Educating A Girl

Fiant ei litterae vel buxae, vel eburneae, et suis nominibus appellentur. Ludat in eis, ut et lusus ejus eruditio sit. Et non solum ordinem teneat litterarum, et memoria nominum in canticum transeat; sed ipse inter se crebro ordo turbetur, et mediis ultima, primis media misceantur, ut eas non sono tantum, sed et visu noverit: cum vero ceperit trementi manu stylum in cera ducere, vel alterius superposita manu teneri regantur articuli, vel in tabella sculpantur elementa, ut per eosdem sulcos inclusa margnibus trahuntur vestigia, et foras non queant evagari. Sylabbas jungat ad praemium: et quibus illa aetas delectari potest, munusculis invitetur. Habeat et in discendo socias, quibus invideat: quarum laudibus mordeatur.  Non est objurganda, si tardior sit, sed laudibus excitandum ingenium, ut et vicisse gaudeat, et victa doleat. Cavendum in primis, ne oderit studia, ne amaritudo eorum praecepta in infantia, ultra rudes annos transeat. Ipsa nomina, per quae consuescit paulatim verba contexere, non sint fortuita, sed certa, et coacevata de industria, Prophetarum videlicet atque Apostolorum, et omnis ab Adam Patriarcharum series, de Matthaeo Lucaque descendat, ut dum aliud agit, futurae memoriae praeparetur. Magister probae aetatis et vitae, eruditionisque est eligendus, nec puto erubescet vir doctus id facere in propinqua, vel in nobili virgine, quod Aristotles fecit in Philippi filio, ut ipse librariorum utilitate initia traderet litterarum. Non sunt contenenda quasi parva, sine quibus magna constare non possunt. Ipse elementorum sonus, et prima institutio praeceptorum, aliter de erudito, aliter de rustico ore profertur. Sanctus Hieronymus, Epistola CVII, Ad Laetam Source: Migne PL 22 871-872

Let there be letters of boxwood or ivory, each called by its proper name. Let her play with these, so that even in her play there may be learning. And not only make her grasp the right order of the letters and see that she forms their names into a rhyme, but constantly disarrange their order and put the last letters in the middle and the middle ones at the beginning that she may know them all by sight as well as by sound. Moreover, so soon as she begins to use the style upon the wax, and her hand is still faltering, either guide her soft fingers by laying your hand upon hers, or else have simple copies cut upon a tablet; so that her efforts confined within these limits may keep to the lines traced out for her and not stray outside of these. Offer prizes for good spelling and draw her onward with little gifts such as children of her age delight in. And let her have companions in her lessons to excite emulation in her, that she may be stimulated when she sees them praised. You must not scold her if she is slow to learn but must employ praise to excite her mind, so that she may be glad when she excels others and sorry when she is excelled by them. Above all you must take care not to make her lessons distasteful to her lest a dislike for them conceived in childhood may continue into her maturer years. The very words which she tries bit by bit to put together and to pronounce ought not to be chance ones, but names specially fixed upon and heaped together for the purpose, those for example of the Prophets or the Apostles or the list of Patriarchs from Adam downwards as it is given by Matthew and Luke. In this way while her tongue will be well-trained, her memory will be likewise developed. Again, you must choose for her a master of approved years, life, and learning. A man of culture will not, I think, blush to do for a kinswoman or a highborn virgin what Aristotle did for Phillip's son when, descending to the level of an usher, he consented to teach him his letters. Things must not be despised as of small account in the absence of which great results cannot be achieved. The very rudiments and first beginnings of knowledge sound differently in the mouth of an educated man and of an uneducated. Saint Jerome, from Letter 107, To Laeta

The Murder of Children

Convertar ad populum. Quot vultis ex his circumstantibus et in Christianorum sanguinem hiantibus, ex ipsis etiam vobis justissimis et severissimis in nos praesidibus apud conscientias pulsem, qui natos sibi liberos enecent? Siquidem et de genere necis differt utique crudelius in qua spiritum extorquetis, aut frigori et fami et canibus exponitis; ferro enim mori aetas quoque maior optaverit. Nobis vero, homicidio semel interdicto, etiam conceptum utero, dum adhuc sanguis in hominem delibatur, dissolvere non licet. Homicidii festinatio est prohibere nasci; nec refert natam quis eripiat animam, an nascentem disturbet: homo est, et qui est futurus; etiam fructus omnis jam in semine est. Tertullianus, Apologeticum

I shall turn to the people. How many do you think, of those crowding around and gaping for the blood of Christians, how many even of your rulers, most just to you and most severe to us, may I strike in their own consciences with the killing of their own children? As to any difference in the kind of killing, it is certainly the more cruel way to wrench out the spirit by either exposure to cold, or hunger, or dogs; a superior age has always preferred death by the blade. We in truth, murder being once forbidden, even that conceived in the womb, a man being fashioned in blood, we may not destroy. To prevent a birth is a swift murder. Nor does it matter whether the life born is snatched away, or that which is coming to the birth is undone, for a man it is which is going to be one; every fruit is already in the seed. Tertullian, The Apology

Refusing A Gift

Rursus autem qui nude tantum hominem eum dicunt ex Joseph generatum, perseverantes in servitute pristinae inobedientiae moriuntur; nondum commisti Verbo Dei Patris, neque per Filium percipientes libertatem, quemadmodum ipse ait: 'Si Filius vos liberaverit, vere liberi eritis.' Ignorantes autem eum, qui ex Virgine est Emmanuel, privantur munere ejus, quod est vita aeterna: non recipientes autem Verbum incorruptionis, perseverant in carne mortali et sunt debitores mortis, antidotum vitae non accipientes. Ad quos Verbum ait, suum munus gratiae narrans: Ego dixi: Dii estis et filii Altissimi omnes: vos autem sicunt homines moriemini.' Ad eos indubitate dicit, qui non percipiunt munus adoptionis, sed contemnunt incarnationem purae generationis Verbi Dei, fraudantes hominem ab ea ascensione quae est ad Dominum, et ingrati exsistentes Verbo Dei, qui incarnatus est propter ipsos. Propter hoc enim Verbum Dei homo; et qui Filius Dei est, filius hominis factus est, commistus Verbo Dei, ut adoptionem percipiens fiat Filius Dei. Sanctus Ireneaus Lugdunensis, Adversus Haereses, Lib III, Cap XIX. Source: Migne PG 7.938- 939

