in present things would not readily endure
parting from the fading flowers (for such are the pleasant things of
this life) or letting go its shadows: but the better sort of men indeed
cling to both the one and the other, while the more pitiable and abject
cling more strongly to the former than to the latter, come let usstrip
off the pleasant and showy masks which hide the base and ugly
countenance of these things, and let us expose the foul deformity of the
harlot. For such is the character of a life of this kind which is
devoted to luxury, and wealth and power: it is foul and ugly and full of
much abomination, disagreeable and burdensome, and charged with
bitterness. For this indeed is the special feature in this life which
deprives those who are captivated by it of every excuse, that although
it is the aim of their longings and endeavours, yet is it filled with
much annoyance and bitterness, and teems with innumerable evils,
dangers, bloodshed, precipices, crags, murders, fears and tremblings,
envy and ill-will, and intrigue, perpetual anxiety and care, and derives
no profit, and produces no fruit from these great evils save punishment
and revenge, and incessant torment.
But although this is its character
it seems to be to most men an object of ambition, and eager contention,
which is a sign of the folly of those who are captivated by it, not of
the blessedness of the thing itself. Little children indeed are eager
and excited about toys and cannot take notice of the things which become
full grown men. There is an excuse for them on account of their
immaturity: but these others are debarred from the right of defence,
because, although of full age they are childish in disposition, and more
foolish than children in their manner of life.
Now tell me
why is wealth an object of ambition? For it is necessary to start from
this point, because to the majority of those who are afflicted with this
grievous malady it seems to be more precious than health and life, and
public reputation, and good opinion, and country, and household, and
friends, and kindred and everything else. Moreover the flame has
ascended to the very clouds: and this fierce heat has taken possession
of land and sea. Nor is there any one to quench this fire: but all
people are engaged in stirring it up, both those who have been already
caught by it, and those who have not yet been caught, in order that they
may be captured. And you may see every one, husband and wife, household
slave, and freeman, rich and poor, each according to his ability
carrying loads which supply much fuel to this fire by day and night:
loads not of wood or faggots (for the fire is not of that kind), but
loads of souls and bodies, of unrighteousness and iniquity. For such is
the material of which a fire of this kind is wont to be kindled. For
those who have riches place no limit anywhere to this monstrous passion,
even if they compass the whole world: and the poor press on to get in
advance of them, and a kind of incurable craze, and unrestrainable
frenzy and irremediable disease possesses the souls of all. And this
affection has conquered every other kind and thrust it away expelling it
from the soul: neither friends nor kindred are taken into account: and
why do I speak of friends and kindred? not even wife and children are 276regarded,
and what can be dearer to man than these? but all things are dashed to
the ground and trampled underfoot, when this savage and inhuman mistress
has laid hold of the souls of all who are taken captive by her. For as
an inhuman mistress, and harsh tyrant, and savage barbarian, and public
and expensive prostitute she debases and exhausts and punishes with
innumerable dangers and torments those who have chosen to be in bondage
to her; and yet although she is terrible and harsh, and fierce and
cruel, and has the face of a barbarian, or rather of a wild beast,
fiercer than a wolf or a lion, she seems to those who have been taken
captive by her gentle and loveable, and sweeter than honey. And although
she forges swords and weapons against them every day, and digs pitfalls
and leads them to precipices and crags and weaves endless snares of
punishment for them, yet is she supposed to make these things objects of
ambition to those who have been made captive, and those who are
desiring to be captured.
And just as a sow delights and revels in
wallowing in the ditch and mire, and beetles delight in perpetually
crawling over dung; even so they who are captivated by the love of money
are more miserable than these creatures. For the abomination is greater
in this case, and the mire more offensive: for they who are addicted to
this passion imagine that much pleasure is derived from it: which does
not arise from the nature of the thing, but of the understanding which
is afflicted with such an irrational taste. And this taste is worse in
their case than in that of brutes: for as with the mire and the dung the
cause of pleasure is not in them, but in the irrational nature of the
creatures who plunge into it; even so count it to be in the case of
human beings.
