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Spoken in Antioch in the Old Church, as it was called, while he
was a presbyter, on the subject of the calamity that had befallen the
city in consequence of the tumult connected with the overthrow of the
Statues of the Emperor Theodosius, the Great and Pious. And on
the saying of the Apostle, "Charge them that are rich that they be
not high-minded," 1 Tim. vi. 17. And against covetousness.
1. What shall I say, or what shall I speak of? The present
season is one for tears, and not for words; for lamentation, not for
discourse; for prayer, not for preaching. Such is the magnitude of
the deeds daringly done; so incurable is the wound, so deep the blow,
even beyond the power of all treatment, and craving assistance from
above. Thus it was that Job, when he had lost all, sat himself down
upon a dunghill; and his friends heard of it, and came, and seeing
him, while yet afar off, they rent their garments, and sprinkled
themselves with ashes, and made great lamentation. The same thing now
ought all the cities around to do, to come to our city and to lament
with all sympathy what has befallen us. He then sat down on his
dunghill; she is now seated in the midst of a great snare. For even
as the devil then leaped violently the flocks, and herds, and all the
substance of the just man, so now hath he raged against this whole
city. But then, as well as now, God permitted it; then, indeed,
that he might make the just man more illustrious by the greatness of his
trials; and now, that he may make us more sober-minded by the
extremity of this tribulation. Suffer me to mourn over our present
state. We have been silent seven days, even as the friends of Job
were. Suffer me to open my mouth today, and to bewail this common
calamity.
2. Who, beloved, hath bewitched us? Who hath envied us? Whence
hath all this change come over us? Nothing was more dignified than our
city! Now, never was anything more pitiable! The populace so well
ordered and quiet, yea, even like a tractable and well tamed steed,
always submissive to the hands of its rulers, hath now so suddenly
started off with us, as to have wrought such evils, as one can hardly
dare to mention.
I mourn now and lament, not for the greatness of that wrath which is
to be expected, but for the extravagance of the frenzy which has been
manifested! For although the Emperor should not be provoked, or in
anger, although he were neither to punish, nor take vengeance; how,
I pray, are we to bear the shame of all that has been done? I find
the word of instruction broken off by lamentation; scarcely am I able
to open my mouth, to part my lips, to move my tongue, or to utter a
syllable! So, even like a curb, the weight of grief checks my
tongue, and keeps back what I would say.
3. Aforetime there was nothing happier than our city; nothing more
melancholy than it is now become. As bees buzzing around their hive,
so before this the inhabitants every day flitted about the forum, and
all pronounced us happy in being so numerous. But behold now, this
hive hath become solitary! For even as smoke does those bees, so fear
hath driven away our swarms; and what the prophet says, bewailing
Jerusalem, we may fitly say now, "Our city is become 'like a
terebinth that hath lost its leaves, and as a garden that hath no
water.'" For in like manner as a garden when its irrigation fails,
exhibits the trees stripped of their leaves, and bare of their fruits,
so has it now fared with our city. For the help from above having
forsaken her, she stands desolate stripped of almost all her
inhabitants.
4. Nothing is sweeter than one's own country; but now, it has come
to pass that nothing is more bitter! All flee from the place which
brought them forth, as from a snare. They desert it as they would a
dungeon; they leap out of it, as from a fire. And just as when a
house is seized upon by the flames, not only those who dwell therein,
but all who are near, take their flight from it with the utmost haste,
eager to save but their bare bodies; even so now too, when the wrath
of the Emperor is expected to come as a fire from above, every one
presses to go forth in time, and to save the bare body, before the
fire in its progress reaches them. And now our calamity has become an
enigma; a flight without enemies; an expulsion of inhabitants without
a battle; a captivity without capture! We have not seen the fire of
barbarians, nor beheld the face of enemies: and yet we experience the
sufferings of captives. All men now hear of our calamities; for
receiving our exiles, they learn from them the stroke which has fallen
upon our city.
5. Yet I am not ashamed, nor blush at this. Let all men learn the
sufferings of the city, that, sympathizing with their mother, they
may lift up their united voice to God from the whole earth; and with
one consent entreat the King of heaven for their universal nurse and
parent. Lately our city was shaken; but now the very souls of the
inhabitants totter! Then the foundations of the houses shook, but now
the very foundations of every heart quiver; and we all see death daily
before our eyes! We live in constant terror, and endure the penalty
of Cain; a more pitiable one than that of those who were the former
inmates of the prison; undergoing as we now do a new and strange kind
of siege, far more terrible than the ordinary kind. For they who
suffer this from enemies, are only shut up within the walls; but even
the forum has become impassable to us, and every one is pent up within
the walls of his own house! And as it is not safe for those who are
beseiged to go beyond the walls, while the enemy without is encamped
around; so neither, to many of those who inhabit this city, is it
safe to go out of doors, or to all-pear openly; on account of those
who are everywhere hunting for the innocent as well as the guilty; and
seizing them even in the midst of the forum, and dragging them to the
court of justice, without ceremony, and just as chance directs. For
this reason, free-men sit in doors shackled up with their domestics;
anxiously and minutely enquiring of those to whom they may safely put
the question, "Who has been seized today;" who carried off; or
punished? How was it? and in what manner?" They live a life more
wretched than any kind of death; being compelled daily to mourn the
calamities of others; while they tremble for their own safety, and are
in no better case than the dead; inasmuch as they are already dead with
fear.