But again those who say that He was only a mere man, begotten by Joseph, remaining in the servitude of the old disobedience, perish, for they have not yet joined to the Word of God the Father, nor do they take possession of liberty through the Son, as He Himself declares: 'If the Son shall make you free, you shall be free indeed.' But being ignorant of Him who from the Virgin is Emmanuel, they are deprived of His gift, which is eternal life. Not receiving the incorruptible Word, they remain in mortal flesh and are debtors to death, not receiving the antidote of life. To whom the Word says, speaking of His own gift of grace: 'I said, You are gods and all sons of the Highest; yet you shall die like men.' Undoubtedly He speaks to those who have not received the gift of adoption, but who despise the incarnation of the pure generation of the Word of God, defrauding human nature of that ascension which is into God, showing themselves ungrateful to the Word of God, who became flesh for them. It was for this end that the Word of God was made man, and He who is the Son of God was made the Son of man, that man, joined to the Word, receiving the adoption, might become a son of God. Saint Ireneaus of Lyon, Against Heresies, Book III, Ch 19.

An Enemy of Christmas Denounced

Plane nativitas a Gabriele adnuntiatur: quid illi cum angelo creatoris? et in virginis utero conceptus inducitur: quid illi cum propheta creatoris? odit moras, qui subito Christum de caelo deferebat. aufer hinc, inquit, molestos semper Caesaris census et diversoria angusta et sordidos pannos et dura praesepia: viderit angelica multitudo deum suum noctibus honorans: servent potius pecora pastores, et magi ne fatigentur de longinquo: dono illis aurum suum:  melior sit et Herodes ne Hieremias glorietur: sed nec circumcidatur infans, ne doleat, nec ad templum deferatur, ne parentes suos oneret sumptu oblationis, nec in manus tradatur Simeoni, ne senem moriturum exinde contristet: taceat et anus illa, ne fascinet puerum. his opinor consiliis tot originalia instrumenta Christi delere, Marcion, ausus es, ne caro eius probaretur. ex quo, oro te: exhibe auctoritatem: si propheta es praenuntia aliquid, si apostolus praedica publice, si apostolicus cum apostolis senti, si tantum Christianus es crede quod traditum est: si nihil istorum es, merito dixerim, morere. nam et mortuus es, qui non es Christianus, non credendo quod creditum Christianos facit. Tertullianus, De Carne Christi

Clearly the nativity is announced by Gabriel. But what is an angel of the Creator to this man? The conception in the virgin's womb is brought forth. But what is a prophet of the Creator to him? This fellow abhors delay, since suddenly he brings down Christ full grown from heaven. 'Away from here,' says he, 'with that troublesome census of Caesar, and the needy inn, and squalid swaddling cloths, and the rough stable.' He would rather see the angelic multitude which honored their Lord at night helping shepherds with their flocks, he would not let the Magi weary themselves with a long journey but would have their gold remain with them. Let Herod, too, improve, so that Jeremiah may not glory over him, let a babe not suffer circumcision and let him not be brought to the temple lest he burden his parents with the expense of the offering, nor let him be given into the hands Simeon, lest the old man be hurried to death by sadness, and let that old woman also hold her tongue lest she should bewitch the child. With these thoughts, I think you,O Marcion, would dare destroy the original records of Christ that His flesh might not be demonstrated. But, I beseech you, on what grounds is this done? Show me your authority. If you are a Prophet, pronounce something; if an Apostle, preach it in public; if a follower of the Apostles, think with the Apostles; if you are only a Christian, believe in that which has been handed down. If, however, you are none of these, then I would with reason say, die, but indeed you are dead who are no Christian, not believing in that which by being believed makes one Christian. Tertullian, On the Flesh of Christ

The Two Epiphanies

Epiphania Graece, Latine apparitio sive manifestatio vocatur. Eo enim die Christus sideris indicio Magis apparuit adorandus. Quod fuit figura primitiae credentium gentium. Quo die et Dominici baptismatis sacramentum et permutatae in vinum aquae, factorum per Dominum signorum principia extiterunt. Duae sunt autem epiphaniae: prima, in qua natus Christus pastoribus Hebraeorum angelo nuntiante apparuit; secunda, in qua ex gentium populis stella indice praesepis cunabula Magos adoraturos exhibuit. Sanctus Isidorus Hispalensis, Etymologiae, Lib 6.

What is named the Epiphany in Greek is called The Attendance or Manifestation in Latin. On this day the worshipful Christ appeared to the Magi who were guided by the star, which is a figure of the first gentile believers. On this day is also celebrated the Baptism of the Lord and the Changing of Water into Wine, the first signs made by the Lord. But really there are two Epiphanies, the first when Christ just born was shown to the shepherds of the Hebrews by the report of the angel, the second when he was shown in his manger of a crib to the star guided Magi of the gentile people. Saint Isidore of Seville, The Etymologies, Book 6

The Silence of Zachariah

Ἡ Ζαχαρῖου κώφευσις οὐκ ἐκπλήξει γέγονεν, ὡς ἐνόμισας, νουνεχέστατε. Ἐν συνηθείᾳ γὰρ θεοφανείας καὶ ἀγγελικῆς ὁσπτασίας ἥν ὁ ἱερεὺς, καθαρῶς τοῖς μυστηρίοις διακονούμενος, ἀλλὰ τῷ τύπῳ τῆς ἐκείνου σιγῆς, ἡ τοῦ νόμου ἐδηλοῦτο σιωπή. Τὸ δὲ ἀπὸ σιγῆς καὶ στειρώσεως, καὶ γήρως τεχθῆναι τὴν φωνὴν, τοῦτο οἴμαι δηλοῠν, τὸ ἐκ τοῦ παλαιωθέντος καὶ καταγηράσαντος στειρωθέντος, τῇ ἀνηκοῖα τῶν δεξαμένων νόμου τοῦ γραπτοῦ, τὰς περὶ Χριστοῦ προῥῥήσεις προελθεῖν, καὶ τὴν αὐτοῦ μητέρα ἐκ τούτου συνελθεῖν.     Ἅγιος Ἰσίδωρος Του Πηλουσιώτου, Βιβλιον Πρῶτον, Ἐπιστολή ΡΛΑ', Τιμοθεῳ Αναγνωστῃ