7. And how
might we cure those who are thus disposed? It would be possible if they
would open their ears to us, and unfold their heart, and receive our
words. For it is impossible to turn and divert the irrational animals
from their unclean habit; for they are destitute of reason: but this the
gentlest of all tribes, honoured by reason and speech, I mean human
nature, might, if it chose, readily and easily be released from the mire
and the stench, and the dung hill and its abomination. For wherefore, O
man, do riches seem to thee worthy such diligent pursuit? Is it on
account of the pleasure which no doubt is derived from the table? or on
account of the honour and the escort of those who pay court to thee,
because of thy wealth? is it because thou art able to defend thyself
against those who annoy thee, and to be an object of fear to all? For
yon cannot name any other reasons, save pleasure and flattery, and fear,
and the power of taking revenge; for wealth is not generally wont to
make any one wiser, or more self-controlled, or more gentle, or more
intelligent, or kind, or benevolent, or superior to anger, or gluttony
or pleasure: it does not train any one to be moderate, or teach him how
to be humble, nor introduce and implant any other piece of virtue in the
soul. Neither could you say for which of these things it deserves to be
so diligently sought and desired. For not only is it ignorant how to
plant and cultivate any good thing, but even if it finds a store of them
it mars and stunts and blights them; and some of them it even uproots,
and introduces their opposites, unmeasured licentiousness, unseasonable
wrath, unrighteous anger, pride, arrogance, foolishness. But let me not
speak of these; for they who have been seized by this malady will not
endure to hear about virtue and vice, being entirely abandoned to
pleasure and therefore enslaved to it. Come then let us forego for the
time being the consideration of these points, and let us bring forward
the others which remain, and see whether wealth has any pleasure, or any
honour: for in my eyes the case is quite the reverse. And first of all,
if you please, let us investigate the meals of rich and poor, and ask
the guests which they are who enjoy the purest and most genuine
pleasure; is it they who recline for a full day on couches, and join
breakfast and dinner together, and distend their stomach, and blunt
their senses, and sink the vessel by an overladen cargo of food, and
waterlog the ship, and drench it as in some shipwreck of the body, and
devise fetters, and manacles, and gags, and bind their whole body with
the band of drunkenness and surfeit more grievous than an iron chain,
and enjoy no sound pure sleep undisturbed by frightful dreams, and are
more miserable than madmen and introduce a kind of self-imposed demon
into the soul and display themselves as a laughing stock to the gaze of
their servants, or rather to the kinder sort amongst them as a tragical
spectacle eliciting tears, and cannot recognize any of those who are
present, and are incapable of speaking or hearing but have to be carried
away from their couches to their bed;—or is it they who are sober and
vigilant, and limit their eating by their need, and sail with a
favourable breeze, and find hunger and thirst the best relish in their
food and drink? For nothing is so conducive to enjoyment and health as
to be hungry and thirsty when one attacks the viands, and to identify
satiety with the sim277ple necessity of food, never overstepping the limits of this, nor imposing a load upon the body too great for its strength.
8. But if
you disbelieve my statement study the physical condition, and the soul
of each class. Are not the bodies vigorous of those who live thus
moderately (for do not tell me of that which rarely happens, although
some may be weak from some other circumstance, but form your judgment
from those instances which are of constant occurrence), I say are they
not vigorous, and their senses clear, fulfilling their proper function
with much ease? whereas the bodies of the others are flaccid and softer
than wax, and beset with a crowd of maladies? For gout soon fastens upon
them, and untimely palsy, and premature old age, and headache, and
flatulence, and feebleness of digestion, and loss of appetite, and they
require constant attendance of physicians, and perpetual doseing, and
daily care. Are these things pleasurable? tell me. Who of those that
know what pleasure really is would say so? For pleasure is produced when
desire leads the way, and fruition follows: now if there is fruition,
but desire is nowhere to be found, the conditions of pleasure fail and
vanish. On this account also invalids, although the most charming food
is set before them, partake of it with a feeling of disgust and sense of
oppression: because there is no desire which gives a keen relish to the
enjoyment of it. For it is not the nature of the food, or of the drink,
but the appetite of the eaters which is wont to produce the desire, and
is capable of causing pleasure. Therefore also a certain wise man who
had an accurate knowledge of all that concerned pleasure, and understood
how to moralize about these things said “the full soul mocketh at
honeycombs:” showing that the conditions of pleasure consist not in the
nature of the meal, but in the disposition of the eaters. Therefore also
the prophet recounting the wonders in Egypt and in the desert mentioned
this in connexion with the others “He satisfied them with honey out of
the rock.” And yet nowhere does it appear that honey actually sprang
forth for them out of the rock: what then is the meaning of the
expression? Because the people being exhausted by much toil and long
travelling, and distressed by great thirst rushed to the cool spring,
their craving for drink serving as a relish, the writer wishing to
describe the pleasures which they received from those fountains called
the water honey, not meaning that the element was converted into honey,
but that the pleasure received from the water rivalled the sweetness of
honey, inasmuch as those who partook of it rushed to it in their
eagerness to drink.