6. But if any one who is devoid of this fear and anguish, chooses to
enter the forum, he is presently driven back to his own dwelling, by
the cheerless spectacle; finding hardly perchance one or two people,
and those hanging their heads and creeping about with downcast looks,
where but a few days before the multitude swept along more incessantly
than the streams of rivers. Yet all these have now been driven away
from us! And, as when many trees in a thick wood of oak are cut down
in all directions, the spectacle becomes a melancholy one, even like
that of a head with many patches of baldness; even so the city itself,
its inhabitants being dimin ished and but few appearing here and there,
is now become dreary, and sheds a heavy mist of sorrow over those who
witness it. And not the ground only, but the very nature of the air,
and even the circle of the sun's beams, seem now to me to look
mournful, and to shine more dimly; not that the elements change their
nature, but that our eyes being confused by the cloud of sadness, are
unable to receive the light of the rays clearly, or with the same
relish. This is what the prophet of old bewailed, when he said,
"The sun shall go down at noon, and the day shall be darkened."
And this he said, not as though the Day Star should be eclipsed, or
the day should disappear, but because those who are in sorrow, are not
able to perceive the light even of noon day on account of the darkness
of their anguish; which indeed has been the case now. And wherever
any one looks abroad, whether upon the ground or upon the walls;
whether upon the columns of the city, or upon his neighbours, he seems
to see night and deep gloom; so full is all of melancholy! There is a
silence big with horror, and loneliness everywhere; and that dear hum
of the multitude is stifled; and even as though all were gone beneath
the earth, so speechlessness hath now taken possession of the city;
and all men seem like stones, and being oppressed by the calamity like
a gag on their tongues; they maintain the profoundest silence, yea,
such a silence as if enemies had come on them, and had consumed them
all at once by fire and sword!
7. Now is it a fit season to say, "Call for the mourning women,
that they may come, and for the cunning women, and let them take up a
wailing. Let your eyes run down with water, and your eyelids gush out
with tears." Ye hills take up wailing, and ye mountains
lamentation! Let us call the whole creation into sympathy with our
evils. So great a City, and the head of those which lie under the
eastern sky, is in danger of being torn away from the midst of the
civilized world! She that had so many children, has now suddenly
become childless, and there is no one who shall come to her aid! For
he who has been insulted has not an equal in dignity upon earth; for he
is a monarch; the summit and head of all here below! On this account
then let us take refuge in the King that is above. Him let us call in
to our aid. If we may not obtain the favour of heaven, there is no
consolation left for what has befallen us!
8. Here I could wish to end this discourse; for the minds of those
who are in anguish are indisposed to extend their discourses to a great
length. And as when some dense cloud has formed, and flying under the
solar rays, returns back to him all his splendour again, so indeed
does the cloud of sadness, when it stands before our souls, refuse to
admit an easy passage for the word, but chokes it and restrains it
forcibly within. And this is the case not only with those who speak,
but with those who hear; for as it does not suffer the word to burst
forth freely from the soul of the speaker, so neither does it suffer it
to sink into the mind of those who listen, with its natural power.
Therefore also the Jews of old time, while slaving at the mud and
bricks, had not the heart to listen to Moses, while he repeatedly
told them great things respecting their future deliverance; despondency
making their minds inaccessible to the address, and shutting up their
sense of hearing. I could have wished then, as to myself, to have
put an end here to my discourse; but thinking that it is not only the
nature of a cloud to intercept the forward passage of the sun's rays,
but that often just the opposite happens to the cloud; since the sun
continually falling upon it with much warmth, wears it away, and
frequently breaks through the midst of it; and shining forth all at
once, meets cheerfully the gaze of the beholders. This also I myself
expect to do this day; and the word being continually associated with
your minds, and dwelling in them, I hope to burst the cloud of
sadness, and to shine through your understandings again, with the
customary instruction!
9. But afford me your attention! Lend me your ears awhile! Shake
off this despondency! Let us return to our former custom; and as we
have been used always to meet here with gladness, so let us also do
now, casting all upon God. And this will contribute towards our
actual deliverance from calamity. For should the Lord see that His
words are listened to carefully; and that our love of divine wisdom
stands the trial of the difficulty of these times, He will quickly
take us up again, and will make out of the present tempest a calm and
happy change. For this too is a thing in which it behoves the
Christian to differ from the unbelievers, the bearing all things
nobly; and through hope of the future, soaring above the attack of
human evils. The believer hath his stand on the Rock; for this
reason he cannot be overthrown by the dashing of the billows. For
should the waves of temptation rise, they cannot reach to his feet.
