Children Good and Bad

Bethlehem, id est, Judaea, martyrum sanguine redundante. Herodis vero furor et infantium interfectio, populi Judaici in Christianos saevientis est forma: existimantis se beatorum Martyrum caede posse in omnium fide et professione Christi nomen exstinguere. Sed gloriosus per prophetam neci eorum honor redditur, dicentem, Vox in Rama audita est, ploratus et ululatus multus, rachel plorans filios suos: et noluit consolari, quia non sunt. Rachel Jacob uxor fuit diu sterilis; sed nullum ex his quos genuit amisit. Verum haec in Genesi Ecclesiam typum praetulit. Non igitur illius vox et ploratus auditur, quae nullum habuit amissorum filiorum dolorem, sed hujus Ecclesiae diu sterilis, nunc vero fecundae. Hujus ploratus ex filiis, non idcirco quia peremptos dolebat, auditur; sed quia ab his perimebantur, quos primum genitos filios retinere voluisset. Denique consolari se noluit quae dolebat. Non enim non erant ii, qui mortui putabantur: in aeternitatis enim profectum per martyrii gloriam efferebantur.   In Evangelium Matthaei Commentarius, Sanctus Hilarius Pictaviensis

Bethlehem, that is, Judea, overflows with the blood of martyrs. Indeed the fury of Herod and the murder of infants is a form of the savagery of the Jews against the Christians, thinking that by the slaughter of blessed martyrs it is possible to extinguish the faith and the profession of Christ in everyone. But a glorious honour is given to the slain through the prophet, who says, 'A voice in Rama is heard, weeping and crying out greatly, Rachel weeping for her children, and she will not be comforted because they were not.' Rachel wife of Jacob was for a long time barren, but she did not lose those born. In Genesis she is brought forth as a type of Church. It is not therefore her voice and weeping that is heard, since she had no sorrow for lost children, but it is the voice of the Church, long barren, now in truth fertile. This weeping for her children was heard not because they were killed but because they were killed by those first born whom she wished to retain as sons. This is why she did not want to be comforted in her grief. And indeed it is not that the first mentioned should be thought not to have died, for from eternity they were marked to bring forth the glory of martyrdom Commentary on the Gospel of Matthew, Saint Hilary of Poitiers

Monks Like Children

Sunt praeterea quaedam in ipso Aegyptiorum habitu non tantum ad curam corporis, quantum ad morum formula congruentia, quo simplicitatis et innocentiae observantia, etiam in ipsa vestitus qualitate teneatur. Cucullis namque perparvis usque ad cervicis humerorumque demissis confinia, quibus tantem capita contegant, indesinenter diebus utuntur ac noctibus, scilicet ut innocentiam et simplicitatem parvulorum jugiter custodire etiam imitatione ipsius velaminis commoveantur. Qui reversi ad infantiam Christi cunctis horis cum affectu ac virtute decantant: Domine, non est exaltatum cor meum, neque elati sunt oculi mei, neque ambulavi in magnis, neque in mirabilibus super me. Si non humiliter sentiebam, sed exaltavi animam meam: sicut ablactatus est super matre sua.   Sanctus Ioannes Cassianus, De Coenobiorum Institutis

Besides there is a part of the clothing of the Egyptian monks which concerns not only the care of the body but more so the regulation of behavior, that they might hold to the observance of simplicity and innocence by the very type of this clothing. For they constantly wear, day and night, very small hoods coming down to the end of the neck and shoulders, covering only the head, that by imitating the same dress of little children they may constantly be moved to guard the same simplicity and innocence. These men who have returned to infancy in Christ, sing at all hours with heart and strength: 'Lord, my heart is not exalted, nor are my eyes lifted up, nor have I walked in greatness, nor in wonders above me. If I did not feel myself humble, but raised up my soul, like a child weaned over his own mother.'1 Saint John Cassian, Institutes of the Coenobia 1 Ps 130. 1-2

Worthy of Double Punishment

Τό οὔν περὶ αὐτοῦ γράμμα ὁ μὲν συνεγνωκὼς ἑαυτῷ δεξάσθω ὡς ἴαμα, ὁ δέ μὴ συνεγνωκὼς ὡς προφυλακτήριον· ὁ δὲ ἀδιάφορος, ὀπερ ἀπεύχομαι ἐφ’ ὑμῖν εὑρεθῆναι, ὡς διαμαρτυρίαν. Τί δέ ἐστιν ὁ λέγω; φασί τινας ὑμων παρὰ τῶν χειροτονουμένων λαμβάνειν χρήματα· ἐπισκιάζειν δὲ ὀνόματι εὐσεβείας. Τοῦτο δὲ χεῖρον ἐστιν. Ἐὰν γὰρ τις τὸ κακόν έν προσχὴματι τοῦ ἀγαθοῦ ποιῇ. διπλασίονος τιμωρίας ἐστὶν ἀξιος· διότι αὐτό τε τὸ οὐκ ἀγαθὸν ἐργάζεται, καὶ κέχρηται εἰς τὸ τελέσαι τὴν ἄμαρτίαν, ὡς ἄν εἰποι τις, τῷ καλῷ συνεργῷ. Ταύτα εἰ οὔτως ἔχει, τοῦ λοιποῦ μὴ γινέσθω, ἀλλὰ διοργωθήτω· ἐπεὶ ἀνάγκη λέγειν πρός τὸν δεχόμενον τὸ ἀργύριον, ὃπερ ἐῥῥήθη παρὰ τῶν ἀποστόλων πρὸς τὸν θέλοντα δοῦναι, ἲνα Πνεύματος ἀγίου μετουσίαν ὠνήσηται· Τό ἀργύριον σου σὺν σοὶ εἴη εἰς ἀπώλειαν. Ἅγιος Βασίλειος Καισαρείας, Ἐπιστολη ΗΓ’ , Χωρεπισκόποις

About that which I am writing, may it be received by the one guilty as medicine, by the one not guilty as a warning, by the one indifferent, where I would not wish to find any of you, as an obstructive plea. And of what do I speak? It is said that some among you take money from those to be ordained and cover it up under the name of religion. This is worse, for if someone does evil under the mask of good he is worthy of double punishment; he does what is itself not good and has done it to accomplish a further sin. If the report is so, let it not be hereafter but let there be improvement. And then it must be said to those who have received such money, as was said by the Apostles to him who would give money to buy association with the Holy Spirit: Your money perish with you. 1 Saint Basil of Caesarea, Letter 53, To the Suffragan Bishops  1 Acts 8.20