Since then
these things are so and no one can deny it, however stupid he may be: is
it not perfectly plain that pure, undiluted, and lively pleasure is to
be found at the tables of the poor? whereas at the tables of the rich
there is discomfort, and disgust and defilement? as that wise man has
said “even sweet things seem to be a vexation.”
9. But
riches some one will say procure honour for those who possess them, and
enable them to take vengeance on their enemies with ease. And is this a
reason, pray, why riches seem to you desirable and worth contending
for;—that they nourish the most dangerous passion in our nature, leading
on anger into action, swelling the empty bubbles of ambition, and
stimulating and urging men to arrogance? Why these are just the very
reasons why we ought resolutely to turn our backs upon riches, because
they introduce certain fierce and dangerous wild beasts into our heart
depriving us of the real honour which we might receive from all, and
introducing to deluded men another which is the opposite of this, only
painted over with its colours, and persuading them to fancy that it is
the same, when by nature it is not so, but only seems to be so to the
eye. For as the beauty of courtesans, made up as it is of dyes and
pigments, is destitute of real beauty, yet makes a foul and ugly face
appear fair and beautiful to those who are deluded by it when it is not
so in reality: even so also riches force flattery to look like honour.
For I beg you not to consider the praises which are openly bestowed
through fear and fawning: for these are only tints and pigments; but
unfold the conscience of each of those who flatter you in this fashion,
and inside it you will see countless accusers declaring against you, and
loathing and detesting you more than your bitterest adversaries and
foes. And if ever a change of circumstances should occur which would
remove and expose this mask which fear has manufactured, just as the sun
when it emits a hotter ray than usual discloses the real countenances
of those women whom I mentioned, then you will see clearly that all
through the former time you were held in the greatest contempt by those
who paid court to you, and you fancied you were enjoying honour from
those who thoroughly hated you, and in their heart poured infinite abuse
upon you, and longed to see 278you
involved in extreme calamities. For there is nothing like virtue to
produce honour,—honour neither forced nor feigned, nor hidden under a
mask of deceit, but real and genuine, and able to stand the test of hard
times.
10. But do
you wish to take vengeance on those who have annoyed you? This, as I was
saying just now, is the very reason why wealth ought specially to be
avoided. For it prepares thee to thrust the sword against thyself, and
renders thee liable to a heavier account in the future day of reckoning,
and makes thy punishment intolerable. For revenge is so great an evil
that it actually revokes the mercy of God, and cancels the forgiveness
of countless sins which has been already bestowed. For he who received
remission of the debt of ten thousand talents, and after having obtained
so great a boon by merely asking for it then made a demand of one
hundred pence from his fellow servant, a demand, that is, for
satisfaction for his transgression against himself, in his severity
towards his fellow servant recorded his own condemnation; and for this
reason and no other he was delivered to the tormentors, and racked, and
required to pay back the ten thousand talents; and he was not allowed
the benefit of any excuse or defence, but suffered the most extreme
penalty, having been commanded to deposit the whole debt which the
lovingkindness of God had formerly remitted. Is this then the reason,
pray, why wealth is so earnestly pursued by thee, because it so easily
conducts thee into sin of this kind? Nay verily, this is why you ought
to abhor it as a foe and an adversary teeming with countless murders.
But poverty, some one will say, disposes men to be discontented and
often also to utter profane words, and condescend to mean actions. It is
not poverty which does this, but littleness of soul: for Lazarus also
was poor, aye! very poor: and besides poverty he suffered from
infirmity, a bitterer trial than any form of poverty, and one which
makes poverty more severely felt; and in addition to infirmity there was
a total absence of protectors, and difficulty in finding any to supply
his wants, which increased the bitterness of poverty and infirmity.