The muteness of Zachariah was not on account of fear, so you should judge, most prudent man, for in his priestly office, during his service of the mysteries, he was accustomed to theophanies and angelic visions, but rather it is a type of silence signifying the silence of the law. In the silence and barrenness, both of the working of an aged voice and the struggles of unfruitful aging, I think is made clear the disobedience of those who had received the written law, these things foretelling Christ's advent and his mother's meeting. Saint Isidore of Pelusium, Book 1, Letter 131, to the Lector  Timotheus

A Short Gloss On Saint Joseph

Virum Mariae.  Id est, ministrum Mariae. Sanctus Beda, In Matthaei Evangelium Expositio

'The Man of Mary.'  1 That is, the servant of Mary. Saint Bede, from the Commentary On The Gospel Of Saint Matthew 1 Mt 1.16

The Genealogies Of Christ

Quem ad istam mortalitatem nobiscum participandam quia descendentem voluit significare Matthaeus, ideo et ipsas generationes ab Abraham usque ad Ioseph et usque ad ipsius Christi nativitatem descendendo commemoravit ab initio Evangelii sui  Lucas autem non ab initio, sed a baptismo Christi generationes enarrat nec descendendo, sed ascendendo, tamquam sacerdotem in expiandis peccatis magis signans, ubi eum vox de caelo declaravit, ubi testimonium Ioannes ipsi perhibuit dicens: Ecce qui tollit peccata mundi. Ascendendo autem transit et Abraham et pervenit ad Deum, cui mundati et expiati reconciliamur. Merito et adoptionis originem ipse suscepit, quia per adoptionem efficimur filii Dei credendo in Filium Dei. Per carnalem vero generationem Filius Dei potius propter nos Filius hominis factus est. Satis autem demonstravit non se ideo dixisse Ioseph filium Eli, quod de illo genitus, sed quod ab illo fuerit adoptatus, cum et ipsum Adam filium dixit Dei, cum sit factus a Deo, sed per gratiam quam postea peccando amisit tamquam filius in paradiso constitutus sit. Quapropter in generationibus Matthaei significatur nostrorum susceptio peccatorum a Domino Christo, in generationibus autem Lucae significatur abolitio nostrorum peccatorum a Domino Christo. Ideo eas ille descendens enarrat, iste ascendens. Quod enim dicit Apostolus: Misit Deus Filium suum in similitudinem carnis peccati. Haec est susceptio peccatorum; quod autem addit: Ut de peccato damnaret peccatum in carne, haec est expiatio peccatorum. Proinde Matthaeus ab ipso David per Salomonem descendit, in cuius matre ille peccavit; Lucas vero ad ipsum David per Nathan ascendit, per quem prophetam Deus peccatum illius expiavit. Ipse quoque numerus, quem Lucas exsequitur, certissime prorsus abolitionem indicat peccatorum. Quia enim Christi aliqua iniquitas, qui nullam habuit, non est utique coniuncta iniquitatibus hominum, quas in sua carne suscepit, ideo numerus penes Matthaeum excepto Christo est quadragenarius. Quia vero iustitiae suae Patrisque nos expiatos ab omni peccato purgatosque coniungit, ut fiat quod ait Apostolus: Qui autem adhaeret Domino unus spiritus est ideo in eo numero, qui est penes Lucam, et ipse Christus, a quo incipit enumeratio, et Deus, ad quem pervenit, connumerantur et fit numerus septuaginta septem, quo significatur omnium prorsus remissio et abolitio peccatorum. Quam etiam ipse Dominus per huis numeri mysterium evidenter expressit dicens remittendum esse peccanti non solum septiens, sed etiam septuagiens septiens  Sanctus Augustinus Hipponensis, De Consensu Evangelistarum Libri Quatuor, Lib II

Because Matthew wished to note this descent for the sharing of mortality with us, he has mentioned the generations from Abraham to Joseph and to the birth of Christ Himself in descending order, and at the beginning of his Gospel. Luke, on the other hand, narrates the generations not at the beginning but at Christ’s baptism, and not in descending but in ascending order, as if designating Him a priest for the expiation of sins, where the voice from heaven announced Him, and where John himself named him, saying: 'Behold he who takes away the sin of the world.'1 Moreover, in the ascending order he passes Abraham and arrives at God, to whom, cleansed and atoned for, we are reconciled. Of merit, too, the origination of adoption He has taken up in Himself, for through adoption we are made the sons of God by believing in the Son of God. Indeed, for us, by carnal generation, the Son of God was pleased to be made the son of man. And the author shows clearly that he did not call Joseph the son of Heli because he was sired by him but because he was adopted by him, for he has also called Adam a son of God, who was made by God, but who by grace was as a son in paradise established, which afterwards he lost by sin. Thus the genealogy of Matthew signifies Christ's taking of our sin upon Himself, while genealogy of Luke signifies the abolition of our sins by the Lord Christ. Therefore the one details the names in descending order and the other in ascending order. For when the Apostle says, 'God sent His own Son in the likeness of the flesh of sin,'2  this is the taking upon of sins, and when he adds, ' for sin, to condemn sin in the flesh,' this is expiation of sins. Accordingly Matthew descends from David through Solomon, by whose mother he sinned; while Luke ascends to the same David through Nathan, the prophet by whom God took away his sin. Furthermore, the number which Luke follows does most certainly best indicate the taking away of sins. For as in Christ, who Himself had no sin, there is assuredly no iniquity allied to the iniquities of men which He took up in His flesh, the number adopted by Matthew makes forty without Christ. For by cleansing us of all sin and purging us He joins us to His own and His Father’s righteousness, that it might be as the Apostle’s said: 'But he that is joined to the Lord is one spirit'.3 In the number used by Luke is Christ Himself, with whom the enumeration begins, and God, at whom it ends; and the sum is seventy seven, which signifies the thorough forgiveness and abolition of all sins. And this the Lord Himself also clearly expressed through the mystery of this number when He said that the sinner should be forgiven not only seven times, but even seventy seven times. Saint Augustine of Hippo, On The Agreement of the Evangelists 1 Jo 1.29  2 Rom 8.3  3 1 Cor 6.17

