Master And Slave

Fortisan enim idcirco secessit ad horam, ut in aeternam illum reciperes: non jam velut servum, sed pro servo delictum fratrem, maxime mihi; quanto autem magis tibi et in carne et in Domino? Onesimus, offenso domino proprio, confugit longa peregrinatione ad Apostolum; ut ostenderet se non ad hoc recessise, ut delicti esset obnoxius, sed ut obliteratis peccatis, utilis reverteretur in tantum, ut non solum domino suo aequalis fieret meritis, sed et ipsi magistrio frater. Et ne Philemon aliquod, ut assolet, quasi dominus adversum servum, fastidium inflationis pateretur, humiliat illum, cum dicit illum fratrem et in carne et in Domine; ut subalata humanae conditionis causa, quia omnes ex uno sumus Adam, fratres nos cognoscamus: maxime cum fides accedit media, quae omnem superbiam amputat. Sanctus Ambrosius Mediolanensis, in Epistolam ad Philemon Migne PL 17 505-506

Perhaps then he had withdrawn from you to this time that in eternity you might receive him, not now as a slave, but for a slave a brother, and as much as it is so to me, how much more to you in the flesh and in the Lord? 1 Onesimus, to his own lord's offense, fled by long journey to the Apostle, that he show himself not to have withdrawn, as one guilty of a crime, but that with sin removed, he be turned to use, not only to his lord becoming of equal merit, but even a brother to that same master. And lest Philemon, as is the custom, as a lord against his servant, suffer to be puffed up with some contempt, he humbles him, when he says that he is a brother both in the flesh and in the Lord, asserting the state of the human condition, that all being from the one Adam we know ourselves brothers, and much more so having the same share of faith which cuts off all pride. Saint Ambrose, On the Epistle To Philemon 1 Philemon 15-16

The Captured Eye

Στηρίζων ὀφθαλμοὺς αὐτοῦ λογίζεται διεστραμμένα... Ὀφθαλμὸς θεωρῶν καλὰ, ἤτοι διακεκριμένος· τίνα δὲ τὰ καλὰ, ζητητέον· καὶ μὴ θεωρῶν χρυσὸν, λυπεῖται· εἴτε σῶμα λαμπρὸν, πάλιν κατατήκεται· ἀλλὰ τίνα ἐστὶ τὰ καλὰ, ἄκουσον· Τὸν οὐρανὸν, τὴν γῆν, τὴν θάλασσαν καὶ τὴν κτίσιν πᾶσαν· ὥστε τὰ τοιαῦτα βλέπετε, οἶον τὴν ψυχὴν εὐφραίνει· ἐπεὶ τί ὄφελος τερφθῆναι μὲν τὸν ὀφθαλμὸν, μηδὲν δὲ γενέσθαι πλέον, ἀλλὰ τὴν ψυχὴν διαφθαρῆναι; Δίδυμος Αλεξανδρεύς, Εἰς Παροιμίας Σολομώντος Εξηγήσεων, Κεφ ΙϚ' Migne PG 39.1637

He with spellbound eye turns to evil... 1 The eye sees beautiful things when they are truly beautiful, and let such beautiful things be sought, and let the eye not grieve at the sight of gold and again melt away because of the charm of a body, but hear what things are beautiful: the sky, the earth, the sea and everything created. Thus seeing such things seeing the soul has its joy. For to please the eye and nothing more to profit than that, would it not truly be the ruin of the soul? Didymus the Blind, On Proverbs, fragment 1 Prov 16.30

The Wise And Contemplation

Οὕτως ὅ μεγαλόφρων, ὁ τὸ πάντων τιμιώτατον, ὁ τὸ πάντων ἀγαθώτατον κατὰ τὴν προσβολὴν τῆς θεωρίας, ἔμμονον δὲ τὴν τῶν θεωρητῶν δύναμιν ἐν τῇ ψυχῇ κεκτημένος, τουτέστι τὴν διοραικὴν τῆς ἐπιστήμης δριμύτητα. Ταύτην δὲ ὡς ἕνι μάλιστα βιάζεται κτήσασθαι τὴν δύναμιν, ἐγκρατης γὲνόμενος τῶν ἀντιστρατευομένων τῷ νῷ· καὶ τῇ μὲν θεωρίᾳ ἀδιαλείπως προσεδρεύων τῇ ἐφεκτικῇ δὲ τῶν ἡδέων καὶ τῃ κατορθωτικῇ τῶν πρακτέων ἐγγυμνασάμενος ἀσκήσει, πρὸς τούτοις ἐμπειρίᾳ πολλῇ χρησάμενος, τῇ κατὰ τὴν μάθησίν τε καὶ τὸν βίον, παῥῥησίαν ἔχει, οὐ τὴν ἁπλῶς οὕτως ἀθυρόγλωσσον δύναμιν, δύναμιν δὲ ἁπλῷ λόγῳ χρωμένην, μηδὲν τῶν λεχθῆναι δυναμένων κατὰ τὸν προσήκοντα καιρὸν, ἐφ' ὦν μάλιστα χρὴ, ἐπὶκρυπτομένον μήτε διὰ χάριν μήτε διὰ φόβον ἀξιολόγως. Ὁ γοῦν τὰ περὶ Θεοῦ διειληφὼς, πρὸς αὐτῆς τῆς ἀληθείας, χοροῦ μυστικοῦ λόγῳ τῷ προτρέποντι τὸ μέγεθος τῆς ἀρετῆς, κατ' ἀξίαν αὐτήν τε καὶ τὰ ἀπ' αὐτῆς ἐνδεικνυμένυν χρῆται μετὰ διάρματος ἐν Θεου τῆς εὐχῆς, τοῖς νοητοῖς  καὶ πνευματικοῖς ὡς ἕνι μάλαιστα γνωστικῶς οἰκειούμενος. Κλήμης ὁ Ἀλεξανδρεύς, Στρωματεων, Λόγος Ζ', Κεφ Ζ' Migne PG 9 464-465