Some Good Bishops, Many Bad Ones

Συνόδου δὲ, τοῦ βασιλέως κατεπείγοντος, ἐν Μεδιολάνῳ γενομένης, ἐκ μὲν τῆς Ἕω ὀλιγοι παρεγένοντο· τῶν ἄλλων, ὡς εἰκὸς, ἢ διὰ νόσον, ἢ μακρὰν ὁδοιπορίαν παραιτησαμένων τὴν ἄφιξιν. Τῶν δὲ πρὸς Δύσιν, πλείους ἢ τριακόσιοι συνελέγησαν. Ἀξιούντων δὲ τῶν ἀπὸ τῆς Ἕω καταδικάζειν Ἀθανασίου, ὡς ἂν παντελῶς ἀπελαθείη τῆς Ἀλεξανδρείας, οἱ μὲν ἄλλοι, ἢ δέει, ἢ ἀπάτῃ, ἢ ἀγνοιᾳ τῶν ὄντων συνήνουν. Μόνοι δὲ, Διονύσιος ὁ Ἄλβας ἐπίσκοπος, Ἰταλίας δὲ ἤδε ἡ μητρόπολις, καὶ Εὐσέβιος ὁ Μαρκέλλων τῆς Λιγυρίας, Παυλῖνος ὁ Τριβέρεως, καὶ Ῥοδανὸς, και Λούκιφερ ἀνέκραγον, καὶ ἐμαρτυραντο μὴ χρῆναι ὡδι ῥᾳδίως καταδικάσαι Ἀθανασίου· μηδὲ γὰρ ἄχρι τούτου, εἰ γένοιτο, στήσεσθαι τὸ κακόν· χωρήσειν δὲ τὴν ἐπιβουλὴν καὶ κατ’ αὐτῶν τῶν ὀρθως περὶ Θεοῦ δεδογμένων· ἐπι καθαιρέσει τε τῆς ἐν Νικαίᾳ πίστεως ταῦτα σπουδάζεσθαι παρὰ τοῦ βασιλέως καὶ τῶν τὰ Ἀρείου φρονούντων. Καὶ οἱ μὲν, ὦδε παῥῥησιασάμενοι, ὑπερορίας φυγῇ κατεδικάσθησαν· σὺν τούτοις δὲ καὶ Ἳλάριος. Ἀληθῆ δὲ τοῦ ἐν Μεδιολάνῳ συλλόγου αἰτίαν εἶναι ἤν ἔλεγον, ἐπιστοῦτο ἡ ἀπόβασις. Οὐ πολλῷ γὰρ ὑστερον ἡ ἐν Ἀριμήνῳ καὶ Σελευκείᾳ σύνοδις συνελέγη, καὶ ἑκατέρα κατὰ τῶν ἐν Νικαίᾳ δεδογμένων νεωτερίζειν ἐπεχείρησεν, ὡς αὐτικα ἐπιδείξω.   Ἑρμείος Σωζομενός, Ἐκκλησιαστίκη Ἱστορία

A synod, by pressure from the Emperor Constantius, was held in Milan, which few of the eastern bishops attended; some, it seems, through illness, some because of the length of the journey, excused themselves. However almost three hundred of the western bishops did convene. The Easterners deemed Athanasius worthy to be condemned, that he be utterly driven from Alexandria; the others, either from fear, deceit, or ignorance, agreed with them. Only Dionysius, bishop of Alba, the metropolis of Italy, Eusebius of Vercella in Liguria, Paulinus of Treves, Rhodanus and Lucifer cried out against this. They declared that Athanasius should not to be condemned on such flimsy pretexts, for if this were to be the evil would persist and those who supported orthodox doctrines about God would be persecuted. They claimed that it was all thought up by the Emperor and the Arians from an eagerness to destroy the Nicene faith. They, for being so outspoken, were condemned by a decree of banishment, and Hilary was included among them. The true cause of the assembly at Milan was thus announced: the downfall of what was believed. For the synods at Ariminum and Seleucia held not long after were called to change the doctrines established at Nicea, as I shall soon show. Sozomen, Ecclesiastical History

The Way Within

Οὐδ’ ὥσπερ ἐστὶν αὐτὸς ὁ Θεὸς ὑπεράνω πάντων, οὔτω καὶ ἡ πρὸς τοῦτον ὁδὸς πόῥῥωθεν ἢ ἔξωθεν ἡμῶν ἐστιν· ἀλλ’ έν ἡμῖν ἐστι, καὶ ἀφ’ ἡμῶν εὑρεῖν τὴν ἀρχὴν δυνατὸν. καθὼς καὶ Μωῦσῆς ἐδίδασκε λέγων· Τὸ ῥῆμα τῆς πίστεως ἐντὸς τῆς καρδίας σοῦ ἐστιν. Ὅπερ καὶ ὁ Σωτὴρ σημαίνων καὶ βεβαιῶν ἔλεγεν· Ἡ βασιλεία τοῦ Θεοῦ ἐντὸς ὑμῶν ἐστιν. Ἔνδον γὰρ ἐν ἑαυτοίς ἔχοντες τὴν πίστιν καὶ τὴν βασιλείαν τοῦ Θεοῦ, δυνάμεθα ταχέως θεωρῆσαι καὶ νοῆσαι τὸν τοῦ παντὸς βασιλέα, τοῦ Πατρὸς σωτήριον Λόγου. Καὶ μὴ προφασιζέσθωσαν Ἔλληνες οἱ τοίς εἰδώλοις θρησκεύοντες· μηδὲ ἄλλος τις ἁπλῶς ἑαυτὸν ἀπατάτω, ὡς τὴν τοιαύτην ὁδὸν οὐκ ἔχων, καὶ διὰ τοῦτο τῆς ἀθεότητος ἑαυτοῦ πρόφασιν εὑρίσκων. Πάντες γάρ εἰς αὐτὴν ἐπιβεβήκαμεν καὶ ἔχομεν, εἰ καὶ μὴ πάντες αὐτὴν ὁδεύειν, ἀλλά παροδεύειν ἐκβαίνοντες θέλουσι διὰ τὰς ἔξωθεν αὐτοὺς ἑλκούσας ἡδονὰς τοῦ βίου. Καὶ εἴ τις ἂν ἔροιτο, τίς ἂν εἴη αὔτη· φημὶ δὴ τὴν ἐκάστου ψυχην εἴναι, καὶ τὸν ἐν αὐτῇ νοῦν. Δι’ αὐτοῦ γὰρ μόνου δύναται Θεὸς θεωρείσθαι καὶ νοεῖσθαι. Ἅγιος Ἀθανάσιος Ἀλεξανδρείας, Λόγος κατά Ἑλλήνων