For
each of these things is painful in itself, but when there are none to
minister to the sufferer’s wants, the suffering becomes greater, the
flame more painful, the distress more bitter, the tempest fiercer, the
billows stronger, the furnace hotter. And if one examines the case
thoroughly there was yet a fourth trial besides these—the unconcern and
luxury of the rich man who dwelt hard by. And if you would find a fifth
thing, serving as fuel to the flame, you will see quite clearly that he
was beset by it. For not only was that rich man living luxuriously, but
twice, and thrice, or rather indeed several times in the day he saw the
poor man: for he had been laid at his gate, being a grievous spectacle
of pitiable distress, and the bare sight of him was sufficient to soften
even a heart of stone: and yet even this did not induce that unmerciful
man to assist this case of poverty: but he had his luxurious table
spread, and goblets wreathed with flowers, and pure wine plentifully
poured forth, and grand armies of cooks, and parasites, and flatterers
from early dawn, and troops of singers, cupbearers, and jesters; and he
spent all his time in devising every species of dissipation, and
drunkenness, and surfeiting, and in revelling in dress and feasting and
many other things. But although he saw that poor man every day
distressed by grievous hunger and the bitterest infirmity, and the
oppression of his many sores, and by destitution, and the ills which
result from these things, he never even gave him a thought: yet the
parasites and the flatterers were pampered even beyond their need; but
the poor man, and he so very poor, and encompassed with so many
miseries, was not even vouchsafed the crumbs which fell from that table,
although he greatly desired them: and yet none of these things injured
him, he did not give vent to a bitter word, he did not utter a profane
speech; but like a piece of gold which shines all the more brilliantly
when it is purified by excessive heat, even so he, although oppressed by
these sufferings, was superior to all of them, and to the agitation
which in many cases is produced by them.
For if generally speaking poor
men, when they see rich men, are consumed with envy and racked by
malicious ill-will, and deem life not worth living, and this even when
they are well supplied with necessary food, and have persons to minister
to their wants; what would the condition of this poor man have been had
he not been very wise and noble hearted, seeing that he was poor beyond
all other poor men, and not only poor, but also infirm, and without any
one to protect or cheer him, and lay in the midst of the city as if in a
remote desert, and wasted away with bitter hunger, and saw all good
things being poured upon the rich man as out of a fountain, and had not
the benefit of any human consolation, but lay exposed as a perpetual
meal for the tongues of the dogs, for he was so enfeebled and broken
down in 279body
that he could not scare them away? Dost thou perceive that he who does
not injure himself suffers no evil? for I will again take up the same
argument.
11. For what
harm was done to this hero by his bodily infirmity? or by the absence
of protectors? or by the coming of the dogs? or the evil proximity of
the rich man? or by the great luxury, haughtiness and arrogance of the
latter? Did it enervate him for the contest on behalf of virtue? Did it
ruin his fortitude? Nowhere was he harmed at all, but that multitude of
sufferings, and the cruelty of the rich man, rather increased his
strength, and became the pledge for him of infinite crowns of victory, a
means of adding to his rewards, an augmentation of his recompense, and a
promise of an increased requital. For he was crowned not merely on
account of his poverty, or of his hunger or of his sores, or of the dogs
licking them: but because, having such a neighbour as the rich man, and
being seen by him every day, and perpetually overlooked he endured this
trial bravely and with much fortitude, a trial which added no small
flame but in fact a very strong one to the fire of poverty, and
infirmity and loneliness.
And, tell
me, what was the case of the blessed Paul? for there is nothing to
prevent my making mention of him again. Did he not experience
innumerable storms of trial? And in what respect was he injured by them?
Was he not crowned with victory all the more in consequence,—because he
suffered hunger, because he was consumed with cold and nakedness,
because he was often tortured with the scourge, because he was stoned,
because he was cast into the sea? But then some one says he was Paul,
and called by Christ. Yet Judas also was one of the twelve, and he too
was called of Christ; but neither his being of the twelve nor his call
profited him, because he had not a mind disposed to virtue. But Paul
although struggling with hunger, and at a loss to procure necessary
food, and daily undergoing such great sufferings, pursued with great
zeal the road which leads to heaven: whereas Judas although he had been
called before him, and enjoyed the same advantages as he did, and was
initiated in the highest form of Christian life, and partook of the holy
table and that most awful of sacred feasts, and received such grace as
to be able to raise the dead, and cleanse the lepers, and cast out
devils, and often heard discourses concerning poverty, and spent so long
a time in the company of Christ Himself, and was entrusted with the
money of the poor, so that his passion might be soothed thereby (for he
was a thief) even then did not become any better, although he had been
favoured with such great condescension. For since Christ knew that he
was covetous, and destined to perish on account of his love of money he
not only did not demand punishment of him for this at that time, but
with a view to softening down his passion he was entrusted with the
money of the poor, that having some means of appeasing his greed he
might be saved from falling into that appalling gulf of sin, checking
the greater evil beforehand by a lesser one.
12. Thus in
no case will any one be able to injure a man who does not choose to
injure himself: but if a man is not willing to be temperate, and to aid
himself from his own resources no one will ever be able to profit him.