Thus the wise man, being great of soul, has what is most precious of all, what is best of all, according to his application to contemplation, the permanent power of those things contemplated retaining in his soul, that is the perspicacious keenness of knowledge. And this power he strives to his utmost to possess, by being master over all the distractions that may come to the mind. And by attending continually to contemplation, by training in abstinence from pleasures and in rectitude of conduct, and acquiring much experience in these, both in study and in life, he has freedom of speech, not the simple power of a babbling tongue, but a power which employs simple language, that which does not conceal anything which may be worthily said at the right time, in which it is very necessary to speak, on account of favour or fear. He, then, having received the things concerning God from the mystic choir of the truth, exhorts the greatness of virtue in accordance with its worth, and shows what comes from it by the elevation of prayer in God, his thoughts with spiritual things dwelling, as far as possible, according to this knowledge. Clement of Alexandria, from the Stromata, Book 7, Ch 7.

Unlettered Men

Comperto quod homines essent sine litteris et idiotae, admirabantur. Illitterati mittuntur ad praedicandum, ne fides credentium, non virtute Dei, sed eloquentia atque doctrina fieri putaretur, ut Apostolus ait, Non in sapientia verbi, ut non evacuetur crux Christi. Idiotae enim dicebantur, qui propria tantum lingua, naturallique scienti contenti, litterarum studia nesciebant. Sanctus Beda, Super acta Apostolorum Expositio, Caput III Migne PL 92 953

'Knowing that they were men without letters and learning, they wondered.' 1 Unlettered they were sent to preach, lest the faith of the believers be thought to be on account of the eloquence and learning of men and not by the virtue of God, as the Apostle says, 'Not in the cleverness of speech, that the cross of Christ not be emptied.' 2 Thus they are said to be without learning, for with their own tongue alone and their own natural knowledge they had striven, knowing not the study of letters. Saint Bede, from the Commentary on the Acts of The Apostles, Chap 3 1 Acts 4.13 2 1 Cor 1.17

Speech And Crowns

Μὴ θέλε τὸν ἡγούμενόν σου εἶναι σοφὸν τῳ λόγῳ· οὐ γὰρ πάντως οἱ σοφοὶ τῷ λόγῳ εὐαρεστοῦσι τῷ Θεῷ, ἀλλ' ἐκεῖνο ζήτησον, ὅπως ἂν μέχρι τέλους ὑποταγῇς τῷ ἰδιώτῃ σὺ ὁ τῷ δοκεῖν σεσοφισμένος τῇ τοῦ κόσμου σοφίᾳ, τῆς ταπεινοφρονεύνης, καὶ τῆς γνησιωτάτης ὑποταγῆς τὸν πολυτίμητον στέφανον ἀναδήσῇ. Ἅγιος Νειλος, Βιβλιον Πρῶτον, Ἐπιστολὴ ΛΔ' Σωφρονιῳ Μονακῳ Migne PG 79 97-100

Do not have it as your greatest wish to be one of those wise in speech, for it is not those who are skilled in speech who are pleasing to God, but rather let it be sought how to the end you will be subject to ignorance who in the opinion of men excel in the wisdom of the world; it is by humility and true submission that you will be adorned with the precious crown. 1 Saint Nilus of Sinai, Book 1, Letter 34, to the Monk Sophronius 1 Ps 20.4

Defective Speech

Περὶ βλασφήμου καὶ μεγαλοῤῥήμονος.  Εἶπε Κύριος πρὸς Μωσῆν· Λάλησον τοῖς υἱοῖς Ἰσραὴλ, λέγων· Ἄνθρωπος ὃς ἐὰν καταράσηται Θεὸν, ἁμαρτίαν λήψεται· ὁ ὀνομάζων δὲ ὄνομα Κυρίου, λίθοις λιθοβολείτω αὐτὸν πᾶσα συναγωγὴ υἱῶν Ἰσραήλ. Μὴ ἐξελθέτω μεγαλοῤῥημοσύνη ἐκ τοῦ στόματος ὑμῶν. Τί ἐτόλμησεν ἡ καρδία σου, ὅτι θυμὸν ἔῤῥηξας ἔναντι Κυρίου;  Ἐξολοθρεύσει Κύριος πάντα τὰ χείλη τὰ δόλια, γλῶσσαν μεγαλοῤῥήμονα· τοὺς εἰπόντας, Τὴν γλῶσσαν ἡμῶν μεγαλυνοῦμεν, τὰ χείλη ἡμῶν παρ' ἡμῖν ἐστι·τίς ἡμῶν κύριός ἐστιν;  Ἀφανισθήσεται Σαμάρεια, ὅτι ἀντεῖπε πρὸς τὸν Θεὸν αὐτῆς· ἐν ῥομφαίᾳ πεσοῦνται αὐτοὶ, καὶ τὰ ὑποτίτθια αὐτῶν ἐδαφισθήσονται. Μεθύσατε αὐτὸν, ὅτι ἐπὶ Κύριον ἐμεγαλύνθη. Τάδε λέγει Κύριος· Ἐπειδὴ δέδωκας τὴν καρδίαν σου ὡς καρδίαν Θεοῦ, ἰδοὺ ἐπάγω ἐπὶ σὲ ἀλλοτρίους, λοιμοὺς ἐθνῶν, καὶ ἐκκενώσουσι τὰς μαχαίρας αὐτῶν ἐπὶ σὲ, καὶ ἐπὶ τὸ κάλλος τῆς ἐπιστήμης σου, καὶ στρώσουσι τὸ κάλλος σου εἰς ἀπώλειαν. Φιλάνθρωπον πνεῦμα σοφίας, καὶ οὐ κατορθώσει βλάσφημον ἀπὸ χειλέων αὐτοῦ. Πᾶσα ἁμαρτία ἀφεθήσεται τοῖς ἀνθρώποις·  τῷ δὲ εἰς τὸ ἅγιον Πνεῦμα βλασφημήσαντι οὐκ ἀφεθήσεται, οὐδὲ ἐν τῷ νῦν αἰῶνι, οὐδὲ ἐν τῷ μέλλοντι. Ὁ μὲν ἁμαρτάνων, παραβαίνει νόμον· ὁ δὲ βλασφημῶν, εἰς αὐτὴν ἀσεβεῖ τὴν Θεότητα. Τοὺς ἐν τῇ πόλει βλασφημοῦντας, σωφρόνιζε· κἂν ἀκούσῃς τινὸς ἐν ἀμφόδῳ, ἢ ἐν ἀγορᾷ, ἐπιτίμησον, κἂν πληγὰς ἐπιθεῖναι δέῃ, μὴ παραιτήσῃ.Ῥάπισον αὐτοῦ τὴν ὄψιν, σύντριψον αὐτοῦ τὸ στόμα, ἁγίασόν σου τὴν χεῖρα διὰ τῆς πληγῆς. Κἂν ἐγκαλῶσί τινες, κἂν εἰς δικαστήριον ἕλκωσιν, ἀκολούθησον. Καθάπερ ὁ λίθον ἀκοντίζων εἰς τὸ ὕψος, τοῦ οὐρανοῦ μὲν τὸ σῶμα διατεμεῖν οὐ δύναται, οὐδὲ πρὸς τὸ ὕψος φθάσαι ἐκεῖνο, τὴν δὲ πληγὴν τῇ ἰδίᾳ δέχεται κορυφῇ, πρὸς τὸν ἀκοντίσαντα ἐπανιόντος τοῦ λίθου· οὕτως καὶ ὁ βλασφημῶν εἰς τὴν μακαρίαν τοῦ Θεοῦ οὐσίαν, ἐκείνην οὐ παραβλάψει ποτὲ, πολλῷ μείζονα οὖσαν καὶ ὑψηλοτέραν· κατὰ δὲ τῆς ἑαυτοῦ ψυχῆς τὸ ξίφος ἀκονᾷ, ἀγνώμων περὶ τὸν εὐεργέτην γενόμενος. Άγιος Ιωάννης ο Δαμασκηνός, Τὰ Ιἐρα Παραλληλα, Στοικειον Β'  Τιτλ Ηʹ. Migne PG 95 1285-1288

