Peace and Quiet

Ἐν εἰρήνῃ ἐπὶ τὸ αὐτὸ κοιμηθήσομαι, και ὑπνώσω· Ὁτι σὺ, Κύριε, κατὰ μόνας ἐπ' ἐλπίδι κατῴκισάς με. Ἰδοῦ καὶ ἄλλο προνοίας εἶδος οὐ μικρὸν, τὸ εἰρήνης ἀπολαύειν τοὺς ἀνακειμένους Θεῷ. Εἰρήνη γὰρ τοῐς ἀγαπῶσι τὸν νόμον σου, καὶ οὐκ ἔστιν αὐτοῖς σκάνδαλον. Οὐδεν γὰρ οὔτως εἰρήνην ποιεῖν εἴωθεν, ὡς ἡ τοῦ Θεοῦ γνῶσις, καὶ ἡ τῆς ἀρετῆς κτῆσις, τὸν ἔνδοθεν τῶν παθῶν ἐξοικίζουσα πόλεμον, καὶ οὐκ ἀφιεῖσα αὐτὸν πρὸς ἑαυτὸν διαστασιάζειν τὸν ἄνθρωπον. Ὡς εἴγε μὴ ταύτης ἀπολαύοι τῆς εἰρήνης, κἂν ἐν βαθυτάτῃ εἰρήνῃ ᾗ ἔξωθεν, κἂν μηδεὶς πολέμιος αὐτὸν βάλλῃ, τῶν ὑπὸ τῆς οἰκουμένης πολεμουμένων πάντων ἐστὶν ἀθλιώτερος. Οὐ γὰρ οὔτω Σκύθαι, οὐδὲ Θρᾷκες, οὐ Σαυρομάται, καὶ Ἰνδοὶ, καὶ Μαῦροι, καὶ ὅσα ἄγρια ἔθνη πολεμεῖν εἰώθασιν, ὡς λογισμὸς ἀτοπώτατος ἐνδομυχῶν τῇ ψυχῇ, καὶ ἐπιθυμία ἀκόλαστος, καὶ χρημάτων ἔρως, καὶ προσπάθεια. Καὶ εἰκότως· ἐκεῖνος μὲν γὰρ ἔξωθεν ὁ πόλεμος, αὔτη δὲ ἔνδον ἐστὶν ἡ μάχῃ. Ὅτι δὲ τὰ ἔνδοθεν τικτόμενα τῶν ἔξεθεν προσβαλλόντων ἐστὶ χαλεπώτερα, καὶ μᾶλοον διαφθείρειν εἴωθε, τοῦτο ἐπὶ πάντων ἔστιν ἰδεῖν. Καὶ γὰρ καὶ ξύλου φύσιν σκώληξ ἔνδον τικτόμενος μᾶλλον διαφθείρει, καὶ σώματος δύναμιν καὶ ὑγείαν τῶν ἔξωθεν φυομένων τὰ ἔνδοθεν βλαστάνοντα νοσματα μειζόνως λυμαίνεται· καὶ πόλεις οὐχ οὔτως οἱ ἔξωθεν πολέμιοι, ὡς οἱ ἐμφύλιοι καταλύουσιν· οὕτω δὴ καὶ ψυχὴν οὐχ οὔτω τὰ ἔξωθεν προσιόντα μηχανήματα, ὡς τὰ ἔνδοθεν τικτόμενα νοσήματα λυμαίνεσθαι πέφυκεν. Ἀλλ' ἐάν τις τὸν φόβον τοῦ Θεοῦ ἔχων, μετὰ ἀκριβείας τοῦτον καταλύσῃ τὸν πόλεμον, καὶ κοιμήσῃ τὰ πάθη, καὶ τὰ θηρία τὰ ποικίλα ἐκεῖνα τῶν ἀτόπων λογυσνῶν ἀποπνίξας, μὴ ἐμφωλεύειν παρασκευάσῃ, οὗτος καθαρωτάτης καὶ βαθυτάτης ἀπολαύσεται εἰρήνης. Ταύτην τὴν εἰρήνην ἐλθὼν ὁ Χριστὸς ἐχαρίσατο· ταύτην καὶ ὁ Παῦλος τοῖς πιστοῖς ἐπηύχετο, καθ' ἑκάστην ἐπιστολὴν λέγων· Χάρις ὑμῖν καὶ εἰρήνη ἀπὸ Θεοῦ Πατρὸς ἡμῶν· ὁ γὰρ τὴν εἱρήνην ταύτην ἔχων, οὐ μόνον βάρβαρον καὶ πολέμιον, ἀλλ' οὐδὲ αὐτὸν τὸν διάβολον δέδοικεν· ἀλλὰ πάσης τῆς τῶν δαιμόνων φάλαγγος καταγελᾷ, καὶ πάντων ἀνθρώπων ἐστὶν εὐθυμότερος, οὐ πενίᾳ πιεζόμενος, οὐ νόσῳ καὶ ἀῥῥωστίᾳ βαρούμενος, οὐκ ἄλλω τινὶ τῶν ἀνθρωπίνων τῶν ἀδοκήτως προσπιπτόντων θορυβούμενος, δια τὸ τὴν ψυχὴν, τὴν δυναμένην ταῦτα μετὰ ἀκριβείας διαθεῖναι καὶ εὐκολίας ἀπάσης, ἐῥῥωμένην καὶ ὑγιαίνουσαν ἔχειν. Καὶ ἵνα μάθητε ὅτι τοῦτό ἐστιν ἀληθές· ἔστω τις βάσκανος, καὶ μηδεὶς αὐτῷ πολεμείτω· τί τὸ ὄφελος; Αὐτὸς γαρ ἑαυτῷ πολεμεῖ· παντὸς ξίφους ὀξυτέρους καθ' ἑαυτοῦ θήγων λογισμοὺς, πᾶσι τοῖς ὁρωμένοις προσπταίων, καὶ καθ' ἔκαστον τῶν ἐντυγχανόντων ἀνθρώπων τιτρώσκων ἑαυτὸν, καὶ πρὸς οὐδένα ἡδέως ἔχων, ἀλλὰ κοινοὺς πολεμίους πάντας ὁρῶν. Τί οὖν ὅφελος τῆς ἔξωθεν εἰρήνης τούτῳ, ὅταν αὐτὸς λυσσῶν καὶ μαινόμενος, καὶ κοινὸς τῆς φύσεως ὤν ἐχθρὸς, περιέρχηται, τοσοῦτον ἔνδοθεν φέρων πόλεμον, καὶ μυρία τόξα καὶ βέλη, μᾶλλον δὲ μυρίους θανάτους εὐχόμανος, ἤ ἰδεῖν τινα τῶν ὁμογενῶν εὐδοκιμοῦνται καὶ εὐμερίας ἀπολαύοντα; Πάλιν ἕτερος ὑπὸ χρημάτων ἐπιθυμίας κατεχόμενος, μυρίους πολέμους καὶ μάχας καὶ στάσεις εἰς τὴν ἑαυτοῦ συνάγει ψυχὴν, καὶ ἐν θορύβῳ καὶ ταραχῇ ὤν, οὐδὲ μικρὸν ἀναπνεῦσαι δυναταὶ. Ἀλλ' οὐχ ὁ τούτων ἀπηλλαγμένος τῶν παθῶν οὕτω διάκειται, ἀλλ' ἐν γαληνῷ κάθηται λιμένι, ἐντρυφῶν τῇ φιλοσοφίᾳ, καὶ οὐδεμίν ὑπομένων ἀηδίαν τοιαύτην. Διὸ δὴ καὶ ταύτης ἀπολαύων τῆς προνοίας Ὁ Προφήτης ἔλεγεν· Ἐν εἰρήνῃ ἐπὶ τὸ αὐτὸ κοιμηθήσομαι, και ὑπνώσω· δνλῶν, ὅτι τῷ μὴ ταύτην ἔχοντι τὴν εἰρήνην οὐδὲ ὁ κοινὸς λιμὴν  ἄπας ἀνέῳκται, ἀλλὰ καὶ οὕτος προσκεχωσται, ὁ του ὕπνου καὶ τῆς νυκτός.  Ἅγιος Ἰωάννης ὁ Χρυσόστομος, Εἰς Τον Δ' Ψαλμον