The Stream

Ὑποθώμεθα γάρ τι ὕδωρ ἐκ πηγῆς προχεόμενον, εἰς διαφόρους ἀποῥῥοὰς κατὰ τὸ συμβὰν διασχίζεσθαι. Οὐκοῦν ἕως ἂν οὕτω φέρηται, εἰς οὐδεν τῶν πρὸς τὴν γεωργίαν χρησίμων ἐπιτήδειον ἔσται, τῆς εἰς πολλὰ διαχύσεως ὀλίγον τὸ ἐν ἐκάστῳ, καὶ ἀδρανὲς, καὶ δυσκίνητον ὑπὸ ἀτονίας ποιούσης· εἰ δέ τις πάσας αὐτοῦ τὰς ἀτάκτως ἀποῥῥοὰς συναγάγοι, καὶ εἰς ἔν ῥεῖθρον τὸ πολλαχῆ τέως ἐσκεδασμένεν ἀθροίσειεν, εἰς πολλὰ ἂντῶν βιωφελῶν καὶ χρησίμων ἀθρόῳ καὶ συντεταγμένῳ τῷ ὕδατι χρήσαιτο. Οὒτω μοι δοκεῖ καὶ ὁ νοῦς ὁ ἀνθρώπινος εἰ μὲν πανταχοῦ διαχέοιτο, πρὸς τὸ ἀρέσκον ἀεὶ τοῐς αἰσθητηρίοις ῥέων καὶ σκεδαννύμενος, μηδεμίαν ἀξιόλογον δύναμιν ἵσχειν πρὸς τὴν ἐπὶ τὸ ὅντως ἀγαθὸν πορείαν· εἰ δὲ πανταχόθεν ἀνακληθεὶς, καὶ περὶ ἑαυτὸν ἀθροισθεὶς, συνηγμένος καὶ ἀδιάχυτος πρὸς τὴν οἰκείαν ἑαυτῷ καὶ κατὰ φύσιν ἐνέργειν κινοῖτο, ούδὲν τὸ κωλύον αὐτὸν ἔσται πρὸς τὰ ἄνω φέρεσθαι, καὶ τῆς ἀληθείας τῶν ὅντων ἐφάπτεσθαι. Περὶ ΠαρΘενίας, Ἅγιος Γρηγόριος Νύσσης

Let us imagine a stream flowing from a spring and dividing itself into a number of accidental channels. As long as it proceeds so, it will be useless for any purpose of agriculture, the dissipation of its waters making each particular current small and feeble, and therefore slow. But if one were to mass these wandering and widely dispersed rivulets again into one single channel, he would have a full and collected stream for the supplies which life demands. So it seems to me is the human mind, as long as its current spreads itself in all directions over the pleasures of the sense, has no power that is worth the naming of making its way towards the real Good; but once call it back and collect it upon itself, so that it may begin to move without scattering and wandering towards the activity which is congenital and natural to it, it will find no obstacle in mounting to things above and in grasping the truth of the things that are. On Virginity, Saint Gregory of Nyssa

Preparatory Work

Ἥν μὲν οὖν πρὸ τῆς τοῦ Κυρὶου παρουσίας εἰς δικαιοσύνην Ἕλλησιν ἀναγκαία φιλοσοφία· νυνὶ δὲ χρησίμη πρὸς θεοσέβειαν γίνεται προπαιδεία τις οὖσα τοῖς τὴν πίστιν δι' ἀποδείξεως καρπουμένοις· 'ὅτι 'ὁ ποῦς σου,' φησὶν, 'οὐ μὴ προσκόψῃ' ἐπι τὴν πρόνοιαν τὰ καλὰ ἀναφέροντος, ἐάν τε Ἑλληνικὰ ᾗ, ἐάν τε ἡμέτερα. Πάντων μὲν γὰρ αἴτιος τῶν καλῶν ὁ Θεός· ἀλλὰ τῶν μὲν, κατὰ προηγούμενον, ὡς τῆς τε Διαθήκης τῆς Παλαιᾶς, καὶ τῆς Νέας, τῶν δὲ κατ' ἐπακολούθημα, ὡς τῆς φιλοσοφίας. Τάχα δὲ καὶ προηγουμένως τοῖς Ἐλλησιν ἐδόθη ὁτε, πρὶν ἤ τὸν Κύριον καλέσαι καὶ τοὺς Ἕλληνας· 'ἐπαιδαγώγει' γὰρ καὶ αὐτὴ τὸ Ἐλληνικὸν, ὡς 'ὁ νόμος' τοὺς Ἐβραίους, 'ἐις Χριστόν.' Προπαρασκευάζει τοίνυν ἡ φιλοσοφία, προδοποιοῦσα τὸν ὑπὸ Χριστοῦ τελειούμενον. 'Ἀυτίκα τὴν σοφίαν,' ὁ Σαλομὼν, 'περιχαράκωσον,' φησὶ, 'καὶ ὑπερυψώσει σε· στεφάνῳ δὲ τρυφῆς ὑπερασπίσει σε·' ἐπεὶ καὶ σὺ, τῷ θριγκῷ ὑπεροχυρώσας αὐτὴν διὰ φιλοσοφίας καὶ πολυτελείας ὀρθῆς ἀνεπίβατον τοῖς σοφισταῖς τηρήσεις. Μία μὲν οὖν ἡ τῆς ἀληθείας ὁδός· ἀλλ' εἰς αὐτὴν, καθάπερ εἰς ἀένναον ποταμὸν, ἐκρέουσι τὰ ῥεῖθρα ἄλλα ἄλλοθεν. Κλήμης ὁ Ἀλεξανδρεύς, Στρωματεων, Λόγος Πρῶτος, Κεφ E'.

So before the Advent of the Lord philosophy was necessary to the Greeks for righteousness and now it becomes useful for piety, being a sort of preparatory teaching for those who come to faith through demonstration, 'For your foot,' it is said, 'will not stumble, if you attend to good forethought, whether of the Greeks or of us.' For God is the cause of all good things, but of some primarily, as of the Old and the New Testament, and of others by consequence, as philosophy. And perhaps philosophy was given to the Greeks primarily until the Lord should call the Greeks. For it was a teacher to the Greek, as the law to the Hebrews, unto Christ.  Philosophy, then, was a preparation, an introduction for him who is by Christ perfected. 'Be swift to defend wisdom,' says Solomon, 'and it will exalt you, and it will shield you with a crown of delight.'  For when you have strengthened it with a coping by philosophy, and with right expense, you will keep it unassailable by sophists. The way of truth is therefore one but into it, as into an ever flowing river, streams flow from other places. Clement of Alexandria, Stromata, Book 1, Ch 5.