On Blasphemy and Proud Speech The Lord said to Moses, 'Speak to the sons of Israel, saying, 'A man who curses God shall bear his sin; he who uses the name of the Lord shall be stoned by all the gathering of the sons of Israel.' 1 'Let not a proud word pass out your mouth.' 2 'For what dares your heart that impassioned you would rise up against the Lord?' 3   The Lord destroys all the lips of the cunning, the tongues of the proud speakers, those who say, 'Our tongues we magnify, our lips are ours; who is our Lord?' 4 'He shall obliterate Samaria, for it has spoken against its God. By the sword they shall fall and the babes at breast shall be cast down to the ground.' 5 'Make him drunk, because he has spoken against the Lord.' 6   Thus says the Lord: Because you claim your heart as the heart of a God, behold I shall lead over you foreigners and pestilence from the nations, and they shall draw out their swords over you, and over the beauty of your knowledge, and they shall crush down your beauty into the dust.' 7 'Benevolent is the spirit of wisdom and it does not let blasphemy come from its lips.' 8 'Every sin shall be forgiven men; yet if a man blasphemes against the Holy Spirit, he shall not be forgiven, not in this age, nor the age to come.' 9 'He who sins indeed violates the law, but he who blasphemes against the Divine name is impious.' 10   Chastise those who blaspheme in the city. And if you hear them in the street, or in the forum, denounce them. And even if the matter should come to blows, do not hesitate to do this. Set yourself against his face, smash his mouth, sanctify your hands through blows. And even if they accuse you, even if they haul you off to judgement, do this. 11   As he who casts a stone into the air, and for certain it cleaves the air above, yet it is not able to come to the heights, rather it may just fall with a blow on his own head, so like a stone thrown in this manner is he who utters contumacious and impious words against the blessed of God. Certainly he does no harm to Him who is at such a far distance and height, but truly in his own soul he drives a sword, senseless concerning the doing of good deeds. 12   Saint John of Damascus, Sacred Parallels, Part 2, Chap 8 1 Levit 24.15 2 1 Kings 2.3 3 Job 15.12 4 Ps 11.3,4 5 Hosea 14.1 6 Jerem 48.20 7 Ezek 28. 6-7 8 Wis 1.6 9 Mt 12.31 10 Basil 11 Chrysostom 12 Chrys Hom 3 On the Incomprehensible.