Neither as God Himself is above all, nor is the way to Him distant or outside us; but in us it is and it is possible to find its beginning in ourselves. As Moses taught, saying:  'The word of faith is within your heart.' 1 Which very thing the Saviour declared and established, when He said, 'The kingdom of God is within you.' 2 For having faith and the kingdom of God in ourselves we shall quickly be able to contemplate and perceive the One who is king of all, the salvation of the Word of the Father. And let not the heathen make excuses, those who worship idols, nor let any one else deceive himself, that he has no such way, and that by this discovery he has an excuse for his own godlessness. For everyone has walked upon it, and we all have it, even if we do not all travel by it but rather wander from it, wishing for the pleasures of life beyond it. And if one were to ask, 'what way might this be?' I say that it is the soul of each one of us, and the intelligence which is in the same. For by that alone is God able to be contemplated and perceived. Saint Athanasius of Alexandria, Against the Heathen 1 Deut 30. 14.13 2  Lk 17.21

The Perils of Relaxation

Fatigatus a sepultura Tobias venit in domum suam ... et factus est caecus.  Ne mireris, lector, quae aliquando bona typice malum, aliquando bonum mala hominum facta significant. Quod si non liceret, nunquam nigro atramento, sed auro semper lucido scriberetur Deus, quia lux est. Sed etsi nomen diaboli in calculo scribas candido, nihilominus tenebras significat profundas. Caecatus ergo Tobias designat quia, sicut Apostolus ait, 'Caecitas ex parte contigit in Israel.' Fatigatus est a sepultura, et caecatus, quia qui infatigabilis in bonis operibus persistit, nunquam fidei luce privatur. Jacet spiritualiter, et dormit fatigatus, qui vigilare et stare in fide, viriliter agere, confortari negligit. Cui bene congruit illud apostolicum: Surge qui dormis, et exsurge a mortuis, et illuminabit te Christus.  Sanctus Beda, In Librum Beati Partis Tobiae Allegorica Interpretatio

'Weary from the tomb Tobias came into his house ... and he was made blind.' 1 Do not wonder, reader, that sometimes by a good type the evil of men is signified and sometimes by an evil one the good. That it should not be allowed to write 'God' in jet black but that the name should always be written in pure gold because he is light. Even if you should write the name of the devil in blazing white nevertheless it signifies utter darkness. Blind then is Tobias designated because, like the Apostle says, 'Blindness touched a part of Israel.'2 'Weary from the tomb and blind' because he who persists without respite in good works never lacks the light of faith, but here he lays down spiritually and he sleeps exhausted, he neglects vigilance and steadfastness in faith and firm action. With this the Apostle agrees, saying: 'Rise up you who sleep, rise up from the dead, and Christ shall illuminate you.'3 Saint Bede, An Allegorical Interpretation of the Book of Tobit 1 Tob 2.10-11  2 Rom 11.25 3 Eph 5.14

Something About Nothing

Omnibus fidelibus et domni nostri serenissimi principis Caroli in sacro ejus palatio consistentibus Fredigysius diaconus.  Agitatem diutissime a quampluribus quaestionem de nihilo, quam indiscussam inexaminatamque veluti impossibilem ad explicandum reliquerunt, mecum sedulo volvens, atque pertractens, tandem visum mihi fuit aggredi; eamque nodis vehementibus, quibus videbatur implicata, disruptis absolvi atque enodavi, deterosque nubilo in lucem restitui; memoriae quoque posteritatis cunctis in futurum saeculis mandandam praevidi. Quaestio autem hujusmodi est, nihilne aliquid sit, an non. Si quis responderit, Videtur mihi nihil esse, ipsa ejus quam putat negatio compellit eum fateri aliquid esse nihil. Quod tale est quasi dicat, Videtur mihi nihil quiddam esse. Quod si aliquid esse videtur ut non sit quodam modo videri non potest. Quocirca relinquitur ut aliquid esse videatur. Si vero hujusmodi fiat responsio, Videtur mihi nihil nec aliquid esse, huic responsioni obviandum est, primum ratione, in quantum hominis ratio patitur, deinde auctoritate, non qualibet, sed ratione duntaxat, quae sola auctoritas est, solaque immobilem obtinet firmitatem. Agamus itaque ratione. Omne itaque nomen finitum aliquid significat, ut homo, lapis, lignum. Haec enim ubi dicta fuerint, simul res quas fuerint significant intelligimus. Quippe hominis nomen praeter differentiam aliquam positum universalitatem hominum designat. Lapis et lignum suam similiter generalitatem complectuntur. Igitur nihil ad id quod significat refertur. Ex hoc etiam probatur non posse aliquid non esse. Omnis significatio est quod est. Nihil autem aliquid significat. Igitur nihil ejus significatio est quid est, id est, rei existentis. Epistola De Nihilo et Tenebris, Ad Proceres Palatii, Fredegesius Turonensis

To all the faithful and to our most serene prince Charles, gathered together at his sacred palace, Fredegesius the deacon. For a very long time the question about nothing being troublesome to many people, it has been undiscussed and unexamined as a thing about which it is almost impossible to give an explanation, but carefully considering it in myself and drawing it out until at last I saw it as something approachable, the strong knots in which it appeared to be bound loosening and dissolving, I then from such a cloud restored it to the light, and thought it prudent to commit it into the memory of all the ages to come. The question is: Whether nothing is something or not? If someone responds, 'It seems to me to be nothing,' by this denial itself he is compelled to admit that something is nothing. It is as if he were to say, 'It seems to me that nothing is a certain thing.' But if it seems to be something it is unable not to appear to be in any way. Thus it remains that it seems to be something. If then this is the response: 'It seems to me to be nothing not something,' this answer is opposed first by reasoning, insofar as human reason permits, next by authority, but not any authority, but only insofar as it accords with reason, which alone is an authority and which alone obtains immovable strength. Let us act, therefore, in accordance with reason. Every finite name signifies something, so: man, stone, wood. When these are said, at the same time we understand the things they signify. Of course, the name man without any qualifier designates the universal term man and stone and wood in similar fashion are grasped. Therefore nothing signifies something to which it refers. By which it is proved that it is not able to be something which does not exist. Every signification is of something and even nothing signifies something. Therefore, nothing signifies something which is, that is, an existing thing. Letter on Nothing and Darkness, To the Nobles of the Palace, Fredegesius of Tours