Therefore also that wonderful history of the Holy Scriptures, as in some
lofty, large, and broad picture, has portrayed the lives of the men of
old time, extending the narrative from Adam to the coming of Christ: and
it exhibits to you both those who are upset, and those who are crowned
with victory in the contest, in order that it may instruct you by means
of all examples that no one will be able to injure one who is not
injured by himself, even if all the world were to kindle a fierce war
against him. For it is not stress of circumstances, nor variation of
seasons, nor insults of men in power, nor intrigues besetting thee like
snow storms, nor a crowd of calamities, nor a promiscuous collection of
all the ills to which mankind is subject, which can disturb even
slightly the man who is brave, and temperate, and watchful; just as on
the contrary the indolent and supine man who is his own betrayer cannot
be made better, even with the aid of innumerable ministrations. This at
least was made manifest to us by the parable of the two men, of whom the
one built his house upon the rock, the other upon the sand: not that we
are to think of sand and rock, or of a building of stone, and a roof,
or of rivers, and rain, and wild winds, beating against the buildings,
but we are to extract virtue and vice as the meaning of these things,
and to perceive from them that no one injures a man who does not injure
himself. Therefore neither the rain although driven furiously along, nor
the streams dashing against it with much vehemence, nor the wild winds
beating against it with a mighty rush, shook the one house in any
degree: but it remained undisturbed, unmoved: that thou mightest
understand that no trial can agitate the man who does not betray
himself. But the house of the other man 280was
easily swept away, not on account of the force of the trials (for in
that case the other would have experienced the same fate), but on
account of his own folly; for it did not fall because the wind blew upon
it, but because it was built upon the sand, that is to say upon
indolence and iniquity. For before that tempest beat upon it, it was
weak and ready to fall. For buildings of that kind, even if no one puts
any pressure on them, fall to pieces of themselves, the foundation
sinking and giving way in every direction. And just as cobwebs part
asunder, although no strain is put upon them, but adamant remains
unshaken even when it is struck: even so also they who do not injure
themselves become stronger, even if they receive innumerable blows; but
they who betray themselves, even if there is no one to harass them, fall
of themselves, and collapse and perish. For even thus did Judas perish,
not only having been unassailed by any trial of this kind, but having
actually enjoyed the benefit of much assistance.
13. Would
you like me to illustrate this argument in the case of whole nations?
What great forethought was bestowed upon the Jewish nation! was not the
whole visible creation arranged with a view to their service? was not a
new and strange method of life introduced amongst them? For they had not
to send down to a market, and so they had the benefit of things which
are sold for money without paying any price for them: neither did they
cleave furrows nor drag a plough, nor harrow the ground, nor cast in
seed, nor had they need of rain and wind, and annual seasons, nor
sunshine, nor phases of the moon, nor climate, nor anything of that
kind; they prepared no threshing floor, they threshed no grain, they
used no winnowing fan for separating the grain from the chaff, they
turned no mill-stone, they built no oven, they brought neither wood nor
fire into the house, they needed no baker’s art, they handled no spade,
they sharpened no sickle, they required no other art, I mean of weaving
or building or supplying shoes: but the word of God was everything to
them. And they had a table prepared off hand, free of all toil and
labour. For such was the nature of the manna; it was new and fresh,
nowhere costing them any trouble, nor straining them by labour. And
their clothes, and shoes, and even their physical frame forgot their
natural infirmity: for the former did not wear out in the course of so
long a time nor did their feet swell although they made such long
marches. Of physicians, and medicine, and all other concern about that
kind of art, there was no mention at all amongst them; so completely
banished was infirmity of every kind: for it is said “He brought them
out with silver and gold; and there was not one feeble person among
their tribes.” But like men who had quitted this world, and were
transplanted to another and a better one, even so did they eat and
drink, neither did the sun’s ray when it waxed hot smite their heads;
for the cloud parted them from the fiery beam, hovering all round them,
and serving like a portable shelter for the whole body of the people.
Neither at night did they need a torch to disperse the darkness, but
they had the pillar of fire, a source of unspeakable light, supplying
two wants, one by its shining, the other by directing the course of
their journey; for it was not only luminous, but also conducted that
countless host along the wilderness with more certainty than any human
guide. And they journeyed not only upon land but also upon sea as if it
had been dry land; and they made an audacious experiment upon the laws
of nature by treading upon that angry sea, marching through it as if it
had been the hard and resisting surface of a rock; and indeed when they
placed their feet upon it the element became like solid earth, and
gently sloping plains and fields; but when it received their enemies it
wrought after the nature of sea; and to the Israelites indeed it served
as a chariot, but to their enemies it became a grave; conveying the
former across with ease, but drowning the latter with great violence.
