Natural Disasters and Virtue

ὁ γὰρ τῆς ἐπικειμένης συμφορᾶς φόβος ἀντὶ πάσης παραινέσεως καὶ συμβουλῆς ἀρκεῖ τὰς ἀπάντων σωφρονίσαι ψυχάς. Τίς γὰρ οὕτως ἄθλιος καὶ ταλαίπωρος, ὡς ἐν τοσούτῳ χειμῶνι μεθύειν; τίς οὕτως ἀναίσθητος, ὡς τῆς πόλεως οὕτω σαλευομνης, καὶ ναυαγίας τοιαύτης ἀπειλουμένης, μὴ νήφειν καὶ ἐγρηγορέναι, καὶ πάσης συμβουλῆς καὶ παραινέσεως ἀκριβέστερον άπὸ τῆς ἀγωνίας διορθοῦσθαι ταύτης; Οὐ γαρ τοσοῠτον ἐργάσασθαι δυνήσεται λόγος, ὁσον ἐργάζεται φόβος· καὶ τοῦτο αὐτὸ ἀπὸ τῶν συμβεβηκότων νῦν δυνατὸν ἀποδεῖξαι. Πόσους γοῦν ἀνηλώσαμεν λόγους, πολλοὺς τῶν ῥαθύμων παταινοῦτες, καὶ συμβουλεύοντες τὰ θέατρα ἀφεῖνα, καὶ τὰς ἐκεῖθεν ἀκολασίας; καὶ οὐκ ἠνέσχοντο, ἀλλ ἀεὶ κατὰ τὴν ἡμέραν ταύτην ἐπὶ τὰς παρανόμους τῶν ὀρχουμένων συνέτρεχον θεωρίας, καὶ σύλλογον διαβολικὸν ἀντικαθίστασαν τῷ πληρώματι τῆς Ἐκκλησίας τοῦ Θεοῦ, καὶ ταῖς ἐνταῦθα ψαλμῳδίαις ἀντήχουν αἱ ἐκεῖθεν κραυγαὶ μετὰ πολλῆς φερόμεναι τῆς σφοδρότητος· ἀλλ’ ἰδοὺ νῦν σιγώντων ἡμῶν, καὶ οὐδὲν περὶ τούτου λεγόντων, αὐτόματοι τὴν ὀρχήστραν ἔφραξαν, καὶ ὁ ἱππόδρομος ἀβατος γέγονε· καὶ πρὸ τούτου μὲν πολλοὶ τῶν ἡμετέρων πρὸς ἐκείνους ἔτρεχον, νυνὶ δὲ πάντες ἐκεῖθεν εἰς τὴν ἐκκλησιαν κατέφυγον, καὶ τὸν ἡμέτερον ἄπαντες ἐνυμνοῦσι Θεόν. Ὁμιλία Εἰς τὴν Συμφορὰν τῆς Πόλεως Ἀντιοχείας, Ἅγιος Ἰωάννης ὁ Χρυσόστομος

For the fear of pressing calamity seems to most effectively exhort and counsel all souls to be prudent. Who indeed is so wretched and forsaken that in such a storm he would make himself drunk? Who is so insensitive that with the city shaking and ruin impending that he would not be improved in prudence by this disaster? And that it is so on account of this earthquake which has caused so much fear one is able to demonstrate. How many speeches have we wasted on the admonishment of sluggish multitudes, counseling them to forgo the entertainments of the theatre and the vanity there? But they have not abstained, always even up to this time they have raced off to the lawless dance spectacles and have gathered there as a mob of a church against God, and in such a place they have bellowed their songs with all their might. But, behold, now they are silent, they do speak a word, suddenly the dances have stopped and the racetrack, that which before so many had raced to be at, is closed, for now all have fled to the church and we all hymn God. Homily on the Calamity that Befell the City of Antioch, Saint John Chrysostom