He stands too lofty for any such assault. Let us not then sink down,
beloved! We do not care so much for our own safety, as God who made
us. There is not so much solicitude on our part, lest we suffer any
dreadful misfortune, as with Him who bestowed upon us a soul, and
then gave us so many good things beside. Let us mount on the wings of
these hopes, and hear the things about to be spoken with our accustomed
readiness.
10. I made a prolonged discourse lately unto you beloved, and yet
I saw all following it up, and no one turning back in the middle of
the course. I return thanks to you for that readiness, and have
received the reward of my labours. But there was another reward,
besides that attention, which I asked of you at that time; perchance
you know and recollect it. And what was the reward? That you should
punish and chastise the blasphemers that were in the city; that ye
should restrain those who are violent and insolent against God! I do
not think that I then spoke these things of myself; but that God,
foreseeing what was coming, injected these words into my mind; for if
we had punished those who dared to do such things, that which has now
happened would never have happened. How much better would it have
been, if necessity so required, to run into danger; yea, to suffer
in castigating and correcting such persons (which would have brought us
a martyr's crown), than now to fear, to tremble, and to expect
death, from the insubordination of such persons! Behold, the crime
was that of a few, but the blame comes on all! Behold, through
these, we are all now placed in fear, and are ourselves suffering the
punishment of what these men dared to do! But if we had taken them in
time, and cast them out of the city, and chastised them, and
corrected the sick member, we should not have been subjected to our
present terror. I know that the manners of this city have been of a
noble character from old times; but that certain strangers, and men of
mixed race,--accursed and pernicious characters,--hopeless of
their own safety, have perpetrated what has been perpetrated. For
this very reason I was always lifting up my voice, and unceasingly
bearing my testimony, saying, Let us punish the madness of those
blasphemers,--let us control their spirit, and provide for their
salvation;--yea, though it be necessary to die in doing it, the
deed would yet bring us great gain: let us not overlook the insult done
to our common Lord; overlooking such things will bring forth some
great evil to our city!
11. These things I foretold, and they have now actually taken
place;--and we are paying the penalty of that listlessness! You
overlooked the insult that was done unto God!--Behold, he hath
permitted the Emperor to be insulted, and peril to the utmost to hang
over all, in order that we might pay by this fear the penalty of that
listlessness; was it then vainly, and to no purpose I foretold these
things, and assiduously urged your Charity? But nevertheless,
nothing was done. Let it, however, be done now; and being chastened
by our present calamity, let us now restrain the disorderly madness of
these men. Let us shut up their mouths, even as we close up
pestiferous fountains; and let us turn them to a contrary course, and
the evils which have taken hold of the city shall undoubtedly be
stayed. The Church is not a theatre, that we should listen for
amusement. With profit ought we to depart hence, and some fresh and
great gain should we acquire ere we leave this place. For it is but
vainly and irrationally we meet together, if we have been but
captivated for a time, and return home empty, and void of all
improvement from the things spoken.
12. What need have I of these plaudits, these cheers and
tumultuous signs of approval? The praise I seek, is that ye show
forth all I have said in your works. Then am I an enviable and happy
man, not when ye approve, but when ye perform with all readiness,
whatsoever ye hear from me? Let every one then correct his neighbour,
for "edify ye one another," it is said, and if we do not this, the
crimes of each one will bring some general and intolerable damage to the
city. Behold, while we are unconscious of any part in this
transaction, we are no less affrighted than those who were daringly
engaged in it! We are dreading lest the wrath of the Emperor should
descend upon all; and it is not sufficient for us to say in defence,
"I was not present; I was not an accomplice, nor a participator in
these acts." "For this reason," he may reply, "thou shalt be
punished, and pay the extreme penalty, because thou wert not present;
and didst not check, nor restrain the rioters, and didst not run any
risk for the honour of the Emperor! Hadst thou no part in these
audacious deeds? I commend this, and take it well. But thou didst
not check these things when being done. This is a cause of
accusation!" Such words. as these, we shall also hear from God,
if we silently suffer the continuance of the injuries and insults
committed against Him. For he also who had buried his talent in the
earth, was called to account, not for crimes done by himself, for he
had given back the whole of that which was entrusted to him, but
because he had not increased it; because he had not instructed others;
because he had not deposited it in the hands of the bankers; that is,
he had not admonished, or counselled, or rebuked, or amended those
unruly sinners who were his neighbours. On this account he was sent
away without reprieve to those intolerable punishments! But I fully
trust that though ye did not before, ye will now at least perform this
work of correction, and not overlook insult committed against God.
For the events which have taken place are sufficient, even if no one
had given any warning, to convince men ever so disposed to be
insensible, that they must exert themselves for their own safety.