Patience And Loss

Si detrimento rei familiaris animus concitatur, omni paene in loco de contemnendo saeculo scripturis dominicis commonetur, nec maior ad pecuniae contemptum exhortatio subiacet quam quod ipse dominus in nullis diuitiis inuenitur. Semper pauperes iustificat, diuites praedamnat. Ita detrimentorum patientiae fastidium opulentiae praeministrauit, demonstrans per abiectionem diuitiarum laesuras quoque earum computandas non esse. Quod ergo nobis appetere minime opus est, quia nec dominus appetiuit, detruncatum uel etiam ademptum non aegre sustinere debemus. Cupiditatem omnium malorum radicem spiritus domini per apostolum pronuntiauit: eam non in concupiscentia alieni tantum constitutam interpretemur. Nam et quod nostrum uidetur alienum est: nihil enim nostrum, quoniam Dei omnia, cuius ipsi quoque nos sumus. Itaque si damno adfecti inpatienter senserimus, non de nostro amissum dolentes adfines cupiditatis deprehendemur: alienum quaerimus, cum alienum amissum aegre sustinemus. Qui damni inpatientia concitatur terrena caelestibus anteponendo, de proximo in Deum peccat: spiritum enim quem a domino sumpsit saecularis rei gratia concutit. Libenter igitur terrena amittamus, caelestia tueamur; totum licet saeculum pereat, dum patientiam lucrifaciam! Iam qui minutum sibi aliquid aut furto aut ui aut etiam ignauia non constanter sustinere constituit, nescio an facile uel ex animo ipse rei suae manum inferre possit in causa elemosinae. Quis enim ab alio secari omnino non sustinens ipse ferrum in corpore suo ducit? Patientia in detrimentis exercitatio est largiendi et communicandi: non piget donare eum qui non timet perdere. Tertullianus, De Patientia

If one's soul is troubled by loss of some property, it is reminded by the Lord's Scriptures in nearly every place to scorn the world; nor is there a greater exhortation presented that we should hold money in contempt than that the Lord Himself is not found amid riches. He always justifies the poor, condemns the rich. So He furnishes patience for losses and scorn for opulence, demonstrating, through rejection of riches, that the wounds of them should not be numbered. That which, therefore, we have not the smallest need to seek because the Lord did not seek after it, we ought to endure the reduction or even complete removal of it without sickness. Covetousness is the root of all evils the spirit of the Lord has pronounced through the apostle; and let us not interpret that covetousness is constituted of merely concupiscence for what is another's, for even what seems ours is another's; nothing is ours because everything is God's, we ourselves also. Thus if when suffering a loss we feel it impatiently our lamenting what is lost from what is not our own shall be marked as bordering on covetousness: we seek what is another's when we suffer ill the loss of what is another's. He who is disturbed with impatience of loss, by giving precedence to the earthly over the heavenly, sins directly against God because he shocks the Spirit which he has received from the Lord for the sake of a worldly thing. Willingly, therefore, let us lose things earthly and let us keep things heavenly; may the whole world perish while I make profit in endurance! Now he who is not firmly resolved to endure with constancy the loss of something, either by theft, or else by force, or even by negligence, I know not whether he  would himself readily or sincerely put his hand to his own in the cause of mercy. Does he who endures not at all to be cut by another, himself draw the sword on his own body? Patience in losses is an exercise in charity and sharing. He who is not vexed to give, fears not to loose. Tertullian, from On Patience

Three Ways To Die

Sed mortis tria sunt genera. Una mors peccati est, de qua scriptum est: Anima quae peccat ipsa morietur. Alia mors mystica, quando quis peccato moritur, et Deo vivit, de qua ait Apostolus: Consepulti enim sumus cum illo per baptismum in mortem. Tertia mors est, qua cursum vitae hujus et munus explemus, id est, animae corporisque secessio. Advertimus igitur quod una mors sit mala, si propter peccata moriamur: alia mors bona sit, qua is qui fuerit mortuus, justificatus est a peccato: tertia mors media sit; nam et bona justis videtur, et plerisque metuenda, quae cum absolvat omnes, paucos delectat. Sed non hoc mortis est vitium, at nostrae infirmitatis, qui voluptate corporis, et delectatione vitae istius capimur, et cursum hunc consummare trepidamus, in quo pius amaritudinis, quam voluptatis est. At non sancti ac sapientes viri, qui longaevitatem peregrinationis hujus ingemiscebant dissolvi, et cum Christo esse pulchrius aestimantes: denique diem generationis suae exsecrabantur, sicut quis ait: Pereat dies illa in qua natus sum. Sanctus Ambrosius Mediolanensis, De Bono Mortis, Caput II Source: Migne PL 14.567c-568b

But there are three types of death. One death is by sin, of which it is written: 'The soul which sins dies.' 1 Another death is mystical, when someone dies to sin and lives for God, of which the Apostle says, 'We have been buried with him through baptism in death.' 2 The third death is when we have fulfilled the course of life, that is, the departure of the soul from the body. We note, therefore, that one death may be evil, if on account of sin we die: another death may be good, that is, he who was dead has been justified from sin; the third death is in the middle, for it seems good to the just, and is feared by many, so that which discharges everyone, delights few. But this is not the fault of death but on account of our infirmity, by which we are seized with the pleasure of the body and delight of life, and so we fear to finish this race in which piety is more onerous than pleasure. But neither saints nor wise men groaned to be released from this long journey, judging that to be with Christ is more beautiful. And finally the day of generation itself is cursed, as it was said, 'Perish the day on which I was born.' 3 Saint Ambrose of Milan, On the Good of Death, Chapter 2 1 Ezek 18.4 2 Rom 6.4 3 Job 3.3