Speech And Consideration

Pensare etenim doctor debet quid loquatur, cui loquatur, quando loquatur, qualiter loquatur, et quantum loquatur. Si enim unum horum defuerit, locutio apta non erit. Scriptum quippe est: Si recte offeras, recte autem non dividas, peccasti. Recte autem offerimus cum bono studio bonum opus agimus; sed recte non dividimus, si habere discretionem in bono opere postponamus. Considerare etenim debemus quid loquamur, ut juxta Pauli vocem, Sermo noster semper in gratia sale sit conditus. Pensandum vero nobis est cui loquamur quia saepe increpationis verbum quod haec admittit persona, altera non admittit. Et saepe ipsa eadem persona secundum factum fit altera. Unde Nathan propheta David post adulterium forti increpationis sententia percussit. Qui cum de raptore ovis diceret: Filius mortis est vir qui fecit hoc, ei protinus respondit, dicens: Tu es ille vir. Cui tamen cum de Salomonis regno loqueretur, quia culpa defuit, ei se humiliter in adoratione prostravit. In una ergo eademque persona quia causa dispar exstitit, etiam sermo propheticus dissimilis fuit. Pensandum quoque est quando loqui debeamus, quia saepe etsi differtur increpatio, postmodum benigne recipitur. Et nonnunquam languescit, si hoc quo ante proferri debuit tempus amiserit. Nam et sapiens mulier Nabal ebrium videns, increpare de culpa tenaciae noluit, quem digesto vino increpationis suae verbis utiliter percussit. Et Propheta adulantium linguas non esse in subsequenti tempore differendas annuntiat, qui ait: Confundantur statim erubescentes, qui dicunt mihi, Euge, euge. Adulatio etenim si vel ad tempus patienter suscipitur, augetur, et paulisper demulcet animum, ut a rigore suae rectitudinis mollescat in delectatione sermonis. Sed ne crescere debeat, statim est et sine mora ferienda. Pensandum quoque nobis est qualiter loquamur. Nam saepe verba quae hunc ad salutem revocant, alium vulnerant. Unde Paulus quoque apostolus qui Titum admonet, dicens: Argue cum omni imperio, Timotheum exhortatur, dicens: Argue, obsecra, increpa in omni patientia et doctrina. Quid est quod uni imperium, et alii patientiam praecipit, nisi quod unum lenioris, alterum vero ferventioris spiritus esse conspexit? Leni per auctoritatem imperii injungenda erat severitas verbi, is autem qui per spiritum fervebat per patientiam temperandus fuerat, ne si plus justo infervesceret, non ad salutem vulnerata reduceret, sed sana vulneraret. Sanctus Gregorius Papa I, In Ezechielem Prophetam, Liber Primus, Homilia XI Migne PL 76 910-911

A teacher should think what he should speak, to whom he speaks, the manner in which he speaks, and how much he speaks. If indeed one of these is defective, his speech will not be apt. For it is written, 'If rightly you offer, and rightly do not discriminate, you sin.'1 Rightly indeed we offer when with good desire we perform good works, but rightly we do not discern, if judgment in our good work we neglect. Consider even what we should say, as given by the voice of Paul: 'Our words should always be seasoned with the salt of grace.' 2 Yet we must also give thought to whom we speak because often a word of correction is received by this person but not another, and often the same person according to the affair reacts differently. Whence Nathan the Prophet struck David after his adultery with a strong sense of correction. He who when David spoke of the one who stole the sheep saying, 'The son of death is the man you did this,'  immediately replied, 'You are the man.' 3 Yet when he spoke during the rule of Solomon, 4 because fault he lacked, before him he prostrated himself humbly. In one and the same person, then, because the matter is different, even the prophetic word was different. Also we should consider when we should speak, because often if correction is delayed, later it is kindly received. And yet some do languish if that which should be said at that time is omitted. Thus that wise wife seeing Nabal drunk was unwilling to cry out sharply against his fault then, but when the wine had passed though him with words of correction she more usefully struck him. 5 And then the Prophet announces that adulating tongues should not be overlooked to a later time, saying, 'Let then be confounded instantly and let them blush who said to me 'All is well, All is well.' 6 For adulation, if we suffer it for a time, so it grows, and little by little it softens the soul, and from the rigor of its rectitude it slides away into pleasure at such words. But lest it be allowed to grow, instantly it should be cast away. And again we should consider the manner in which we speak. For often words which call one man to salvation, wound another. Whence Paul the Apostle admonished Titus, saying, 'Dispute with all your strength.' 7 And then Timothy he exhorted, saying, 'Dispute, entreat, cry out in all patience and care for teaching.' 8 Why is it that for one there is power, and to another is commanded patience, unless that he perceives that the one inclines more to lenience and the other more to a fiery spirit? Thus to the lenient he enjoins the authority of the power of the severe word, but he who has a fiery spirit he would have him tempered with patience, lest more than is just he should blaze, and not recall the wounded to salvation but wound the healthy.   Pope Saint Gregory the Great, on Ezekiel, Book 1, from Homily 11 1 Gen 4.7 LXX 2 Colos 4.6 3 2 Kings 12.5  4 2 Kings 12.7 5 1 Kings 25. 36-37 6 Ps 69.4 7 Titus 2.15 8 2 Tim 4.2

Advice On Speaking

Λόγος πρὸς ὠφέλειαν τῶν ἀκουόντων γινόμενος, λόγος ἐστὶν ἐνδύναμος, ἐνδίκως λόγος καλούμενος, καὶ πρὸς Θεὸν ἔχων τὴν μίμησιν. Ὁ δὲ πρὸς τέρψιν καὶ κρότον τελευτῶν, ἦχος ἐπὶ χαλκοῦ τοῖς μεγάλοις ψόφοις τὴν ἀκοὴν ἐνηχῶν. Ἥ τοίνυν σεμνότητι τὸν λόγον σου ῥύθμιζε, προτιμῶν τοῦ κόμπου τὸ μέτριον, ἤ γίνωσκε κύμβαλον ὤν, τῇ σκηνῇ τῶν θεάτρων ἁρμόδιον. Ἅγιος Ἰσίδωρος Του Πηλουσιώτου, Βιβλίον Πρῶτον, ΞΒ' Θεοπομπῳ Μονακῳ Migne PG 78. 224

A word that is beneficial to listeners is a word of power, and rightly called a Word, having a likeness unto God. But he who seeks only pleasure and applause is as clanging bronze echoing loudly in the ear. So arrange your speech with a care which surpasses the measure of big and boastful words, or else know yourself as a cymbal being bashed on the stage of a theatre. Saint Isidore of Pelusium, Book 1, Letter 62, To the Monk Theopompos