13. But it is now time that we should proceed to lay out before you
the customary table from St. Paul, by handling the subject of this
day's reading, and placing it in view for you all. What then was the
text read today? "Charge them that are rich in this world that they
be not high-minded." When he says, "the rich in this world," he
makes it manifest, that there are others who are rich, that is, in
the world to come: such as was that Lazarus, poor as to the present
life, but rich as to the future; not in gold and silver, and such
like perishable and transitory store of wealth; but in those
unutterable good things "which eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, nor
hath it entered into the heart of man." For this is true wealth and
opulence, when there is good unmixed, and not subject to any change.
Not such was the case of that rich man who despised him, but he became
the poorest of mankind. Afterwards at least when he sought to obtain
but a drop of water, he did not get possession even of that, to such
extreme poverty was he come. For this reason he calls them rich "in
the present world," to teach thee that along with the present life,
worldly wealth is annihilated. It goes no further, neither does it
change its place with its migrating possessors, but it often leaves
them before their end; which therefore he shows by saying, "Neither
trust in uncertain riches;" for nothing is so faithless as wealth; of
which I have often said, and will not cease to say, that it is a
runaway, thankless servant, having no fidelity; and should you throw
over him ten thousand chains, he will make off dragging his chains
after him. Frequently, indeed, have those who possessed him shut him
up with bars and doors, placing their slaves round about for guards.
But he has over-persuaded these very servants, and has fled away
together with his guards; dragging his keepers after him like a chain,
so little security was there in this custody. What then can be more
faithless than this? what more wretched than men devoted to it? When
men endeavour with all eagerness to collect so frail and fleeting a
thing, they do not hear what the prophet saith: "Woe unto them who
trust in their power, and boast themselves in the multitude of their
riches." Tell me why is this woe pronounced?--"He heapeth up
treasure," saith he, "and knoweth not for whom he will gather
it,"--forasmuch as the labor is certain, but the enjoyment
uncertain. Very often you toil and endure trouble for enemies. The
inheritance of your wealth after your decease, coming as it does, in
many instances, to those who have injured you, and plotted against you
in a thousand ways, has assigned you the sins for your part, but the
enjoyment to others!
14. But here, it is worthy of enquiry, for what reason he does not
say, "Charge those who are rich in the present world, not to be
rich; charge them to become poor; charge them to get rid of what they
have;" but, "charge them, not to be high-minded." For he knew
that the root and foundation of riches is pride; and that if any man
understood how to be unassuming, he would not make much ado about the
matter. Tell me, indeed, for what reason thou leadest about so many
servants, parasites, and flatterers, and all the other forms of
pomp? Not for necessity, but only for pride; to the end that by
these thou mayest seem more dignified than other men! Besides, he
knew that wealth is not forbidden if it be used for that which is
necessary. For as I observed, wine is not a bad thing, but
drunkenness is so. A covetous man is one thing, and a rich man is
another thing. The covetous man is not rich; he is in want of many
things, and while he needs many things, he can never be rich.
The covetous man is a keeper, not a master, of wealth; a slave, not
a lord. For he would sooner give any one a portion of his flesh, than
his buried gold. And as though he were ordered and compelled of some
one to touch nothing of these hidden treasures, so with all earnestness
he watches and keeps them, abstaining from his own, as if it were
another's. And certainly, they are not his own. For what he can
neither determine to bestow upon others, nor to distribute to the
necessitous, although he may sustain infinite punishments, how can he
possibly account his own? How does he hold possession of those
things, of which he has neither the free use, nor enjoyment? But
besides this,--Paul is not accustomed to enjoin everything on every
man, but accommodates himself to the weakness of his hearers, even,
indeed, as Christ also did. For when that rich man came to him, and
asked him concerning Life, he did not say at one, "Go, sell that
thou hast," but omitting this, he spoke to him of other
commandments. Nor afterwards, when he challenged' Him and said,
"What lack I yet?" did He simply say, "Sell what thou hast;"
but, "If thou wilt be perfect, go and sell that thou hast." "I
lay it down for your determination. I give you full power to choose.
I do not lay upon you any necessity." For this reason also, Paul
spoke nothing to the rich concerning poverty, but concerning humility;
as well because of the weakness of his hearers, as because he perfectly
knew, that could he bring them to exercise moderation, and to be free
from pride, he should also quickly free them from eagerness about being
rich.