Bearing Suffering

Ἀλλὰ μὴ νόμιζέ σοι τοῦτο ἀπολογίαν εἶναι εἰς τὸ καὶ αὐτῆς ἐπιθυμεῖν τελευτῆς, εἰ ἐκεῖνος ἐπεθύμει θανάτου, τὰς ὀδύνας οὐ φέρων. Ἐννόησον γὰρ πότε ἐκεῖνος ἐπεθύμει, καὶ πῶς τῶν πραγμάτων διακειμένων, οὐ νόμου δοθέντος, οὐ προφητῶν φανέντων, οὐ τῆς χάριτος οὕτως ἐκχυθείσης, οὐδὲ ἄλλης φιλοσοφίας μετασχών. Ὅτι γὰρ ἡμεις τῶν τότε πολιτευομένων πλείονα ἀπαιτούμεθα, καὶ μείζονα ἡμιν κεῖτα τὰ σκάμματα ἄκουσον τοῦ Χριστοῦ λέγοντος· Ἐὰν μὴ περισσεύσῃ ἡ δικαιοσύην ἡμῶν πλέον τῶν γραμματέων καὶ Φαρισαίων, οὐ μὴ εἰσέλθητε εἰς τὴν βασιλείαν τῶν οὐπανῶν. Μὴ τοίνυν τὸ εὐχεσθαι νῦν τὴν τελευετὴν, ἀπηλλάχθαι ἐγκλήματος νόμιζε, ἀλλ' ἄκουε τῆς τοῦ Παύλου φωνῆς τῆς λεγούσης· Τὸ ἀναλῦσαι καὶ σὺν Χριστῳ εἶναι πολλῷ μᾶλλον κρεῖσσον, τὸ δὲ ἐπιμεῖναι τῇ σαρκὶ ἀναγκαιότερον δι' ὑμᾶς. Ὅσῳ γὰρ ἄν ἐπιτείνηται τὰ τῆς θλίψεως, τοσσούτῳ πλεονάζει καὶ τὰ τῶν στεφάνων· ὅσῳ ἂν πυρωθῇ τὸ χρυσίον, τοσούτῳ καθαρότερον γίνεται· ὅσῳ μακρότερον ἂν πλεύσῃ πέλαγος ἔμπορος, τοσούτῳ πλείονα συνάγει τὰ φορτία. Μὴ τοίνυν νομίσῃς μικρόν σοι προκεῖσθαι νῦν ἆθλον, ἀλλὰ πάντων ὦν ὑπομεμένηκς τὸν ὑψηλότερον, τὸν ἐπὶ τῇ τοῦ σώματος ἀῥῥωστίᾳ λέγω.  Ἅγιος Ἰωάννης ὁ Χρυσόστομο, Ἐπιστολὴ Δ' Ὀλυμπιάδι

But do not think to yourself that this is an excuse for desiring death, since Job desired it, not being able to bear his sufferings. For consider the period when that man desired it, and the manner of his circumstances, the law not being given, the Prophets having not appeared, grace yet to flow forth, nor had he partaken of any philosophy. For that more is asked of us living in freedom now, and harder tasks are set before us, listen to Christ saying, 'Unless your righteousness exceeds the righteousness of the Scribes and Pharisees you shall in no case enter into the kingdom of Heaven.'1 Do not think then that to pray for death now is accounted blameless, but hear the voice of Paul saying 'To depart and to be with Christ is far better, but to remain in the flesh is more necessary for your sake.' 2 For as affliction is increased so are the crowns multiplied, as the fire is fiercer so is the gold more pure, as the voyage of the merchant is longer so the greater the goods he brings home. Do not then think that the labour now allotted to you is trivial, but rather that this affliction of the body is higher than all you have suffered. Saint John Chrysostom, from the Fourth Letter to Olympias 1 Mt 5. 20 2 Phil 1.23

Stripping The Altars

Accenditur post haec adversus Dei Ecclesiam Geisericus. Mittit Proculum quemdam in provinciam Zeugitanam, qui coarctaret ad tradendum ministeria divina, vel libros cunctos, Domini sacerdotes, ut primo armis nudaret, et ita facilius inermes hostis collidus captivaret. Quibus se non posse tradere calmantibus sacerdotibus, ipsi rapaci manu cuncta depopulabantur, atque de palliis altaris, proh nefas! camisias sibi et femoralia faciebant. Qui tamen Proculus, hujus rei exsecutor, frustatim sibi comedens linguam, in brevi trupissima consumptus est morte. Tunc etiam sanctus Valerianus Abbenzae civitatis epsicopus, dum viriliter sacramenta divina ne traderet dimicasset, foras civitatem singularis jussus est pelli: et ita praeceptum est, ut nullus eum neque in domo, neque in agro dimiteret habitare: qui in strata publica multo tempore nudus jacuit sub aere. Annorum autem erat plus octoginta, quem nos tunc indigni in tali exsilio meruimus salutare. Victor Vitensis, Historia Persecutionis Africae Provinciae

After these things the Arian king Geiseric was inflamed against the Church of God. He sent a certain Proculus into the province of Zeugitana and he sought to make the priests of the Lord hand over the things they used in the divine service and every book, that first stripping them of their arms it would be easier for the cunning enemy to capture those made defenceless. Those priests who cried out that were not able to hand these things over suffered the loss of everything by his own rapacious hand, their altar cloths, for shame, being made into shirts and leg coverings. However Proculus the executor of these things, a little later, chewing his own tongue into pieces, was devoured by a most disgraceful death. But then the blessed Valerianus, bishop of the city of Abbenza, who had bravely fought against giving up the sacred things, was ordered to be cast out of the city, and it was further commanded that no one might allow him to dwell in a house or a field, and so for a long time he dwelt on a public way naked beneath the sky. He was more than eighty years old, he whom I, though unworthy, was permitted to salute in such exile Victor Vitensis, History of the Persecution of the African Province