A Philosophy For The Few

Οὐ παντός, ὦ οὗτοι, τὸ περὶ θεοῦ φιλοσοφεῖν, οὐ παντός· οὐχ οὕτω τὸ πρᾶγμα εὔωνον καὶ τῶν χαμαὶ ἐρχομένων. Προσθήσω δέ, οὐδὲ πάντοτε, οὐδὲ πᾶσιν, οὐδὲ πάντα, ἀλλ' ἔστιν ὅτε, καὶ οἷς, καὶ ἐφ' ὅσον. οὐ πάντων μέν, ὅτι τῶν ἐξητασμένων καὶ διαβεβηκότων ἐν θεωρίᾳ, καὶ πρὸ τούτων καὶ ψυχὴν καὶ σῶμα κεκαθαρμένων, ἢ καθαιρομένων, τὸ μεριώτατον. Μὴ καθαρῷ γὰρ ἅπτεσθαι καθαροῦ τυχὸν οὐδὲ ἀσφαλές, ὥσπερ οὐδὲ ὄψει σαθρᾷ ἡλιακῆς ἀκτῖνος. Ὄτε δέ; ἡνίκα ἂν σχολὴν ἄγωμεν ἀπὸ τῆς ἔξωθεν ἰλύος καὶ ταραχῆς, καὶ μὴ τὸ ἡγεμονικὸν ἡμῶν συγχέηται τοῖς μοχθηροῖς τύποις καὶ πλανωμένοις, οἷον γράμμασι πονηροῖς ἀναμιγνύντων κάλλη γραμμάτων, ἢ βορβόρῳ μύρων εὐωδίαν. Δεῖ γὰρ τῷ ὄντι σχολάσαι, καὶ γνῶναι θεόν· καὶ ὅταν λάβωμεν καιρόν, κρίνειν θεολογίας εὐθύτητα. Ἅγιος Γρηγόριος ὁ Ναζιανζηνός, Λόγος ΚΖ' Κατὰ Εὐνομιανῶν Προδιάλεξις Source: Migne PG 36.13c-16a

Not to every one, my friends, does it belong to philosophize about God, not to every one; the matter is not so cheap and common; and I shall add, should not be done at all times, nor before everyone, nor on all points, but at certain times, and before certain persons, and on certain points. It is not for all because it is permitted only to those who who have passed through contemplation, those who have been purified in soul and body, or at least are being purified. For the impure to touch the pure is, we may safely say, not safe, just as it is unsafe to fix weak eyes on the rays of the sun. And when should we? We may when we are free from all external defilement or disturbance, and when that which rules within us is not confused with depraved or erring images, for then we are like those who mix good and bad writing, or filth with the sweet smelling ointments. For it is necessary to be truly at leisure to know God, and when we have a convenient season to discern the straight road of things Divine. Saint Gregory Nazianzus, from Oration 27

Wonder And Knowledge

Διὸ παραινῶ φεύγειν αὐτῶν τὴν μανίαν· μανίας γὰρ ἐσχάτης φιλονεικεῖν εἰδέναι τί τὴν οὐσίαν ἐστὶν ὁ Θεὸς. Καὶ ἵνα μάθῃς ὅτι μανίας ἐσχάτης τοῦτο, ἀπὸ τῶν προφητῶν ὑμῖν τοῦτο ποιήσω φανρόν· οἱ γὰρ προφῆται οὐ μόνον τί τὴν οὐσίαν ἐστὶν ἀγνοοῦντες φαίνονται, ἀλλὰ καὶ περὶ τῆς σοφίας αὐτοῦ πόση τίς ἐστιν ἀποροῦσι· καίτοι γε οὐχ ἡ οὐσία ἀπὸ τῆς σοφίας, ἀλλ' ἡ σοφία ἐκ τῆς οὐσίας. Ὅταν δὲ μηδὲ ταύτην δύνωνται καταλαμβάνειν οἱ προφῆται μετ' ἀκριβείας, πόσης ἂν εἴη μανίας τὸ τὴν οὐσίαν αὐτὴν νομίζειν δύνασθαι τοῖς οἱκείοις ὑποβάλλειν λογισμοῖς; Ἀκούσωμεν τοίνυν τί φησιν ὁ προφήτης περὶ αὐτῆς· Ἐθαυμαστώθη ἡ γνῶσις σου ἐξ ἐμοῦ. Μᾶλλον δὲ ἀνωτέρω τὸν λόγον ἀγάγωεν. Ἐξομολογήσομαι σοι, ὅτι φοβερῶς ἐθαυμαστώθης. Τί ἔστι φοβερῶς; Πολλὰ θαυμάζομεν νῦν, ἀλλ' οὐ μετὰ φόβου, οἴον κιόνων κάλλη, τύπων ζωγραφίας, ἄνθη σωμάτων· θαυμάζομεν πάλιν τῆς θαλασσης τὸ μέγεθος, καὶ τὸν ἄπειρον βυθὸν, ἀλλὰ μετὰ φόνου, ὅταν πρὸς τὸ βάθος κατακύψωμεν. Οὔτω τοίνυν καὶ ὁ προφήτης πρὸς τὸ ἄπειρον καὶ ἀχανὲς πέλαγος τῆς τοῦ Θεοῦ κατακύψας σοφίας, καὶ ἰλιγγιάσας, μετὰ φόβου πολλοῦ θαυμάσας ἀνεχώτησε βοῶν καὶ λέγων· Ἐξομολογήσομαι σοι, ὅτι φοβερῶς ἐθαυμαστώθης· θαυμάσια τὰ εργὰ σου· καὶ πάλιν· Ἐθαυμαστώθη ἡ γνῶσις σοῦ ἐξ ἐμοῦ, ἐκραταιώθη, οὐ μὴ δύνυμαι πρὸς αὐτὴν.   Ἅγιος Ἰωάννης ὁ Χρυσόστομος Περὶ Ἀκαταληπτου, Λόγος Πρῶτος Migne PG 48 705