15. And further, after giving this admonition, "not to be
high-minded," he also taught the manner in which they would be able
to avoid being so. And how was it? That they should consider the
nature of wealth, how uncertain and faithless it is! therefore he goes
on to say, "Neither trust in uncertain riches." The rich man is
not one who is in possession of much, but one who gives much. Abraham
was rich, but he was not covetous; for he turned not his thoughts to
the house of this man, nor prayed into the wealth of that man; but
going forth he looked around wherever there chanced to be a stranger,
or a poor man, in order that he might succour poverty, and hospitably
entertain the traveller. He covered not his roof with gold, but
fixing his tent near the oak, he was contented with the shadow of its
leaves. Yet so illustrious was his lodging, that angels were not
ashamed to tarry with him; for they sought not splendour of abode, but
virtue of soul. This man then let us imitate, beloved, and bestow
what we have upon the needy. That lodging was rudely prepared, but it
was more illustrious than the halls of kings. No king has ever
entertained angels; but he, dwelling under that oak, and having but
pitched a tent, was thought worthy of that honour: not receiving the
honour on account of the meanness of his dwelling, but enjoying that
benefit on account of the magnificence of his soul, and the wealth
therein deposited.
16. Let us too, then, adorn not our houses, but our souls in
preference to the house. For is it not disgraceful to clothe our walls
with marble, vainly and to no end, and to neglect Christ going about
naked? What does thy house profit thee, O man! For wilt thou take
it with thee when thou departest? This thou canst not take with thee,
when thou departest. But thy soul, when thou departest, thou shall
assuredly take with thee! Behold now this great danger has overtaken
us! Let your houses stand by you! Let them deliver you from the
threatened peril! but they cannot! And ye yourselves are witnesses,
who are leaving them solitary, and hurrying forth to the wilderness;
fearing them as ye would do snares and nets! Let riches now lend
assistance! But it is no time for them to do so! If then the power
of riches is found wanting before the wrath of man, much rather will
this be the case, before the divine and inexorable tribunal! If it is
but a man that is provoked and offended, and even now gold is of no
avail, much more will the power of money be utterly impotent then,
when God is angry, who has no need of wealth! We build houses that
we may have a habitation; not that we may make an ambitious display.
What is beyond our wants, is superfluous and useless. Put on a
sandal which is larger than your foot! you will not endure it; for it
is a hindrance to the step. Thus also a house larger than necessity
requires, is an impediment to your progress towards heaven. Do you
wish to build large and splendid houses?
I forbid it not; but let it be not upon the earth! Build thyself
tabernacles in heaven, and such that thou mayest be able to receive
others;--tabernacles which never fall to pieces. Why art thou mad
about fleeting things; and things that must be left here? Nothing is
more slippery than wealth. Today it is for thee; tomorrow it is
against thee. It arms the eyes of the envious everywhere. It is a
hostile comrade, a domestic enemy; and ye are witnesses of this, who
possess it, and are in every way burying and concealing it from view;
as even now too our very wealth makes the danger more insupportable to
us! Thou seest indeed the poor ready for action, disengaged, and
prepared for all things; but the wealthy in great perplexity, and
wandering about, seeking where they may bury their gold, or seeking
with whom they may deposit it! Why, O man, dost thou seek thy
fellow slaves? Christ stands ready to receive, and to keep thy
deposits for thee; and not to keep only, but also to augment them,
and to pay them back with much interest. Out of His hand no man can
forcibly take them away. And He not only keeps the deposit, but for
this very thing He also frees thee from thy perils. For among men,
they who receive treasures in trust think that they have done us a
favour, in keeping that of which they took charge; but with Christ it
is the contrary; for He does not say that He has conferred, but that
He has received a favour, when He receives thy deposited treasures;
and for the guardianship which He exercises over thy wealth, He does
not demand a recompense of thee, but gives thee a recompense!
17. What defence then can we claim, or what excuse, when we pass
by Him who is able to keep, and who is thankful for the trust giving
in return great and unspeakable rewards, and in place of this
guardianship commit our treasures to men who have not the power to keep
them, and who think they grant us a favour, and pay us back at last
only that which was given them. Thou art a stranger and a pilgrim with
respect to the things here! Thou hast a country which is thine own in
the heavens! There transfer all;--that before the actual
enjoyment, thou mayest enjoy the recompense here. He who is nourished
with good hopes, and is confident respecting things to come, hath here
already tasted of the kingdom! For nothing ordinarily so repairs the
soul, and makes a man better, as a good hope of things to come; so
that if thou transfer thy wealth there, thou mayest then provide for
thy soul with suitable leisure. For they who spend all their
endeavours upon the decoration of their dwelling, rich as they are in
outward things, are careless of that which is within, letting their
soul abide desolate and squalid, and full of cobwebs. But if they
would be indifferent to exterior things, and earnestly expend all their
attention upon the mind, adorning this at all points; then the soul of
such men would be a resting place for Christ. And having Christ for
its inhabitant, what could ever be more blessed? Wouldest thou be
rich? Have God for thy friend, and thou shall be richer than all
men!--Wouldest thou be rich? Be not high-minded!--This rule
is suitable not only to things future, but to things present. For
there is no such object of envy, as a man of wealth; but when pride is
super-added, a two-fold precipice is formed; the war becomes fiercer
on all sides. But if you know how to exercise moderation, you
undermine the tyranny of envy by your humility; and you possess
whatever you do possess with safety. For such is the nature of
virtue, that it not only profits us, as it respects futurity, but it
also here bestows a present reward.