Temptation and Evil

Illud quoque necessarie admonet Dominus ut in oratione dicamus: Et ne nos patiaris induci in tenetationem. Qua in parte ostenditur nihil contra nos adversarium posse, nisi Deus ante permiserit: ut omnis timor noster, et devotio atque observatio ad Deum convertatur, quando in tentionibus nostris nihil malo liceat, nisi potestas inde tribuatur. Probat Scriptura divina quae dicit: Venit Nabuchodonosor rex Babyloniae in Hierusalem et expugnabat eam, et dedit eam Dominus in manu ejus. Datur autem potestas adversus nos malo secundum nostra peccata, sicut scriptum est: Quis dedit in direptionem Jacob et Israel eis qui praedantur illum? nonne Deus cui peccaverunt? et nolebant in viis ejus ambulare neque audire legem ejus, et superduxit super eos iram animationis suae. Et iterum, Salomone peccante et a praeceptis atque a viis Domini recendente, positum est: Et excitavit Dominus Satanam ipsa Salomoni. Potestas vero dupliciter adversus nos datur, vel ad poenam cum delinquimus, vel ad gloriam cum probamur; sicuti de Job factum videmus, manifestante Deo et dicente: 'Ecce omnia quaecumque habet in manus tuae do; sed ipsum cave me tangas.' Et Dominus in Evangelio suo loquitur tempore passionis: 'Nullam haberes adversum me potestatem, nisi datum esset tibi desuper.' Quando autem rogamus ne in tentationem veniamus, admonemur infirmitatis et imbellicitatis nostrae dum sic rogamus, ne quis se insolenter extollat, ne quis sibi superbe atque arroganter aliquid assumat, ne quis sibi aut confessionis aut passionis gloriam suam ducat, cum Dominus ipse humilitatem docens dixerit: 'Vigilate et orate, ne veniatis in tentationem.'  Sanctus Cyprianus, Liber de Oratione Dominica

Moreover the Lord of necessity admonishes that we say in prayer, 'And do not let us be led into temptation.' In which it is shown that the adversary cannot do anything against us unless God has previously permitted it; so that all our fear, and devotion, and obedience may be turned toward God when in our temptations nothing is allowed to evil unless power is given from Him. This is proved by divine Scripture, which says, 'Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came to Jerusalem, and fought against it; and the Lord gave it into his hand.' And power is given to evil against us according to our sins, as it is written, 'Who gave Jacob as spoil, and Israel to those who make prey of Him? Was it not the Lord against whom they sinned? They would not walk in His ways, nor hear His law, and He brought down upon them the anger of His displeasure.' And again, when Solomon sinned and departed from the precepts and ways of the Lord, it is written, 'And the Lord roused up Satan against Solomon.'  Power is given against us in two ways: either for punishment when we err, or for glory when we are tested, as we see was done to Job; as God makes manifest, saying, 'Behold, all that he has I give into your hands; but take care not to touch the man himself.' And the Lord in His Gospel says, in the time of passion, 'You could have no power over me unless it were given you from above.' When we ask that we may not come into temptation, we are reminded of our infirmity and weakness while we ask, lest any should insolently elevate himself, lest any should proudly and arrogantly assume anything to himself, lest any should attribute to himself the glory either of confession or of his suffering, when the Lord Himself, teaching humility, said, 'Watch and pray, that you enter not into temptation.' Saint Cyprian, On The Lord's Prayer

The Ways of the Devil

In hac autem, dilectissimi, misericordia Dei, cujus erga nos magnitudinem explicare non possumus, multa sollicitudine praecavendum est Christianis ne diabolicis iterum capiantur insidiis, et eisdem rursus, quibus renuntiaverunt, erroribus implicentur. Non enim desinit hostis antiquus, transfigurans se in angelum lucis, deceptionum laqueos ubique praetendere, quoquo modo fidem credentium corrumpat, instare. Novit cui adhibeat aestus cupiditatis, cui illecebras gulae ingerat, cui apponat incitamenta luxuriae, cui infundat virus invidiae; novit quem moerore conturbet, quem gaudio fallat, quem metu opprimat, quem admiratione seducat; omnium discutit consuetudines, ventilat curas, scrutatur affectus; et ibi causa quaerit nocendi, ubi quemque viderit studiosius occupari. Habet etenim multos ex eis quos tenacius obligavit, aptos artibus suis, quorum ad alios decipiendos et ingeniis utatur et linguis. Sanctus Leo Magnus, Sermo XXVII

But in this mercifulness of God, dearly beloved, the greatness towards us which we cannot explain, Christians must be very careful lest they be caught again in the Devil's wiles and again become ensnared in the errors which they had renounced. Indeed the old enemy does not cease to transform himself into an angel of light that he might place everywhere the snares of deceptions and in every place corrupt the faith of believers. He knows to whom to apply the heat of greed, whom to beset with the allures of the belly, near whom to set the temptations of luxury, in whom to infuse the poison of envy; he knows whom to distress with grief, whom to delude with joy, whom to crush with fear, whom to seduce with admiration. He sifts everyone's habits, winnows everyone's cares, pries into everyone's affections; and there he seeks a chance to harm when he sees someone most keenly occupied. And indeed of these he has many whom he has bound more tightly because they are suited for his schemes, that he may employ their minds and tongues to deceive others. Pope Leo the Great, Sermon 27

The Proud And Their Ally

Ὑπερηφάνοις ὁ Θεος ἀντιτάσσεται, ἐπειδὴ καὶ τῷ ἄρχοντι αὐτῶν ἐξ ἀρχῆς ἀντετάξατο. Σκόπει τοίνυν ὅσον ἐστὶ καὶ Θεὸν ἔχειν ἀντίμαχον, καὶ τὸν ἀρχαῖον ἀντάρτην συμμέτοχον. Ἅγιος Ἰσιδορου Του Πηλουσιωτου, Βιβλιον Πρῶτον, Ἐπιστολή ΡΞΔ', Μαρτυριῳ Source: Migne PG 78 292

God resists the proud. 1 Since the beginning he has opposed their prince. See, then, how grave a matter it is to have God as an opponent and to be an ally of the old enemy. Saint Isidore of Pelusium, Book 1 Letter 164, to Martyrius  1 Prov 3.34