And the disorderly flood of water displayed the good order and
subordination which marks reasonable and highly intelligent men,
fulfilling the part at one time of a guardian, at another of an
executioner, and exhibiting these opposites together on one day. What
shall one say of the rocks which gave forth streams of water? what of
the clouds of birds which covered the whole face of the earth by the
number of their carcases? what of the wonders in Egypt? what of the
marvels in the wilderness? what of the triumphs and bloodless victories?
for they subdued those who opposed them like men keeping holiday rather
than making war. And they vanquished their own masters without the use
of arms; and overcame those who fought with them after they left Egypt
by means of singing and music; and what they did was a festival rather
than a campaign, a religious ceremony rather than a battle. For all
these wonders took place not merely for the purpose of supplying their
need, but also that the people might preserve more accurately 281the
doctrine which Moses inculcated of the knowledge of God; and voices
proclaiming the presence of their Master were uttered on all sides of
them.
For the sea loudly declared this, by becoming a road for them to
march upon, and then turning into sea again: and the waters of the Nile
uttered this voice when they were converted into the nature of blood;
and the frogs, and the great army of locusts, and the caterpillar and
blight declared the same thing to all the people; and the wonders in the
desert, the manna, the pillar of fire, the cloud, the quails, and all
the other incidents served them as a book, and writing which could never
be effaced, echoing daily in their memory and resounding in their mind.
Nevertheless after such great and remarkable providence, after all
those unspeakable benefits, after such mighty miracles, after care
indescribable, after continual teaching, after instruction by means of
speech, and admonition by means of deeds, after glorious victories,
after extraordinary triumphs, after abundant supply of food, after the
plentiful production of water, after the ineffable glory with which they
were invested in the eyes of the human race, being ungrateful and
senseless they worshipped a calf, and paid reverence to the head of a
bull, even when the memorials of God’s benefits in Egypt were fresh in
their minds, and they were still in actual enjoyment of many more.
14. But the
Ninevites, although a barbarous and foreign people who had never
participated in any of these benefits, small or great, neither words,
nor wonders, nor works, when they saw a man who had been saved from
shipwreck, who had never associated with them before, but appeared then
for the first time, enter their city and say “yet three days and Nineveh
shall be overthrown,” were so converted and reformed by the mere sound
of these words, and putting away their former wickedness, advanced in
the direction of virtue by the path of repentance, that they caused the
sentence of God to be revoked, and arrested the threatened disturbance
of their city, and averted the heaven-sent wrath, and were delivered
from every kind of evil. “For,” we read, “God saw that every man turned
from his evil way, and was converted to the Lord.” How turned? I ask.
Although their wickedness was great, their iniquity unspeakable, their
moral sores difficult to heal, which was plainly shown by the prophet
when he said “their wickedness ascended even unto the
heaven:” indicating by the distance of the place the magnitude of their
wickedness; nevertheless such great iniquity which was piled up to such a
height as to reach even to the heaven, all this in the course of three
days in a brief moment of time through the effect of a few words which
they heard from the mouth of one man and he an unknown shipwrecked
stranger they so thoroughly abolished, removed out of sight, and put
away, as to have the happiness of hearing the declaration “God saw that
every one turned from his evil way, and He repented of the evil which
God said He would do them.” Seest thou that he who is temperate and
watchful not only suffers no injury at the hands of man, but even turns
back Heaven-sent wrath? whereas he who betrays himself and harms himself
by his own doing, even if he receives countess benefits, reaps no great
advantage. So, at least, the Jews were not profited by those great
miracles, nor on the other hand were the Ninevites harmed by having no
share in them; but inasmuch as they were inwardly well-disposed, having
laid hold of a slight opportunity they became better, barbarians and
foreigners though they were, ignorant of all divine revelation, and
dwelling at a distance from Palestine.
15. Again, I
ask, was the virtue of the “three children” corrupted by the troubles
which beset them? Whilst they were still young, mere youths, of immature
age, did they not undergo that grievous affliction of captivity? had
they not to make a long journey from home, and when they had arrived in
the foreign country were they not cut off from fatherland and home and
temple, and altar and sacrifices, and offerings, and drink offerings,
and even the singing of psalms? For not only were they debarred from
their home, but as a consequence from many forms of worship also. Were
they not given up into the hands of barbarians, wolves rather than men?