The Sins of Crowds

Ad negligentiam vitae, non nos negligentium turba persuadeat, nec ad damnum propriae salutis, alienis ducamur erroribus. Quid nobis in illo Dei judicio proderit multitudo; ubi singuli judicabuntur, ubi sola examinatio merilorum, actus quemque, non populus absolvent? Cessent, cessent solatia malesuada discriminis. Nimirum praestat vitam propagasse cum paucioribus quam perdidisse cum pluribus. Atque adeo, non nos ad incuriam peccatorum, sola peccantium numerositas pertrahat, neque hoc, quod sibi alii parum consulunt, quaedam nobis efficiatur auctoritas. Obsecro te, delictum alienum semper ut opprobrium respice, numquam ut exemplum. Sanctus Eucherius Lugdonensis, Epistola Paraenetica ad Valerianum Cognatum, de Contemptu Mundi

To the neglect of life let not the negligence of the crowd persuade us, nor to the loss of your own salvation let us be lead by the errors of another. How will the multitude profit us in that day of God’s judgement, when each separately will be sentenced, when his own deeds, not the people, will absolve him? Let them cease, let them cease, the evil leading comforts. Without doubt the superior life is to have spent it with the poor than to have been destroyed with the many. And, therefore, it is not the carelessness of sinners but the number of sins that drag one off; nor let those who counsel themselves so poorly be made an authority to us. I beseech you, always look upon the wrongs of others as a disgrace, never as an example. Saint Eucherius of Lyon, Epistle of Exhortation to his Kinsman Valerian, On the Contempt of the World

The Problem Of The Mind

Τοῖς μὲν κοσμικοῖς οἱ δαίμονες διὰ τῶν πραγμάτων μᾶλλον παλαίουσι͵ τοῖς δὲ μοναχοῖς ὡς ἐπὶ πλεῖστον διὰ τῶν λογισμῶν· πραγμάτων γὰρ διὰ τὴν ἐρημίαν ἐστέρηνται· καὶ ὅσον εὐκολώτερον τὸ κατὰ διάνοιαν ἁμαρτάνειν τοῦ κατ΄ἐνέργειαν͵ τοσοῦτον χαλεπώτερος καὶ ὁ κατὰ διάνοιαν πόλεμος τοῦ διὰ τῶν πραγμάτων συνισταμένου· εὐκίνητον γάρ τι πρᾶγμα ὁ νοῦς καὶ πρὸς τὰς ἀνόμους φαντασίας δυσκάθεκτον. Εὐάγριος ὁ Ποντικός, Ὁ Πρακτικός

The demons prefer to wrestle with the worldly by means of the things of the world, but with monks for the most part by means of thoughts, because those in the desert are deprived of the world. And in as much as it is easier to sin in the mind than to go to the deed, so more difficult is the war of the mind than that which comes about because of worldly things; for the mind is a thing easily moved and hard to rein in when confronted with impious ideas. Evagrius Ponticus, The Praktikos

Learning And Darkness

Dum essem Romae puer, et liberalibus studiis erudirer, solebam cum caeteris ejusdem aetatis et propositi, diebus Dominicis sepulcra apostolorum et martyrum circuire; crebroque cryptas ingredi, quae in terrarum profunda defossae, ex utraque parte ingredientium per parietes habent corpora sepultorum, et ita obscura sunt omnia, ut propemodum illud propheticum compleatur: 'Descendant ad infernum viventes' : et raro desuper lumen admissum, horrorem temperet tenebrarum, ut non tam fenestram, quam foramen demissi luminis putes: rursumque pedetentim acceditur, et caeca nocte circumdatis illud Virgilianum proponitur: 'Horror ubique animos, simul ipsa silentia terrent.' Hoc mihi dictum sit, ut prudens lector intelligat, quam habeam sententiam super explanatione templi Dei in Ezechiel, de quo scriptum est: Nubes et caligo sub pedibus ejus. Et rursum: Tenebrae latibulum ejus: Unde et Moyses nubem ingressus est et caliginem, ut posset Domini mysteria contemplari, quae populus longe positus, et deorsum manens, videre non poterat, Denique post quadraginta dies, vultum Moysi vulgus ignobile, caligantibus oculis, non videbat, quia glorificata erat, sive ut Hebraico continetur, cornuta facies Moysi. Ita et mihi legenti descriptionem templi mystici (quod Judaei secundum litteram in adventu Christi sui, quem nos esse Antichristum comprobamnus, putant aedificandum, et nos ad Christi referimus Ecclesiam, et quotidie in sanctis ejus aedifacari cernimus) accidit, ubicumque oculus cordis aperitur, et me aliquid videre aestimavero et tenere sponsum, et gaudens dixero: Inveni quem quaesivit anima mea, tenebo eum, et non dimmitam eum; rursum me deserit sermo divinus, fugitque sponsus e manibus, et clauduntur oculi caecitate, ita ut cogar dicere: O profundum divitiarum sapientiae et scientiae Dei! quam inscrustabilia sunt judicia ejus, et investigabiles viae illius! Et quod alibi scriptum est: Judicia Domini abyssus multa. Et: De profundis clamavi ad te, Domine, Domine exaudi vocem meam.  Sanctus Hieronymus, Commentarium in Ezechielem Prophetam, Lib XII, Cap XL  Source: Migne PL 25 375