18. Let us not then be high-minded in reference to riches, or
indeed to any other thing; for if even in spiritual things the man who
is high-minded is fallen, and undone, much more so as to carnal
things. Let us be mindful of our nature. Let us recollect our sins.
Let us understand what we are; and this will provide a sufficient
groundwork for complete humility. Tell me not, "I have laid up the
revenues of this or that number of years; myriads of talents of gold;
gains that are increasing every day." Say as much as you will, you
say all in vain, and to no purpose. Very often in one hour, yea, in
one short moment, just as the light dust, when the wind rushes down
upon it from above, are all these things swept out of the house by a
blast. Our life is full of such examples, and the Scriptures abound
with lessons of this sort. He who is rich today, is poor tomorrow.
Wherefore, I have often smiled, when reading wills that said, let
such a man have the ownership of these fields, or of this house, and
another the use thereof. For we all have the use, but no man has the
ownership. For although riches may remain with us all our lifetime,
undergoing no change, we must transfer them in the end, whether we
will or no, into the hands of others; having enjoyed only the use of
them, and departing to another life naked and destitute of this
ownership! Whence it is plain, that they only have the ownership of
property, who have despised its use, and derided its enjoyment. For
the man that has cast his substance away from him, and bestowed it on
the poor, he uses it as he ought; and takes with him the ownership of
these things when he departs, not being stripped of the possession even
in death, but at that time receiving all back again; yea, and much
more than these things, at that day of judgment, when he most needs
their protection, and when we shall all have to render up an account of
the deeds we have done. So that if any one wishes to have the
possession of his riches, and the use and the ownership entire, let
him disencumber himself from them all; since, truly, he who doth not
this must at all events be separated from them at death; and frequently
before his death will lose them, in the midst of dangers and
innumerable ills.
19. And this is not the only disaster, that the change comes
suddenly; but that the rich man comes unpractised to the endurance of
poverty. But not so the poor man; for he confides not in gold and
silver, which are lifeless matter, but in "God, who giveth us all
things richly to enjoy." So that the rich man stands in more
uncertainty than the poor man, experiencing, as he does, frequent and
diversified changes. What is the sense of this? "Who giveth to us
all things richly to enjoy." God giveth all those things with
liberality, which are more necessary than riches; such, for example,
as the air, the water, the fire, the sun; all things of this kind.
The rich man is not able to say that he enjoys more of the sunbeams
than the poor man; he is not able to say that he breathes more
plenteous air: but all these are offered alike to all. And
wherefore, one may say, is it the greater and more necessary
blessings, and those which maintain our life, that God hath made
common; but the smaller and less valuable (I speak of money) are not
thus common. Why is this? In order that our life might be
disciplined, and that we might have training ground for virtue. For
if these necessaries were not common, perhaps they who are rich,
practising their usual covetousness, would strangle those who were
poor. For if they do this for the sake of money, much rather would
they do so for the things referred to. Again, if money was also an
universal possession, and were offered in the same manner to all, the
occasion for almsgiving, and the opportunity for benevolence, would be
taken away.
20. That we may live then securely, the sources of our existence
have been made common. On the other hand, to the end that we may have
an opportunity of gaining crowns and good report, property has not been
made common; in order that hating covetousness, and following after
righteousness, and freely bestowing our goods upon the poor, we may by
this method obtain a certain kind of relief for our sins. God hath
made thee rich, why makest thou thyself poor? He hath made thee rich
that thou mayest assist the needy; that thou mayest have release of
thine own sins, by liberality to others. He hath given thee money,
not that thou mayest shut it up for thy destruction, but that thou
mayest pour it forth for thy salvation. For this reason also He hath
made the possession of riches uncertain and unstable, that by this
means he might slack the intensity of thy madness concerning it. For
if its possessors, even now whilst they can have no confidence in
regard to it, but behold a multitude of snares produced from this
quarter, are so inflamed with the desire of these things; if the
elements of security and stability were added to wealth, whom would
they have spared? From whom would they have refrained? From what
widows? From what orphans? From what poor?
21. Wherefore let us not consider riches to be a great good; for
the great good is, not to possess money, but to possess the fear of
God and all manner of piety. Behold, now if there were any righteous
man here, having great boldness toward God, notwithstanding he might
be the poorest of mortals, he would be sufficient to liberate us from
present evils! For he only needed to spread forth his hands towards
heaven, and to call upon God, and this cloud would pass away! But
now gold is treasured up in abundance; and yet it is more useless than
mere clay for the purpose of deliverance from the impending calamities!
Nor is it only in a peril of this kind; but should disease or death,
or any such evil befall us, the impotency of wealth is fully proved,
since it is at a loss, and has no consolation of its own to offer us
amidst these events.