and, most painful calamity of all, when they had been banished into so
distant and barbarous a country, and were suffering such a grievous
captivity were they not without teacher, without prophets, without
ruler? “for,” it is written, “there is no ruler, nor prophet, nor
governor, nor place for offering before Thee and finding mercy.” Yea
moreover they were cast into the royal palace, as upon some cliff and
crag, and a sea full of rocks and reefs, being compelled to sail over
that angry sea without a pilot or signal man, or crew, or sails; and
they were cooped up in the royal court as in a prison. For inasmuch as
they knew spiritual wisdom, and were superior to worldly things, and
despised all 282human
pride and made the wings of their soul soar upwards, they counted their
sojourn there as an aggravation of their trouble. For had they been
outside the court, and dwelling in a private house they would have
enjoyed more independence: but having been cast into that prison (for
they deemed the splendour of the palace no better than a prison, no
safer than a place of rocks and crags) they were straightway subjected
to cruel embarrassment.
For the king commanded them to be partakers of
his own table, a luxurious, unclean and profane table, a thing which was
forbidden them, and seemed more terrible than death; and they were
lonely men hemmed in like lambs amongst so many wolves. And they were
constrained to choose between being consumed by famine or rather led off
to execution, and tasting of forbidden meats. What then did these
youths do, forlorn as they were, captives, strangers, slaves of those
who commanded these things. They did not consider that this strait or
the absolute power of him who possessed the state sufficed to justify
their compliance; but they employed every device and expedient to enable
them to avoid the sin, although they were abandoned on every side. For
they could not influence men by money: how should they, being captives?
nor by friendship and social intercourse? how should they being
strangers? nor could they get the better of them by any exertion of
power: how was it possible being slaves? nor master them by force of
numbers: how could they being only three? Therefore they approached the
eunuch who possessed the necessary authority, and persuaded him by their
arguments. For when they saw him fearful and trembling, and in an agony
of alarm concerning his own safety, and the dread of death which
agitated his soul was intolerable: “for I fear” said he “my lord the
king, lest he should see your countenances sadder than the children
which are of your sort and so shall ye endanger my head to the
king,” having released him from this fear they persuaded him to grant
them the favour. And inasmuch as they brought to the work all the
strength which they had, God also henceforth contributed his strength to
it. For it was not God’s doing only that they achieved those things for
the sake of which they were to receive a reward, but the beginning and
starting point was from their own purpose, and having manifested that to
be noble and brave, they won for themselves the help of God, and so
accomplished their aim.
16. Dost
thou then perceive that if a man does not injure himself, no one else
will be able to harm him? Behold at least youthfulness, and captivity
and destitution, and removal into a foreign land, and loneliness, and
dearth of protectors, and a stern command, and great fear of death
assailing the mind of the eunuch, and poverty, and feebleness of
numbers, and dwelling in the midst of barbarians, and having enemies for
masters, and surrender into the hands of the king himself, and
separation from all their kindred, and removal from priests and
prophets, and from all others who cared for them, and the cessation of
drink offerings and sacrifices, and loss of the temple and psalmody, and
yet none of these things harmed them; but they had more renown then
than when they enjoyed these things in their native land. And after they
had accomplished this task first and had wreathed their brows with the
glorious garland of victory, and had kept the law even in a foreign
land, and trampled under foot the tyrant’s command, and overcome fear of
the avenger, and yet received no harm from any quarter, as if they had
been quietly living at home and enjoying the benefit of all those things
which I mentioned, after they had thus fearlessly accomplished their
work they were again summoned to other contests. And again they were the
same men; and they were subjected to a more severe trial than the
former one, and a furnace was kindled, and they were confronted by the
barbarian army in company with the king: and the whole Persian force was
set in motion and everything was devised which tended to put deceit or
constraint upon them: divers kinds of music, and various forms of
punishment, and threats, and what they saw on every side of them was
alarming, and the words which they heard were more alarming than what
they saw; nevertheless inasmuch as they did not betray themselves, but
made the most of their own strength, they never sustained any kind of
damage: but even won for themselves more glorious crowns of victory than
before. For Nabuchadonosor bound them and cast them into the furnace,
yet he burnt them not, but rather benefited them, and rendered them more
illustrious. And although they were deprived of temple (for I will
repeat my former remarks) and altar, and fatherland, and priests and
prophets, although they were in a foreign and barbarous country, in the
very midst of the furnace, surrounded by all that mighty host, the king
himself who wrought this looking on, they set up a glorious trophy, and
won a notable victory, having sung that admirable and extraordinary hymn
which from that day to this has been sung 283throughout the world and will continue to be sung to future generations.