When I was a boy at Rome learning the liberal arts, with others of the same age and inclination, on the days of the Lord, I used to wander around the tombs of the Apostles and Martyrs; and I would enter the narrow crypts which were dug deep in the earth, with both walls holding the bodies of the dead, and everything was so dark that it was as the Psalmist's words were almost fulfilled, 'Let them go down alive into Hell.' 1Very infrequently light was admitted from above, tempering the horror of the darkness, not passing through windows but filtering down from shafts. But again, as one cautiously moved on, blinding night surrounded, so that as Vergil revealed: 'Everywhere horror and the silence itself terrified.' 2 This said, may the prudent reader understand, that I had a sense of the explanation of the temple of God in Ezekiel, of which it is written, ' Clouds and darkness beneath his feet.' 3 And again, 'Darkness is His dwelling' place' 4 Whence even Moses entered into the cloud and darkness that he contemplate the mystery of God, the being people placed far off, remaining behind him, unable to see, and then after forty days the common folk with darkened eyes could not see the face of Moses because it was glorified, or as the Hebrew has it, the face of Moses was horned. It occurred to me on reading of the mysterious temple (which according to the writing of the Jews they think will be built on the advent of their own Christ which we would prove Antichrist, and we have it that it refers to the Church of Christ and daily we observe the building up his saints) that whenever the eye of the heart is open and I judge to have seen something and to grasp the bridegroom and rejoice saying, ' I have discovered what my soul sought, I shall cleave to it, and I shall not lose it,'  5 the Divine word again deserts me, and the bridegroom flees from my hands and my eyes are enclosed in darkness, so that I am forced to say, ' O deep riches of the wisdom and knowledge of God. How inscrutable his judgements and inaccessible his ways.' 6 And elsewhere it is written, 'The judgements of God are a great abyss.' 7 And, ' From the depths I have cried to you, O Lord. Lord, listen to my voice.'8 Saint Jerome, from the Commentary on Ezekiel, Bk 12, Ch 40 1 Ps 54.16 2 Aeneid, 2.755 3 Ps 17.10 4 Ps 17.12 5 Song 3.4 6 Rom 11.13 7 Ps 35.7 8 Ps 129.1

Small Beginnings

Nam ante parvum tempus a quibusdam transitorie colloquentibus cursim mihi aures perstrictae sunt, cum illic apud Carthaginem essemus, non ideo parvulos baptizari, ut remissionem accipiant peccatorum, sed ut sanctificentur in Christo. Qua novitate permotus et quia opportunum non fuit, ut contra aliquid dicerem, et non tales homines erant, de quorum essem auctoritate sollicitus, facile hoc in transactis atque abolitis habui. Et ecce iam studio flammante defenditur, ecce scribendo etiam memoriae commendatur, ecce res in hoc discrimen adducitur, ut hinc etiam a fratribus consulamur, ecce contra disputare atque scribere cogimur!   Sanctus Augustinus Hipponensis, De peccatorum meritis et remissione et de baptismo parvulorum

For but a little time ago while we were at Carthage, in a passing conversation with certain persons, my ears were suddenly struck with: ' It is not that little ones are baptized that they receive remission of sin but that they may be sanctified in Christ.' Although I was shaken by the novelty of it, since there was no opportunity for me to speak against it, and the men were were not persons whose authority would cause me anxiety, I freely let the matter pass into neglect and oblivion. And behold, it is now defended with burning zeal, and behold, it is deposited into our memory by writing, and behold, it becomes so divisive that we are even consulted on it by our brethren, and behold, we are driven to oppose it by disputation and writing. Saint Augustine of Hippo,On Merit and the Forgiveness of Sins, and the Baptism of Infants

A Disputed Succession

Οἱ δὲ ἐν Κωνσταντίνου πόλει τὴν ἐκτεθεῖσαν ἐν Νικαίᾳ δόξαν ζηλώσαντες, εἰς τὴν ἐκκλησίαν ἤγαγον Παῦλον. Ἐν τῳ αὐτῷ δὲ συλλαμβανομένων τῶν ἀπὸ τοῦ ἐναντίου πλήθους, ἐν ἑτέρᾳ ἐκκλησίᾳ συνελθόντες οἱ ἀμφὶ θεόγνιον τὸν Νικαίας έπίσκοπον καὶ Θεόδωρον τὸν Ἡρακλείας, ἑτεροί τε οἱ τὰ τούτων φρονοῦντες, οἱ ἔτυχον ἐνδημοῦντες, Μακεδόνιον ἐχειροτόνησαν Κωνσταντινουπόλεως ἐπίσκοπον. Ἐντεῦθέν τε συχαὶ κατὰ τὴν πόλιν έγένοντο στάσεις, πολέμοις ἐμφερεῖς. Εἰς ἑαυτὸ γὰρ ἑκατέρωθεν τοῦ πλήθους συμπίπτοντος, πλεῖστοι διώλλυτο· καὶ ταραχῆς ἡ πόλις ἀναπλεως ἦν· ὡς καὶ Βασιλέα τότε ἐν Ἀντοοχείᾳ ὄντα, τάδε μαθεῖν, καὶ πρὸς ὀργὴν κινηθέντα, προστάξαι πάλιν ἀπελαύνεσθαι Παῦλον. Διηκονεῖτο δὲ τοῖς Βασιλέως προστάγμασιν Ἑρμογένης, ὁ τὴν ἱππικὴν δύναμιν έπιτετραμμενος στρατηγός·ὅς ἐπὶ Θρᾴκην τότε ἀποσταλεὶς, παριὼν διὰ Κωνσταντινουπόλεως, ἐβιάζετο Παύλον διὰ στρατιωτῶν ἐξελάσαι τῆς ἐκκλησίας. Ἐπεὶ δὲ τὸ πλῆθος οῦ συνεχώρει, πῆ δὲ καὶ ἠμύνετο· βιαιότερόν τε ἐπεχείρουν οἱ στρατιῶται ἐπιτελεῖν τὸ προσταχθὲν, καταλαβόντες τὴν Ἑρμογένους οἰκίαν οἱ στρατιῶται ἐνέπρησαν, καὶ αὐτὸν ἀναιροῦσι· καὶ σχοινίον ἐξάψαντες εἰλκον διὰ τῆς πόλεως. Ἑρμείος Σωζομενός, Ἐκκλησιαστίκη Ἱστορία

Those in the city of Constantinople who firmly adhered to the opinion of Nicea led Paul to the church. At the same time the multitude who opposed them gathered together in another church, among whom were supporters of the bishops Theognis of Nicea, and Theodore of Heraclea, and others of similar opinion who chanced to be be there, and they made Macedonius bishop of Constantinople. On account of this there was frequent unrest in the city, even to the point of war, for forming into crowds the people attacked one another and many died. The city was filled with tumult and the Emperor Constantius who was then at Antioch, learning of it, was moved to anger, and again decreed the expulsion of Paul. Hermogenes, who was general of the cavalry, endeavored to implement this Imperial command, he who had been sent to Thrace and who would thus pass Constantinople. He planned, by means of his troops, to expel Paul from the church by force, but the people did not yield but rather fought, and the soldiers, having tried to fulfill their order, turned to greater violence, and coming upon the house of Hermogenes, they set fire to it, killing him, and binding a rope around him, they dragged him through the city. Sozomen, Ecclesiastical History