22. There is one thing in which wealth seems to have an advantage
over poverty, viz. that it lives in a state of daily luxury, and is
supplied with an abundance of pleasure in its banquets. This however
may also be seen exemplified at the table of the poor; and these enjoy
there a pleasure superior to that of the rich. And marvel not at
this, nor think what I say a paradox; for I will make the matter
clear to you from the evidence of facts. Ye know of course, and ye
all confess that in feasts it is not the nature of the viands, but the
disposition of those who feast upon them, which usually causes the
pleasure; for instance, when any one comes to the table hungry, the
food will taste sweeter than any delicacy, or condiment, or a thousand
exquisite preparations for the palate, although it may be the most
common article of diet. But he who without tarrying for necessity, or
first waiting till he is hungry, (as the custom is with the
wealthy), when he comes to the table, notwithstanding he finds the
most refined dainties spread before him, has no sensation of pleasure,
his appetite not being previously excited. And that you may learn that
this is the actual state of the case, besides that you are all
witnesses to it, let us hear the Scripture telling us the same truth;
"The full soul," it is said, "loaths the honey comb, but to the
hungry soul every bitter thing is sweet." Yet what can be sweeter
than honey, and the honey comb? Still he saith it is not sweet to the
man that is not hungry. And what can be more disagreeable than bitter
things? And yet to those who are poverty stricken they are sweet.
But that the poor come to the meal with need and hunger, and that the
rich do not wait for this is manifest, I suppose, to every one.
Hence they do not reap the fruit of a genuine and unmixed pleasure.
Nor is it only in the article of food, but any one may perceive that
the same thing occurs with respect to drinks; and as in the one case
hunger is the cause of pleasure, far more than the quality of the
viands, so also in the other, thirst usually makes the draught
sweetest, although what is drunk is only water. And this is that
which the prophet intimated, when he said, "He Satisfied them with
honey out of the rock." But we do not read in any part of Scripture
that Moses brought honey out of the rock, but throughout the history
we read of rivers, and waters, and cool streams. What then is it
that was meant? For the Scripture by no means speaks falsely.
Inasmuch, then, as they were thirsty and wearied with drought, and
found these streams of water so cooling, in order to show the pleasure
of such a draught, he calls the water honey, not as though its nature
were changed into honey, but because the condition of the drinkers made
these streams sweeter than honey. You see how the condition of the
thirsty is wont to make the draught sweet? Yea oftentimes have many of
the poor, when wearied, and distressed, and parched with thirst,
partaken of such streams even with such pleasure as I have said. But
the rich, whilst drinking wine that is sweet, and has the fragrance of
flowers? and every perfection that wine can have, experience no such
enjoyment.
23. The same thing happens as every one may perceive with regard to
sleep. For not a soft couch, nor a bedstead overlaid with silver,
nor the quietness that exists throughout the house, nor anything else
of this kind, are so generally wont to make sleep sweet and pleasant,
as labour and fatigue, and the need of sleep, and drowsiness when one
lies down. And to this particular the experience of facts, nay,
before actual experience, the assertion of the Scriptures bears
witness. For Solomon, who had passed his life in luxury, when he
wished to make this matter evident, said, "The sleep of a labouring
man is sweet, whether he eat little or much?" Why does he add,
"whether he eat little or much?" Both these things usually bring
sleeplessness, viz. indigence, and excess of food; the one drying up
the body, stiffening the eyelids and not suffering them to be closed;
the other straitening and oppressing the breath, and inducing many
pains. But at the same time so powerful a persuasive is labour, that
though both these things should befall him, the servant is able to
sleep. For since throughout the whole day, they are running about
everywhere, ministering to their masters, being knocked about and hard
pressed, and having but little time to take breath, they receive a
sufficient recompense for their toils and labours in the pleasure of
sleeping. And thus it hath happened through the goodness of God
toward man, that these pleasures are not to be purchased with gold and
silver, but with labour, with hard toil, with necessity, and every
kind of discipline. Not so the rich. On the contrary, whilst lying
on their beds, they are frequently without sleep through the whole
night; and though they devise many schemes, they do not obtain such
pleasure. But the poor man when released from his daily labours,
having his limbs completely tired, falls almost before he can lie down
into a slumber that is sound, and sweet, and genuine, enjoying this
reward, which is not a small one, of his fair day's toils. Since
therefore the poor man sleeps, and drinks, and eats with more pleasure
than the rich man, what further value is left to riches, now deprived
of the one advantage they seemed to have over poverty? For this reason
also, from the beginning, God tied the man to labour, not for the
purpose of pun ishing or chastising, but for amendment and education.
When Adam lived an unlabourious life, he fell from Paradise, but
when the Apostle laboured abundantly, and toiled hard, and said,
"In labour and travail,working night and day," then he was taken up
into Paradise, and ascended to the third heaven!