In peace I shall sleep and rest. Because you, Lord, alone in hope have established me. 1 Behold another significant type of providence, that those dedicated to God enjoy peace: 'For peace there is to the lovers of your law and not to them is scandal'  2 For there is nothing equal to the making of peace than the knowledge of God, and the possession of virtue, which casts the internal war of passions far from one's house, and it does not allow it to disturb a man. For certainly if a man does not enjoy this peace, even if there is perfect peace outside him, even if no enemy falls upon him, he is more wretched than those who are under assault in the world. For neither Scythian, nor Thracian, nor Sarmatian, nor Indian, nor Moor, nor any wild folk, are accustomed to bring so fierce a war as wicked thoughts are into the depths of the soul, uncontrolled lust, love of money, vehement attachment to things. And it is certainly so, for the first is an external conflict and the latter internal, and what is born within us, compared to those things that come from without, is more grievous, and they are accustomed to be more violent, which may be seen in everything. For wood having worms born within it is more corrupt, and the health of the body suffers more harm by disease which arises from within than by that which comes from without, and cities are not so much by external enemies than by civic enemies destroyed; and so even the soul is not so much by external machinations sickened than by that which is born from within bringing ruin. Yet if a man have the fear of God he may suppress this conflict utterly, and give peace to the passions, and suppress the various uprisings of unseemly thoughts, not allowing them to linger in his interior, and this one is most great in his enjoyment of peace. This is the peace Christ's coming has given, and for this Paul prayed for the faithful,saying in each of his letters, 'Grace to you and peace from God our father.' For he who has this peace, not only he need not take fright at barbarous enemy and the devil himself, but every cohort of demons he may laugh at, and he is of all men cheerful, not oppressed by poverty, nor by disease and ill health weighed down, nor perturbed by any unforeseen event which befalls men, because his soul has strength and health by which he is most eminently and easily able to manage and temper these things. And that this you might know this to be true: if some man is envious, and no one bring war upon him, what does it benefit? For he brings war upon himself, as if his thoughts were a sharp sword thrusting into his interior in everything which seems to offend him and in each thing which happens among men by which he wounds himself, and he has no delight in anything but he sees everything as an enemy. What then is the use of external peace, when he is furious and maddened, the enemy of our common nature, and bears within himself such an internal war and a thousand arrows and shafts, and prefers to suffer a thousand deaths rather than see anyone else who is like him held in high regard? Again another may be gripped by a desire for wealth, and so he incites innumerable battles, and brawls, and uprisings in his own soul, and endless tumults and troubles, and he has no time to breathe. But it is not so with the one who is free from such passions, he is not moved in such a manner, but in a tranquil port he resides, and he feasts on wisdom, and no trouble he bears. Whence the fruitful foresight of the Prophet says, 'In peace I shall sleep and rest,' which means that to him who does not have peace, it is not that the common port of all is not open, but that it is obstructed, even in quiet and night.  Saint John Chrysostom, Exposition of the Psalms, Psalm 4 1 Ps 4 9-10 2 Ps 118.165