On Interpreting The Parables

Nos autem quia non ex parabolis materias commentamur, sed ex materiis parabolas interpretamur, nec ualde laboramus omnia in expositione torquere, dum contraria quaeque caueamus. Quare centum oues? Et quid utique decem drachmae? Et quae illae scopae? Necesse erat, qui unius peccatoris salutem gratissimam Deo uolebat exprimere, aliquam numeri quantitatem nominaret, de quo unum quidem perisse describeret; necesse erat, ut habitus requirentis drachmam in domo tam scoparum quam lucernae adminiculo adcommodaretur. Huiusmodi enim curiositates et suspecta faciunt quaedam et coactarum expositionum subtilitate plerumque deducunt a ueritate. Sunt autem, quae et simpliciter posita sunt ad struendam et disponendam et texendam parabolam, ut illuc perducantur, cui exemplum procuratur. Tertullianus, De Pudicitia

For indeed we do not study the subject from the parables, but from the subject we interpret the parables, nor do we work hard to twist everything in the exposition, while taking care to avoid every contradiction. Why exactly one hundred sheep? And why, indeed, just ten drachmas? And what was the meaning of the broom? It was necessary that He who wished to express the delight which the salvation of one sinner gives to God, should name some numerical quantity by which he might describe that one had perished. It was necessary that the style of one engaged in searching for a drachma in a house, should be equipped with the helpful accompaniment of a broom as well as of a lamp. For such curiosity not only breeds distrust, but the subtlety of such forced explanations generally lead away from the truth. There are some things there which are just simply placed with a view to the arrangement and disposition and texture of the parable, in order that it may proceed to the example to which one should direct one's care. Tertulian, On Modesty

Advice On Prayer

Μὴ προσεύχου τὰ σὰ θελήματα γενέσθαι· οὐδὲ γὰρ πάντως συμωνοῦσι τῷ θελήματι τοῦ θεοῦ, ἀλλὰ μᾶλλον καθὼς ἐδιδάχθης, προσεύχου λέγων· Γενηθήτω τὸ θέλημά σου ἐν ἐμοί· καὶ ἐπὶ παντὶ δὲ πράγματι οὕτως αὐτὸν αἴτει ἵνα τὸ αὐτοῦ γένηται θέλημα. θέλει γὰρ τὸ ἀγαθὸν, καὶ συμφέρον τῇ ψυχῇ, σὺ δὲ οὐ πάντως τοῦτο ζητεῖς. Πολλάκις προσευχόμενος ᾐτησάμην γεγέσθαι μοι ὃ ἔδοξα καλὸν εἶναί μοι, καὶ ἐπέμενον τῶ αἰτήματι, ἀλόγως βιαζόμενος τὀ θέλημα τοῦ Θεοῦ, καὶ μὴ ἀποσισοὺς αὐτῷ, ἵνα ὃ οἶδε συμφέρον αὐτὸς μᾶλλον οἰκονομήσῃ, καὶ μέντοι λαβὼν, ὔστερον ἠχθέσθην λίαν, διότι μᾶλλον τὸ βούλημα ἑαυτοῦ ᾐτησάμην γενέσθαι· οὐ γαρ τοιοῦτόν μοι ἀπηντησε τὸ πρᾶγμα, οἷον ἐνόμιζον. Τί ἄλλο ἀγαθὸν ἀλλ' ἢ Θεός; Οὐκοῦν αὐτῷ ἀποδῶμεν πάντα τὰ καθ' ἡμᾶς, καὶ εὖ ἡμῖν ἔσται· ὁ γὰρ ἀγαθὸς πάντως, καὶ ἀγαθῶν ἐστι παροχεὺς δωρεῶν. Μὴ ὡς ἐν δυνάμει κομιζόμενος, εὐθέως παρὰ τοῦ θεοῦ τὸ αἴτημα αἴτει. Βούλεται γὰρ σε ἐπιπλέον εὐεργετῆσαι προσκαρτεροῦντα αὐτῷ ἐν τῇ προσευχῇ. Τί γὰρ αὐτοῦ ἀνώτερον τοῦ τῷ θεῷ προσομιλεῖν καὶ τῇ πρὸς αὐτὸν συνουσίᾳ περισπᾶσθαι;   Εὐάγριος ὁ Ποντικός, Περι προσευχῆς

Do not pray that your will be done, for it is not fully in harmony with the will of God. Rather pray as you were taught, saying in prayer, 'Let your will be done in me.' And in all matters so ask Him that his will be done. For He wills the good and that which profits the soul, but that is not always what you seek. In prayer I have asked for something I thought was good be done for me, insistent in my request, and irrationally forcing God’s will, and so I did not leave it to him who better knows what is profitable, and when later I received, I would have rather asked for his will to be done, for the matter did not turn out as I had thought. What other good is there but God?  So let us hand over to Him everything which concerns us, and it will be well with us; for He is wholly good and the provider of good gifts. Do not turn to your own means if you do not swiftly receive from God your request. For He wishes to benefit you even more by your perseverance in prayer. What is superior to intercourse with God and to be absorbed with being with him? Evagrius Ponticus, On Prayer

Speech and Silence

Πολυλογία ἐστὶ κενοδοξίας καθέδρα, δι’ ἧς ἑαυτὴν ἐμφασίζειν καὶ ἀναπομπεύειν πέφυκε. Πολυλογία ἐστὶν ἀγνωσίας τεκμήρον, καταλαλιᾶς θύρα, εὐτραπελίας χειραγωγὸς, ψεύδους ὑπουργὸς, κατανύξεως διάλυσις, ἀκηδίας κλήτωρ, ὕπνου πρόδρομος, συνοίας σκορισμὸς, φυλακῆς ἀφανισμὸς, θέρμης ψυχρηστήριον προσευχῆς ἀμαύπωσις. Σιωπὴ έν γνώσει μήτηρ προσευχῆς, αἰχμαλωσις ἀνάκλησις, πυρὸς φυλακὴ, λογισμῶν έπίσκοπος, σκοπὸς πολεμὶων, πένθους δεσμωτήριον, δακρύων φίλη, θανάτου μνὴμης ἐργάτης, κολὰσεως ζωγράφος, κρίσεως φιλοπράγμων, ἀδημονίας ὑπουργὸς, παῥῥησίας ἔχθρα, ἡσυχίας σύζυγος, φιλοδιδασκαλίας ἀντίπαλος, γνώσεως προσθήκη, θεωρημάτων δημιουργὸς, άφανὴς προκοπὴ, λεληθυῖα ἀνάβασις.   Ἅγιος Ἰωάννης τῆς Κλίμακος, ἡ Κλίμαξ