Thus I exhort flight from their madness, for it is most extreme madness to strive to know what God is in His essence. And that you know that this is the most extreme madness I shall make it clear to you from the Prophets, for not only is it apparent that the Prophets were ignorant of the Divine essence but they were also unknowing of how vast His wisdom is, yet essence does not come from wisdom, but wisdom from essence. And when the Prophets are not able to grasp His wisdom accurately, how great is the madness of those who think they are able to make His essence a subject of their thoughts? Let us listen, then, to what a Prophet says about this, 'Your knowledge is too wonderful for me.' 1 And a little further on we have the passage: 'I give you thanks, for you are fearfully wondrous.' 2 And why fearfully? We wonder greatly but not fearfully at the beauty of columns, visual art, the blossoming of the body, and again we wonder at the vastness of the sea and its limitless depths, and then with fear when we incline to think of its depths. And thus did the Prophet incline considering the limitless and vast sea of God's wisdom, and so with swimming head, beset with wonder, he drew back and cried out in a loud voice: ' 'I will give thanks to you, for your are fearfully wondrous; wondrous are your works,' 2 and again, 'Your knowledge is too wondrous from me, so great that I am not able to draw near it.'  1 Saint John Chrysostom, On The Incomprehensible, from the First Homily 1 Ps 138.6 LXX 2 Ps 138.14

Knowledge And God

ἄβυσσος ὡς ἱμάτιον τὸ περιβόλαιον αὐτοῦ Τὴν ἀμέτρητον τοῦ Θεοῦ γνῶσιν λέγει ἄβυσσον· ταύτην διὰ τὴν ἀκατάληπτον καλλωνὴν ἐνδέδυται καὶ περιβέβληται. Διόπερ ἐστὶν ἄγνωστος ἐν τῷ μεγέθει τῆς γνώσεως. Δίδυμος Αλεξανδρεύς, Εἰς Ψαλμους, Ψαλμος ΡΓ' Migne PG 39.1525

The abyss like a garment He wears. 1   The immeasurable knowledge of God he names the abyss, and with this incomprehensible beauty He is endowed and wrapped. So He is unknown in the immensity of knowledge. Didymus the Blind, Commentary on the Psalms, from Psalm 103 1 Ps 103.6

Wisdom And Judgement

Λέγει γὰρ ἡ γραφή· Οὐαὶ οἱ συνετοὶ ἑαυτοῖς καὶ ἐνώπιον ἑαυτῶν ἐπιστήμονες. Γενώμεθα πνευματικοί, γενώμεθα ναὸς τέλειος τῷ θεῷ. Ἐφ’ ὅσον ἐστὶν ἐν ἡμῖν, μελετῶμεν τὸν φόβον τοῦ θεοῦ καὶ φυλάσσειν ἀγωνιζώμεθα τὰς ἐντολὰς αὐτοῦ, ἵνα ἐν τοῖς δικαιώμασιν αὐτοῦ εὐφρανθῶμεν. Ὁ Κύριος ἀπροσωπολήμπτως κρινεῖ τὸν κόσμον. Ἔκαστος καθὼς ἐποίησεν κομιεῖται. Ἐὰν ᾖ ἀγαθός, ἡ πονηρός, ὁ μισθὸς τῆς πονηρίας ἔπροσθεν αὐτοῦ· ἵνα μήποτε ἐπαναπαύομενοι ὡς κλητοὶ ἐπικαθυπνώσωμεν ταῖς ἁμαρτίαις ἡμῶν, καὶ ὁ πονηρὸς ἄρχων λαβὼν τὴν καθ’ ἡμῶν ἐξουσίαν ἀπώσηται ἡμᾶς ἀπὸ τῆς βασιλείας τοῦ Κυρίου. Ἔτι δὲ κἀκεῖνο, ἀδελφοί μου, νοεῖτε· ὅταν βλέπετε ματὰ τηλικαῦτα σημεῖα καὶ τέρατα γεγονότα ἐν τῷ Ἰσραήλ, καὶ οὕτως ἐγκαταλελεῖφθαι αὐτούς· προσέχωμεν, μήποτε, ὡς γέγραπται, πολλοὶ κλητοί, ολίγοι δὲ ἐκλεκτοὶ εὑρεθῶμεν  Ἐπιστολή βαρνάβα Migne PG 2 735   Greek source

For Scripture says: 'Woe to those who are wise for themselves, and have knowledge according to themselves.' 1 Let us become spiritual, let us become a temple perfect to God. Insofar as we can, let us have care for the fear of God, and let us strive to keep His commandments, that we may take joy in His judgements. The Lord judges the world without respect of persons and each as he has done shall be established. If he be good; and if he be evil, the reward of evil is before him, lest ever we relaxing as men who are called should nod over our sins and the prince of evil receive power against us and drive us out from the kingdom of the Lord. And think on this also, my brothers,  when you see that after so many signs and wonders done in Israel, that even so they were abandoned, and so let us give heed, lest perhaps we be found so; as Scripture says, 'Many are called, but few are chosen.' 2 from The Letter of Barnabas 1 Is 5.21 2 Mt 20.16