24. Let us not then despise labour; let us not despise work; for
before the kingdom of Heaven, we receive the greatest recompense from
thence, deriving pleasure from that circumstance; and not pleasure
only, but what is greater than pleasure, the purest health. For in
addition to their want of relish, many diseases also attack the rich;
but the poor are freed from the hands of physicians; and if at times
they do fall into a sickness, they recover themselves quickly, being
far removed from all effeminacy, and having robust constitutions.
Poverty, to those who bear it wisely, is a great possession, a
treasure that cannot be taken away; the stoutest of staves; a way of
gain that cannot be thwarted; a lodging that is safe from snares. The
poor man, it may be objected, is oppressed. But then the rich man is
still more subject to adverse designs. The poor man is looked down
upon and insulted. But the rich man is the subject of envy. The poor
man is not so easily assailed as the rich man, offering, as the latter
does on every side, countless handles to the devil, and to his secret
foes; and being the servant of all, on account of the great extent of
his business. Standing in need of many things, he is compelled to
flatter many persons, and to minister to them with much servility.
But the poor man, if he knows how to be spiritually wise, is not
assailable even by the devil himself. Job therefore, strong as he was
before this, when he lost all, became still more powerful, and bore
away an illustrious victory from the devil!
25. But besides this, the poor man cannot possibly be injured, if
he knows how to be spiritually wise. Now what I said of pleasure,
that it consisted not in a costly provision of meats, but in the
disposition of those who eat, this also I say respecting an insult;
that the insult is either created or destroyed, not by the intention of
those who insult, but by the disposition of those who bear it. For
example. Some one hath insulted thee with much language, fit or unfit
to repeat. If thou shall laugh at the insults, if thou take not the
words to heart, if thou showest thyself superior to the blow, thou art
not insulted. And just as if we possessed an adamantine body, we
should not be hurt, were we even attacked on all sides by a thousand
darts, for darts beget wounds not from the hand of him who hurls them,
but from the bodies of those who receive them, so too in this case,
insults are constituted real and dishonourable ones, not from the folly
of those who offer them, but from the weakness of the insulted. For
if we know how to be truly wise, we are incapable of being insulted,
or of suffering any serious evils. Some one it may be hath offered
thee an insult, but thou hast not felt it? thou hast not been pained.
Then thou art not insulted, but hast given rather than received a
blow! For when the insulting person perceives that his blow did not
reach the soul of those who were reviled, he is himself the more
severely fretted; and whilst those who are reproached remain silent,
the insulting blow is turned backwards, and recoils of its own accord
upon him who aimed it.
26. In all things then, beloved, let us be spiritually wise, and
poverty will be able to do us no harm, but will benefit us
exceedingly, and render us more illustrious and wealthy than the
richest. For tell me who was poorer than Elias? Yet for this reason
he surpassed all the wealthy, in that he was so poor, and this very
poverty of his was his own choice from an opulence of mind. For since
he accounted the wealth of all riches to be beneath his magnanimity,
and not worthy of his spiritual wisdom, therefore he welcomed this kind
of poverty; so that if he had considered present things as of much
worth, he would not have possessed only a mantle. But so did he
contemn the vanity of the life that now is, and regard all gold as clay
east into the street, that he possessed himself of nothing more than
that covering. Therefore the king had need of the poor man, and he
who had so much gold hung upon the words of him who had nothing more
than a sheepskin. Thus was the sheepskin s more splendid than the
purple, and the cave of the just man than the halls of kings.
Therefore also when he went up to heaven, he left nothing to his
disciple save the sheepskin. "By the help of this," said he, "I
have wrestled with the devil, and taking this, be thou armed against
him!" For indigence is a powerful weapon, an unassailable retreat,
an unshaken fortress! Elisha received the sheepskin as the greatest
inheritance; for it was truly such; a more precious one than all
gold. And thenceforth that Elias was a twofold person; an Elias
above and an Elias below!
I know ye account that just person blessed, and ye would each desire
to be that person. What then if I show you that all among us, who
are initiated, have received something far greater than he did? For
Elias left a sheepskin to his disciple, but the Son of God ascending
left to us His own flesh! Elias indeed, cast off his mantle, before
he went up; but Christ left it behind for our sakes; and yet retained
it when He ascended. Let us not then be cast down. Let us not
lament, nor fear the difficulty of the times, for He who did not
refuse to pour out His blood for all, and has suffered us to partake
of His flesh and of His blood again, what will He refuse to do for
our safety? Confident then in these hopes, let us beseech Him
continually; let us be earnest in prayers and supplications; and let
us with all strictness give our attention to every other virtue; that
so we may escape the danger that now threatens, and obtain the good
things to come; which God grant we may all be worthy of, through the
grace and lovingkindness of our Lord Jesus Christ, by Whom, and
with Whom be glory to the Father together with the Holy Ghost,
forever and ever. Amen.
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