Loquacity is the throne of vainglory on which it exposes itself to exhibit its pomp. It is proof of ignorance, a door of slander, a sure guide to puerility, a servant of lies, a destroyer of compunction, a summoner of despondency, a herald of sleep, a dissipation of recollection, a disappearance of watchfulness, a cooling of ardor, a darkening of prayer. Wise silence is the mother of prayer, a recall from captivity, a guardianship of fire, a watchman of thought, a vigil over enemies, a cell of mourning, a friend of tears, a worker for the remembrance of death, a painter of chastisement, a merchant of judgment, a servant of anguish, an enemy of bold speech, a companion of quiet, an adversary of the love of teaching, an aid to knowledge, a creator of contemplation, an unseen advance, a secret ascent. Saint John Climacus, The Ladder

Judith's Final Victory

Nam cum manu solum Holophernem vicisset, consilio omnem hostium vicit exercitum. Suspenso enim Holophernnis capite, quod virorum non potuit excogitari consilio, suorum erexit animos, hostium fregit: suos pudore excitans, hostes quoque terrore percellens, eoque caesi sunt et fugati. Ita unius viduae temperantia atque sobrietas non solam naturam suam vicit, sed quod est amplius, fecit viros etiam fortiores. Nec his tamen elata successibus, cui utique gaudere et exsultare licebat jure victoriae, viduitatis reliquit officium: sed contemptis omnibus qui ejus nuptiae ambiebant, vestem jucunditatis deposuit, viduitatis resumpsit: nec triumphorum suorum amavit ornatus, illos existimans esse meliores quibus vitia corporis, quam quibus hostium arma vincuntur. Sanctus Ambrosius Mediolanensis, De Viduis, Caput VII Source: Migne PL 16.247a-b

For with the hand she conquered Holofernes alone, by prudence she conquered a whole army of enemies. The head of Holofernes hung up, a deed the wisdom of men had been unable to plan, she raised up the souls of her own and crushed those of the enemy. Rousing her own by modesty, she struck terror into the enemy so that they fled and were slain. Thus the temperance and sobriety of one widow not only triumphed over her own nature, but, moreover, even made men more brave. However, she was not elated by these achievements, though indeed she had the right of rejoicing and exulting in her victory, that she would give up her state of widowhood; but rather scorning all who aspired to wed her, she laid aside her garments of joy and resumed those of widowhood, not loving the adornments of her own triumphs, but judging those things to be better which conquer the faults of the body rather than the arms of an enemy. Saint Ambrose of Milan, On Widows, Chapter 7

Endless Persecution

Erras, frater, erras, si putas unquam Christianum persecutionem non pati: et tunc maxime oppugnaris, si te oppugnari nescis. Adversarius noster, tanquam leo rugiens, aliquem devorare quarens, circumit, et tu pacem putas? Sedet in insidiis cum divitibus, et in occultis interficiat innocentem. Oculi ejus in pauperem respiciunt. Insidiatur in occulto, sicut leo in spelunca sua: insidiatur ut rapiat pauperem; et tu frondosae arboris tectus umbraculo, molles somnos, futura praeda, carpis? Sanctus Hieronymus, Epistola XIV, Ad Heliodorum Monachum Source: Migne PL 22 349

You err, brother, you err, if you think that at any time a Christian does not suffer persecution; then you are most assaulted when you do not know that you are assaulted. Our adversary, like a roaring lion, goes about seeking whom he may devour, and you think of peace? 1 'He sits in ambush with the wealthy and in hiding places he murders the innocent. His eyes fix on the poor, like a lion in his cave he lurks that he may seize the poor man;' 2 and do you loll beneath the leafy shade of a tree, softened by dreams, a future prey to be taken? Saint Jerome, from Letter 14, To the Monk Heliodorus 1 1 Pet 5.8 2 Ps 9.29-30

Book Hunting

Beatus Pamphilius Martyr, cujus vitam Eusebius Caeseriensis Episcopus, tribus ferme voluminibus explicavit, cum Demetrium Phalereum, et Pisistratrum in sacrae Bibliothecae studio vellet aequare, imaginesque ingeniorum, quae vera sunt, et aeterna monumenta, toto orbe perquireret, tunc vel maxime Origenis libros impensius prosecutus, Caeseriensi Ecclesiae dedicavit: quam ex parte corruptam, Acacius dehinc, et Euzoius ejusdem Ecclesiae sacerdotes in membranis instaurare conati sunt. Hic cum multa repererit, et inventorum nobis indicem dereliquerit, centesimi vigesimi sexti Psalmi Commentarium, et Phe litterae Tractatum, ex eo quod non inscripsit, confessus est non repertum. Non quod talis tantusque vir (Adamantium dicimus) aliquid praeterierit, sed quod negligentia posterorum ad nostram usque memoriam non durarit. Sanctus Hieronymus, Epistola XXXIV, Ad Marcellam Source: Migne PL 22 448

The blessed Martyr Pamphilus, whose life Eusebius the Bishop of Cæsarea set forth in near enough three volumes, wishing to equal Demetrius Phalereus and Pisistratus in his zeal for a sacred library, sought though out the whole world for images of great minds, which are true and everlasting monuments, but most of all, at great expense, he hunted down the books of Origen, and bestowed them on the church of Caesarea, a part of which was later destroyed, but Acacius and then Euzoius, priests of the same church, tried to reestablish the library in parchment volumes. The latter recovered many texts and he left to us an inventory of them, but in not writing of them he confesses that he could not find Origen's Commentary on the Hundred and Twenty Sixth Psalm and his Tract on the Letter Phe. Not that such an author (whom we call Adamantine) would have neglected something, but that through the negligence of those who came after him such works did not survive to our times. Saint Jerome, from Letter 34, To Marcella