Knowledge And Virtue

Τί τα κατά σαυτὸν ἀγνοών, ἄνθρωπε, τα ὑπὲρ σαυτὸν ζητείς ; Καὶ τί  λέγω τα κατά σαυτόν ;Ἔν τῶν ἐν χερσί μοι ἐρμήνευσον, καὶ τότε τὰ ὑπὲρ σαυτὸν πολυπραγμονοῦντα οὐκ αἰτιάσομαι. Τὸ πῦρ ἀφ' οὗ πυγάζουσιν αἱ τέχναι, οὐ μόνην ἀπὸ σιδήρου καὶ χαλχοῦ καὶ λίθων, ἀλλὰ καὶ ἀπὸ ὑδάτων καὶ ξύλων ἐκπηδᾷν πέφυκε. Διήγησαι οὖν μοι τὸ θαῠμα· ἇρ' ἔγκειται τῷ ξύλῳ; καὶ πῶς οὐκ ἀναλίκει τοῦτο; Ἀλλ' οὐκ ἔγκετιαι· πῶς οὐν ἐξ αὐτοῦ τίκτεται; Εἰ τοίνυν τὸ πῦρ, οὖ ἄνευ σχεδὸν οὐδὲν ἀξιόλογον μηχανῶνται ἄνθρωποι, ἐπίκουρον γάρ ἐστι ψύχους, σκότου δ' ἀλεξιφάρμακον, συνεργὸν δ' εἰς πᾶσαν τέχνην καὶ ἐπιστήμην, οὐδεὶς δύναται φράσαι πῶς ἐμφωλεύει μὲν ταῖς ὕλαις, οῡκ ἀναλίσκει δὲ ταύτας· ὅταν δ' εἰς τὸ ἔξω πηδήσῃ, ἀναλωτικὸν γίνεται τῶν τεκουσῶν ὑλῶν· πέπαυσο ἐκεῖνα περιεργαζόμενος, ἂ μήτε ἐφικτά ἐστι, μήτε εἰ ἐφικτὰ ἧν, μέγα τι συντελέσαι πρὸς ἀρετὴν ἠδύνατο. Τί γὰρ πρὸς ἀρετὴν συμβαλεῖτα τὸ περιεργάζεσθαι ἡλίου δρόμον, καὶ σελήνης κύκλον, καὶ ἀστέρωμ θέσιν, καὶ γῆς σχῆμα καὶ διάστημα, καὶ ὅσα ἄλλα οἱ δοκησίσοφοι πολυπραγμονοῦντες, τῆς μὲν ἀληθείας καὶ τῆς τῷ ὄντι σοφίας διήμαρτον, εἰς ἀδολεσχίαν δὲ τὸν βίον ἐδαπάνησαν; Ἅγιος Ἰσίδωρος Του Πηλουσιώτου, Βιβλίον Δεύτερον, Ἐπιστολή Ρ' Παυλῳ Migne PG 78. 544-546

Why, while you neglect yourself, O fellow, do you seek things which are above you? And what shall I say about you? Explain to me a thing which is at hand and then your business with those things which are above I will not accuse. That fire with which artisans work is not only from iron and air and stone, but even from water and wood bursts forth. Explain this wonder to me, then; how is it found in wood? And why does it not burn it up? But if it is not found within, how then is it born from it? If then concerning fire, which deprived of men would hardly be able to contrive anything, for it warms the cold and drives away darkness and is a fellow worker in every labour and knowledge, no one is able to explain how in some way it is concealed in matter and does not destroy those very same things, and then when brought without it does consume those things from which it was brought, cease, I say, to study these things, which you cannot comprehend, nor if you were able would it add greatly to your virtue. For how does it contribute to virtue to labour over the course of the sun and the orbit of the moon and the setting of the stars and the shape of the earth and its regions, and everything else with which those men who appear wise are ever busy, who cut off from truth and wisdom in frivolity consume life? Saint Isidore of Pelusium, Book 2, Letter 100, To Paul

Wisdom And Salvation

Sed et hanc vidi sapientiam sub sole, et magna est apud me. Civitas parva et viri in ea pauci: et venit ad eam rex magnus et circumdedit eam, et aedificavit adversus eam magnam machinam. Et invenit in ea virum pauperem et sapientem, et salvavit hic civitatem in sapientia sua: et homo non recordatus est hominis pauperis illius. Aliis omnia incerta dicentibus et justum ab injusto nihil amplius habere; ego sapientiam etiam in hoc maximam comprobavi: quod crebre evenit, ut parva sit civitas, et habitores in ea pauci, et innumerabilium hostium cingatur excercitu, et obsidione et fame populus intus necetur: et repente contra omnium suscipionem inveniri virum humilem et pauperem, qui quia habet sapientiam majorem cunctis divitibus, magnis et potentibus et superbis in periculo positis, et ad obsidionem paventibus, cogitat et inquirit, et invenit quomodo a malis eruat civitatem. Et, O ingrata hominum oblivio, postquam fuerint liberati, et soluta captivitas, et reddita partiae libertas, nemo meminit sapientis illius pauperis, nemo refert gratias pro salute: sed omnes honorant divites, qui in periculo nihil subvenire potuerunt. Aliter Hebraeus ita hunc locum interpretatus est: Civitas parva, homo est, qui etiam apud philosophos minor mundus vocatur. Et viri in ea pauci, membra de quibus homo ipse contexitur. Cum autem venerit adversus eam rex magnus diabolus, et quaesierit locum per quem possit irrumpere, invenitur in ea humilis et sapiens, et quieta cogitatio interioris hominis, et servat urbem quae obsessa ab hostibus cingebatur. Cumque homo de periculo sive persecutionis, sive angustiarum, sive cujuscunque adversae rei atque peccati fuerit erutus: homo ille exterior, qui inimicus est illius pauperis hominis, et sapientis, non recordatur interioris hominis, nec subdit se consiliis ejus: sed rursum sua fruitur libertate. Aliter: Parva civitas est, et viri in ea pacui, ad comparationem totius mundi, Ecclesia est: adversus quam saepe consurgit rex magnus diabolus, non quod magnus sit, sed quod magnum se esse jactitet, et circumdat eam obsidione sive persecutionis, sive alio angustiarum genere. Et invenit in ea virum pauperem et sapientem, Dominum Jesum Christum, qui pro nobis pauper factus est, et est ipsa sapientia: et ille vir pauper liberat urbem in sapientia sua. Quoties vidimus sedentem leonem in insidiis cum divitibus, hoc est, cum senatoribus et principibus hujus saeculi, et adversus Ecclesiam molientem, pauperis istius sapientia corruisse? Cumque pauper hic vicerit, et urbs paci fuerit restituta, vix aliquis ejus meminit, vix iliius mandata considerat: sed totos se luxuriae et voluptatibus concedentes, quaerunt divitias, quae in necessitate non liberant Sanctus Hieronymous, Commentarius Ecclesiasten, Cap IX Migne PL 23 1088-89