Like Angels In Heaven

Quis autem humano eam possit ingenio comprehendere, quam nec natura suis inclusit legibus? Aut quis naturali voce complecti, quod supra usum naturae sit? E coelo accersivit quod imitaretur in terris. Nec immerito vivendi sibi usum quaesivit e coelo, quae sponsum sibi invenit in coelo. Haec nubes, aera, angelos, sideraque transgrediens, Verbum Dei in ipso sinu Patris invenit, et toto hausit pectore. Nam quis tantum cum invenerit, relinquat boni? Unguentum enim exianitum est nomen tuum: propterea adolescentulae dilexerunt te, et attraxerunt te. Postremo non meum est illud quoniam quae non nubent, neque nubentur, erunt sicut angeli in coelo. Nemo ergo miretur si anglis comparentur, quae angelorum Domino copulantur. Quis igitur neget hanc vitam fluxisse de coelo, quam non facile invenimus in terris, nisi postquam Deus in haec terreni corporis membra descendit? Tunc in utero virgo concepit, et Verbum caro factum est, ut caro fieret Deus. Sanctus Ambrosius Mediolanensis, De Virginibus, Liber I, Caput III Source: Migne PL 16.191c-192a

But who can comprehend by human understanding that which not even nature has included in her laws? Or who can encompass in natural language that which is beyond the usage of nature? Virginity has summoned it from heaven that it may imitate it on earth. And not without reason has she sought her way of life from heaven, she who has found for herself a spouse in heaven. She, passing beyond clouds, air, angels, and stars, has found the Word of God in the very bosom of the Father, and has drawn Him into her whole heart. For who having found so much would disregard such a good? Indeed 'As ointment poured out is your Name, therefore the maidens have loved you, and sought you.' 1And what I have said is not mine, because they who do not marry nor are given in marriage shall be like the angels in heaven. Let no one be amazed, then, if they are compared to the angels who are bound to the Lord of angels. Who, therefore, can deny that this mode of life flows down from heaven, that which we do not find easily on earth, except after God came down into the members of an earthly body? Then a Virgin conceived in her womb, and the Word became flesh that flesh might become God. Saint Ambrose of Milan, On Virgins, Book 1, Chapter 3 1 Song 1.3

A Marriage Arranged

Ad virginem Deus aligerum portitorem mittit: nam dat arrham, dotem suscipit, qui fert gratiam; fidem refert, et tradit munera virtutis, qui mox virginei consensus resolvit sponsionem. Pervolat ad sponsam festiuus interpres, ut a Dei sponsa humanae desponsationis arceat et suspendat affectum, neque auferat a Joseph virginem sed reddat Christo, cui est in utero pignorata eum fieret. Christus ergo suam sponsam recipit, non praeripit alienam; nec separationem facit, quando suam sibi totam jungit in uno corpore creaturam. Sanctus Petrus Chrysologus, Sermo CXL, De Annuntiatione D. Mariae Virginis Source: Migne PL 52.576a-b

To the Virgin God sends the winged carrier, he who brings grace, he gives a pledge, he takes the dowry, he carries back her promise, he gives gifts of power. The mediator flies swiftly to the betrothed, that he protect the bride from human betrothal and stay affection; he does not take the Virgin from Joseph but he returns her to Christ, to whom she was pledged in the womb when she was made. Christ thus receives his spouse, he does not take what is of another, he does not separate when he binds himself in one body to her his own creation. Saint Peter Chrysologus, from Sermon 140, On The Annunciation

The Presence Of The Good

Hoc bonum veniat in animam nostram, in nostrae mentis viscera, quod propitius Deus dat petentibus se. Hic est via nostra, hic est sapientia nostra, justitia nostra, pastor nostra, et pastor bonus, hic est vita nostra. Vides quanta bona in uno bono! Haec bona nobis praedicat Evangelistae. Haec bona requirens David, ait, 'Quis ostendit nobis bona?' Et ostendit ipsum esse bona, subjicens: 'Signatum est in nobis lumen vultus tui.' Quis autem lumen vultus Patris, nisi splendor gloriae, et imago invisibilis Dei, in quo et videtur et clarificatur Pater, sicut ipse clarificat Filium suum? Ipse est ergo Dominus Juseus summum bonum, quod nobis annuntiatum a prophetis, praedicatum ab angelis, promissum a Patre, evangelizatum est ab apostolis. Qui nobis tanquam maturitas advenit: nec solum tanquam maturitas, sed tanquam maturitas in montibus adest; ut nihil acerbum, nihil immaturum in nostris consiliis sit, nihil immite, nihil apserum in operibus ac moribus, qui primus Evangelizans bona adfuit. Unde et ait: Ipse qui loquebar, adsum,' id est, qui loquebar in prophetis, adsum in corpore, quod suscepi ex Virgine: adsum interior imago Dei, character substantiae. Sanctus Ambrosius Mediolanensis, Epistola XXIX, Ad Ireneaum Source: Migne PL 16.1055d-1056b

May this Good come into our soul, and into depths of our mind, which the merciful God gives to those who seek Him. He is our Treasure, He is our Way, He is our Wisdom, He is our Righteousness, our Shepherd, the good Shepherd, He is our Life. You see how many goods there are in one good! These goods the Evangelists preach to us. These goods David seeks, saying, 'Who will show us good things?' And then he shows that He Himself is our Good, adding, 'The light of your face is sealed upon us.' 1 Who indeed is the light of the Father's face but the splendor of His glory and the image of the invisible God, in whom the Father is both seen and glorified, as He also glorifies His Son? 2 Thus the Lord Jesus Himself is that chief Good which was announced to us by prophets, declared by Angels, promised by the Father, preached by the Apostles. He has come to us as ripeness, not as ripeness only, but as ripeness in the mountains, that there be nothing bitter, nothing immature in our counsels, nothing harsh, nothing bitter in our actions or manners, the first Preacher of good tidings having come to us. Whence He said, 'He who spoke, I am here,' that is, I who spoke in the prophets, 3 am present in the body which I took from the Virgin; I am present as the interior image of God, the substantial character. Saint Ambrose of Milan, from Letter 29, To Ireneaus 1 Ps 4.6 2 Heb 1.3, Jn 17.5 3 Jn 4.26, Heb 1.1