Thus then
when a man does not injure himself, he cannot possibly be hurt by
another: for I will not cease harping constantly upon this saying. For
if captivity, and bondage, and loneliness and loss of country and all
kindred and death, and burning, and a great army and a savage tyrant
could not do any damage to the innate virtue of the three children
captives, bondmen, strangers though they were in a foreign land, but the
enemy’s assault became to them rather the occasion of greater
confidence: what shall be able to harm the temperate man? There is
nothing, even should he have the whole world in arms against him. But,
some one may say, in their case God stood beside them, and plucked them
out of the flame. Certainly He did; and if thou wilt play thy part to
the best of thy power, the help which God supplies will assuredly
follow.
17.
Nevertheless the reason why I admire those youths, and pronounce them
blessed, and enviable, is not because they tramped on the flame, and
vanquished the force of the fire: but because they were bound, and cast
into the furnace, and delivered to the fire for the sake of true
doctrine. For this it was which constituted the completeness of their
triumph, and the wreath of victory was placed on their brows as soon as
they were cast into the furnace and before the issue of events it began
to be weaved for them from the moment that they uttered those words
which they spoke with much boldness and freedom of speech to the king
when they were brought into his presence. “We have no need to answer
thee concerning this thing: for our God in Heaven whom we serve is able
to rescue us out of the burning fiery furnace: and He will deliver us
out of thy hands, O King. But if not, be it known unto thee, O King,
that we will not serve thy Gods nor worship the golden image which thou
hast set up.” After the utterance of these words I proclaimed them
conquerors; after these words having grasped the prize of victory, they
hastened on to the glorious crown of martyrdom, following up the
confession which they made through their words with the confession made
through their deeds. But if when they had been cast into it, the fire
had respect for their bodies, and undid their bonds, and suffered them
to go down into it without fear, and forgot its natural force, so that
the furnace of fire became as a fountain of cool water, this marvel was
the effect of God’s grace and of the divine wonder-working power. Yet
the heroes themselves even before these things took place, as soon as
they set foot in the flames had erected their trophy, and won their
victory, and put on their crown, and had been proclaimed conquerors both
in Heaven and on earth, and so far as they were concerned nothing was
wanting for their renown. What then wouldst thou have to say to these
things?
Hast thou been driven into exile, and expelled from thy country?
Behold so also were they. Hast thou suffered captivity, and become the
servant of barbarian masters. Well! this also thou wilt find befell
these men. But thou hast no one present there to regulate thy state nor
to advise or instruct thee? Well! of attention of this kind these men
were destitute. Or thou hast been bound, burned, put to death? for thou
canst not tell me of anything more painful than these things. Yet lo!
these men having gone through them all, were made more glorious by each
one of them, yea more exceedingly illustrious, and increased the store
of their treasures in Heaven. And the Jews indeed who had both temple,
and altar, and ark and cherubim, and mercy-seat, and veil, and an
infinite multitude of priests, and daily services, and morning and
evening sacrifices, and continually heard the voices of the prophets,
both living and departed, sounding in their ears, and carried about with
them the recollection of the wonders which were done in Egypt, and in
the wilderness, and all the rest, and turned the story of these things
over in their hands, and had them inscribed upon their door posts and
enjoyed the benefit at that time of much supernatural power and every
other kind of help were yet no wise profited, but rather damaged, having
set up idols in the temple itself, and having sacrificed their sons and
daughters under trees, and in almost every part of the country in
Palestine having offered those unlawful and accursed sacrifices, and
perpetrated countless other deeds yet more monstrous. But these men
although in the midst of a barbarous and hostile land, having their
occupation in a tyrant’s house, deprived of all that care of which I
have been speaking, led away to execution, and subjected to burning, not
only suffered no harm there from small or great, but became the more
illustrious.
Knowing then these things, and collecting instances of the
like kind from the inspired divine Scriptures (for it is possible to
find many such examples in the case of various other persons) we deem
that neither a difficulty arising from seasons or events, nor compulsion
and force, nor the arbitrary authority 284of
potentates furnish a sufficient excuse for us when we transgress. I
will now conclude my discourse by repeating what I said at the
beginning, that if any one be harmed and injured he certainly suffers
this at his own hands, not at the hands of others even if there be
countless multitudes injuring and insulting him: so that if he does not
suffer this at his own hands, not all the creatures who inhabit the
whole earth and sea if they combined to attack him would be able to hurt
one who is vigilant and sober in the Lord. Let us then, I beseech you,
be sober and vigilant at all times, and let us endure all painful things
bravely that we may obtain those everlasting and pure blessings in
Christ Jesus our Lord, to whom be glory and power, now and ever
throughout all ages. Amen.
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