But even this wisdom I saw beneath the sun and great is is to me. A small city and the men in it few and a great king came to it and encompassed it and he built against it a great machine. And there was found in that place a man poor and wise, and he saved the city by his wisdom and no man remembers the name of this poor man. 1 With it said that it is all uncertain whether there is much difference between the righteous and the unrighteous, I found great wisdom in this, that being pressed, like a little city, and the inhabitants in it few, and a countless host surrounding it and the siege and famine slaying the people within, suddenly against all expectation is found a man humble and poor because he has that wisdom which is greater then all the rich and the highly placed and the powerful and the proud, who are placed in danger and distressed by the siege, he thinks and ponders, and he finds how to relieve the city from evil. And then, O ingrate forgetfulness of man, after they are free and released from captivity, and returned to their former liberty, no one recalls the name of this poor wise man, no one gives thanks for salvation, but all honour the rich who were not able to help at all in danger. A Hebrew gives this interpretation of the passage: 'The little city is a man, who among the philosophers is called a little world. And the men in it who are few are the members by which a man is knit together. And when the great king the devil comes against it and he seeks a place where he may break in, there is found in him humility and wisdom and the tranquil thought of the interior man, and this protects the city which is surrounded by the siege of the enemy. And then a man from peril or persecution or trial or whatever adverse thing, even from sin, may be saved, but that exterior man who is the enemy of the poor man, or of wisdom, does not recall the interior man, nor does he listen to his counsel, but again he enjoys his own liberty.' Another interpretation is: 'Small is the city and the men in it few, and this is the Church in relation to the world against which often rises the great king the devil, not that he is great but this is his boast, and he surrounds it with a siege, or persecution, or some other sort of trial, and there is found in it a man poor and wise, Our Lord Jesus Christ, who for us was made poor 2 and He is wisdom, and that poor man frees the city by his wisdom. How many times do we see the crouching lion plotting with the rich, 3 that is, with the senators and princes of this world,  working against the Church, that they might throw down the wisdom of the poor? And when the poor man conquers, and the city is restored to peace, scarcely do any remember Him, scarcely any pay heed to His commandments, but all return to their luxuries and pleasures and the seeking of wealth, that which in time of trial will not free them. Saint Jerome, Commentary on Ecclesiastes, Chap 9 1 Eccli 9.13-15 2 2 Cor 7.9 3 cf Ps 9.30

Poets And Heaven

Καὶ ποιηταὶ μὲν καὶ φιλὸσοφοι οὐκ ἔδοξαν ἄθεοι, ἐπιστήσαντες περὶ Θεοῦ. Ὁ μεν Εὐριπίδης ἑπὶ μὲν τῶν κατὰ κοινὴν πρόληψιν ἀνεπιστημόνως ὀνομαζομένων Θεῶν διαπορῶν· Ὤφειλε δ' εἴπερ ἔστ' ἐν οὐρανῳ Ζεὺς, μὴ τὸν αὐτὸν δυστυχῆ καθιστάναι. Ἐπὶ δὲ τοῦ κατ' ἐπιστήμην νοητοῦ, ὡς ἐκεῖνος δογματίζων· Ὀρας τὸν ὑψοῦ τόνδ ἄπειρον αἰθέρα, Καὶ γῆν πέριξ ἔχονθ' ὑγραῖς ἐν ἀγκάλαις; Τοῦτον νόμιζε Ζῆνα, τόνδ' ἡγου θεόν. Τῶν μὲν γὰρ οὕτε τὰς οὐσίας, αἵς ἐπικατηγορεῖσθαι τὸ ὄνημα συμβέβηκεν, ὑποκειμένας ἑώρα. Ζῆνα γὰρ ὅστις ἐστὶ Ζεὺς, οὐκ οἴδα πλὴν λόγῳ. οὔτε τὰ ὀνοματα καθ' ὑποκειμένων κατηγορεῖσθαι πραγμάτων· ὦν γὰρ αἱ οὐσίαι οὐχ ὑπόκεινται, τί πλέον αὐτοῖς τῶν ὀνομάτων; Τὸν δὲ ἀπὸ τῶν ἔργων ὄψει τῶν ἀδήλων νοῶν  τὰ φαινόμενα, ἀέρος, αἰθέρος, γῆς. Οὖ οὖν τὰ ποιήματα, καὶ ὑφ οὖ τῷ πνεύματι ἡνιοχεῖται, τοῦτον κατελαμβάνετο εἶναι Θεὸν, συνᾴδοντος τούτῳ καὶ Σοφοκλέους, Εἰς ταῖς ἀληθείαισιν, εἶς ἐστιν Θεὸς. Ὅς οὐρανόν τ' ἔτευξε καὶ γαῖαν μακρὰν πρὸς τὴν τοῦ Θεοῦ φύσιν τοῦ κάλλους τοῦ ἐκείνου πληρουμένην, ἐκάτερα, καὶ ποῦ δεῖ εἶναι τὸν Θεὸν, καὶ ὅτι ἕνα δεῖ εἶναι διδάσκων. Ἄθηναγορος Πρεσβεια Περὶ Χριστιανων Source: Migne PG 6.900a-901a

And neither poets nor philosophers have been deemed atheists for wondering about God. Euripides, speaking of those who, according to popular preconception, are ignorantly called gods, expresses this doubt:    'But Zeus, although he is in heaven,    Should not impose ill on him.' But speaking of Him who is apprehended by the understanding, the same poet determines:   'See Him on high who boundless air And earth embraces with moist arms? Think Him Zeus and hold him as God.' For he did not see the substance of these beings, to which the name is usually given. 'Who Zeus is I know not, but by report.' Nor were the names given to realities that actually exist, for what use are names for things which have no existence? But through His works he saw Him, considering things unseen by the things which are manifest in air, in ether, and on earth. Thus he grasped as God Him from whom are all things made, and by whose Spirit they are governed, with which Sophocles agrees: 'There is but one God in truth Who made heaven and the broad earth,' Which refers to the nature of God, the beauty of which fills both, and how God must be, and that He must be One. Athenagoras, Plea For The Christians