Imitating The Serpent

Φρονίμους ἡμᾶς εἶναι κατὰ τὸν ὄφιν κελεύει ὁ Κύριος, ἐν παντὶ πειρασμῷ συντηροῦτας τὴν κεφαλὴν ἡμῶν, ἥτις ἐστὶν ἡ πίστις ἡμῶν, εὐμαθέστατε. Ὅσαις γὰρ ἂν περιστάσεσι καὶ πληγαίς ὁ ὄφις συνέχηται, τὴν ἑαυτοῦ φυλάττει κεφαλὴν ἀβλαβῆ. Καὶ πάλιν σοφισμῷ τὴν παλαίωσιν ἀποδύεται ἐν στενωπῇ τινι παρεισδύσει θλιβόμενος, καὶ τὸ γῆρας ἀποτιθέμενος. Βούλεται τοίνυν καὶ ἡμᾶς διὰ τῆς στενῆς ὁδοῦ καὶ κακώσεως τὸν παλαιὸν ἄνθρωπον ἀπεκδύεσθαι, καὶ τὸν νέον ἀνταμφιέννυσθαι, τὸν κατὰ τὴν αὐτοῦ εἰκόνα ἀνακαικούμενον.  Ἅγιος Ἰσίδωρος Του Πηλουσιώτου, Ἐπιστολὴ Ἡρμινῳ Κομητι

The Lord calls us to be wise like the serpent, in every trial keeping our heads, which is our faith, know well. For through trials and blows it keeps its head unharmed. And again with old cunning, when confronted by a narrow and difficult way, it strips itself and the old it casts off. It is wished, then, that even we strip off the old man through the narrow way and through suffering, and put on the new one according to His restored image. Saint Isidore of Pelusium, Letter to Count Herminos

The Good and the Better Nature

Talem, inquiunt, faceret hominem, qui nollet omnino peccare. Ecce nos concedimus meliorem esse naturam quae omnino peccare nolit; concedant et ipsi non esse malam naturam quae sic facta est, ut posset non peccare si nollet, et iustam esse sententiam qua punita est, quae voluntate non necessitate peccavit. Sicut ergo ratio vera docet meliorem esse naturam quam prorsus nihil delectat illicitum; ita ratio vera nihilominus docet etiam illam bonam esse quae habet in potestate illicitam delectationem, si exstiterit, ita cohibere, ut non solum de caeteris licitis recteque factis, verum etiam de ipsius pravae delectationis cohibitione laetetur. Cum ergo haec natura bona sit, illa melior, cur illam solam, et non utramque potius faceret Deus? Ac per hoc qui parati erant de illa sola Deum laudare, uberius eum debent laudare de utraque. Illa quippe est in sanctis Angelis, haec in sanctis hominibus. Qui autem sibi partes iniquitatis elegerunt, laudabilemque naturam culpabili voluntate depravarunt. non quia praesciti sunt, ideo creari minime debuerunt: Habent enim et ipsi locum suum, quem in rebus impleant pro utilitate sanctorum. Nam Deus nec iustitia cuiusquam recti hominis eget; quanto minus iniquitate perversi?  Sanctus Augustinus Hipponensis, De Genesi Ad Litteram

Could He have made man, they say, that he would be unwilling to sin. We allow that it is a better nature that is unwilling to sin at all; let them allow that it is not a bad nature which is made that is able not to sin if it does not wish to, and then that by just sentence one is punished who by will and not by necessity errs. As, therefore, true reason teaches a better nature is one that desires nothing illicit, true reason also teaches that is good which, having in its power illicit desire, stands firm, so as to restrain itself, doing not only licit and correct deeds, but even rejoicing in hindering its own depraved desires. Granted, then, this is a good nature, why did God not make the better nature only and not also the other? For then God would be praised by one nature alone and it is better that He should be praised by both. The better nature is of the holy angels and the other nature of holy men, the latter being those who may yet choose the portion of iniquity and corrupt natural praise with a culpable will.  And it is not because error can be foreseen that thus they should be less worthy to be created; for even those who err have their place in the things done for the advantage of the saints. For as God does not lack justice for the righteous man, how much less for those perverted by iniquity? Saint Augustine of Hippo, The Literal Interpretation of Genesis

Adam and Enoch

Adam protoplastus, et colonus paradisi, princeps humani generis et delicti, ad imaginem Dei factus, universitati praelatus, qui creaturis nomina dedit atque in eis potestatem dominandi accepit. Hic in deliciis florentis paradisi constitutus, inter redolentes armoratum sylvas ac vernantia floribus arva, ruris habitator, novae vitae gaudia peragebat: ubi tellus fecunda viret perpetuo vere, ubi fons decurrens quadrifluo labitur amne. Sed postquam serpentis dolo, lingua etiam pollutus feminea, per tactum ligni, loci beatitudinem profanavit, paradiso projectus, terra, sentibus squallentem operaius gemens incoluit. Amissaque immortalitate, in pulverem, unde carnis sumpserat ortum, post cursum annorum nongentorum triginta rediit. Hinc jam posteritas in crimine hujus parentis exsutem se paradiso factam, ac labori mortique subactam ingemuit. Enoch filius Jared, septimus ab Adam, placens Deo, malorum nescius, mortis ignarus, qui sceleratorum hominum non ferens angustias, a perniciosis contractibus mundi substractus, meruit in eum locum transferri vivens unde fuerat protoplastus expulsus. Sublatus est autem annorum trecentorum sexaginta quique. Manet autem haetenus in corpore; in consummatione mundi restituet cum Elia mortalem vitae conditionem.  Sanctus Isidorus Hispaliensis, De Ortu Et Orbitu Patrum Qui in Scriptura Laudibus Efferuntur

Adam the first fashioned and a farmer of paradise, head of the human race and of crime, made according to the image of God, preeminent before everything, who gave names to the creatures and received power to rule over them. Here among the fair flowers of paradise he was established, among sweets scented breezes and lush green fields, an inhabitant of the country he took joy in new life, where the earth put forth its fruits continually, where a spring produced four flowing rivers. But after the deceit of the serpent, defiled by the tongue of the women, through the touch of the wood, profaning the blessedness of the place, he was expelled from paradise, and he dwelt groaning in squalid work. Having lost immortality, he returned to dust, from whence he had taken flesh, after the course of nine hundred and thirty years. Hence the posterity of this parent by crime is exiled from paradise and groans subjected to travail and death. Enoch the son of Jared, of the seventh generation from Adam, pleasing to the Lord, ignorant of evil, having no experience of death, who did not enter into the troubles of the crimes of men, was from the pernicious touch of the world taken, meriting to be placed living in the same place from where the first fashioned was expelled. He was aged three hundred and sixty five years. He remains in the body. At the consummation of the world he shall be restored with Elijah to the mortal condition of life. Saint Isidore of Seville,On the Birth and Death of The Fathers