State super vias et videte et interrogate de semitis antiquis quae sit via bona et ambulate in ea et invenietis refrigerium animabus vestris

30 Sept 2018

Many Angels, Two Offices

Millia millium ministrabant ei, et decies millies centena millia assistebant ei. 

Non quo iste ministrorum Dei numerus definitus sit, sed, quo majorem multitudinem humanus sermo explicare nequiverit. Ista sunt millia, et istae myriades, de quibus in Psalmis legimus: Currus Dei decem millibus, multiplex millia laetentium, Dominus in eis. Et in alio loco: Qui facit angelos suos spiritus, et ministros suos ignem urentem. Duplex autem angelorum officium est: aliorum qui justis praemia tribuunt, aliorum qui singulis praesunt cruciatibus.


Sanctus Hieronymus, Commentaria in Daniel, Caput VII
A thousand thousand ministered to him and ten hundred thousands thousands attended to him. 1

Not that the ministers of God are given a definite number, for so great is the multitude that human speech is unable to tell it. So they are thousands and they are ten thousands, concerning which in the Psalm we read: 'The chariot of God attended by ten thousands, a thousand multitudes rejoicing, the Lord is with them.' 2 And in another place, 'He who makes his angels spirits, and His ministers burning flame. 3 For twofold is the office that angels have, of some it is to give reward to the righteous, and of others to watch over each in his punishment.


Saint Jerome, from the Commentary on Daniel, Chapter 7


1 Dan 7.10
2 Ps 67.18
3 Ps 103.4

29 Sept 2018

An Image of Michael

Ἄσκοπον ἀγγελίαρχον, ἀσώματον εἴδεϊ μορφῆς,
ἆ μέγα τολμήεις κηρὸς ἀπεπλάσατο:ἔμπης οὐκ ἀχάριστον,
ἐπεὶ βροτὸς εἰκόνα λεύσσων θυμὸν ἀπιθύνει κρέσσονι φαντασίῃ:
οὐκέτι δ᾽ ἀλλοπρόσαλλον ἔχει σέβας, ἀλλ᾽ ἐν ἑαυτῷ
τὸν τύπον ἐγγράψας ὡς παρεόντα τρέμει:
ὄμματα δ᾽ ὀτρύνουσι βαθὺν νόον οἶδε δὲ τέχνη
χρώμασι πορθμεῦσαι τὴν φρενὸς ἱκεσίην.

Αγαθίας Σχολαστικός,εἰς τὴν αὐτὴν ἐν Πλάτῃ
The invisible Archangel, incorporeal in form
With great daring wax formed, and not without grace;
For a man beholding this image directs his mind to higher vision.
No longer a confused veneration but in himself
The image imprinting, he is in awe as if he were present.
The eyes stir up the depths of the spirit, and art
By colours conveys the prayers of the soul.

Agathias Scholasticus, On An Image of the Archangel Michael

28 Sept 2018

Creating Angels

Ubi de mundi constitutione sacrae litterae loquuntur, non evidenter dicitur, utrum vel quo ordine creati sint angeli; sed si praetermissi non sunt, uel caeli nomine, ubi dictum est: In principio fecit Deus caelum et terram, uel potius lucis huius, de qua loquor, significati sunt. Non autem esse praetermissos hinc existimo, quod scriptum est, requieuisse Deum in die septimo ab omnibus operibus suis quae fecit, cum liber ipse ita sit exorsus: In principio fecit Deus caelum et terram; ut ante caelum et terram nihil aliud fecisse uideatur. Cum ergo a caelo et terra coeperit, atque ipsa terra, quam primitus fecit, sicut scriptura consequenter eloquitur, invisibilis et incomposita nondumque luce facta utique tenebrae fuerint super abyssum, id est super quandam terrae et aquae indistinctam confusionem, ubi enim lux non est, tenebrae sint necesse est, deinde omnia creando disposita sint, quae per sex dies consummata narrantur: quo modo angeli praetermitterentur, tamquam non essent in operibus Dei, a quibus in die septimo requieuit? Opus autem Dei esse angelos hic quidem etsi non praetermissum, non tamen evidenter expressum est; sed alibi hoc sancta scriptura clarissima uoce testatur. Nam et in hymno trium in camino virorum cum praedictum esset: Benedicite omnia opera Domini Dominum, in executione eorundem operum etiam angeli nominati sunt; et in psalmo canitur: Laudate Dominum de caelis, laudate eum in excelsis; laudate eum omnes angeli eius, laudate eum omnes virtutes eius; laudate eum sol et luna, laudate eum omnes stellae et lumen; laudate eum caeli caelorum, et aquae, quae super caelos sunt, laudent nomen Domini; quoniam ipse dixit, et facta sunt. Ipse mandavit, et creata sunt. Etiam hic apertissime a Deo factos esse angelos divinitus dictum est, cum eis inter cetera caelestia commemoratis infertur ad omnia: Ipse dixit, et facta sunt. Quis porro audebit opinari post omnia ista, quae sex diebus enumerata sunt, angelos factos? Sed etsi quisquam ita desipit, redarguit istam vanitatem illa scriptura paris auctoritatis, ubi Deus dicit: Quando facta sunt sidera, laudaverunt me voce magna omnes angeli mei. Iam ergo erant angeli, quando facta sunt sidera. Facta sunt autem quarto die. Numquidnam ergo die tertio factos esse dicemus? Absit. In promptu est enim, quid illo die factum sit. Ab aquis utique terra discreta est et distinctas sui generis species duo ista elementa sumpserunt et produxit terra quidquid ei radicitus inhaeret. Numquidnam secundo? Ne hoc quidem. Tunc enim firmamentum factum est inter aquas superiores et inferiores caelumque appellatum est; in quo firmamento quarto die facta sunt sidera. Nimirum ergo si ad istorum dierum opera Dei pertinent angeli, ipsi sunt illa lux, quae diei nomen accepit, cuius unitas ut commendaretur, non est dictus dies primus, sed dies unus. Nec alius est dies secundus aut tertius aut ceteri; sed idem ipse unus ad inplendum senarium uel septenarium numerum repetitus est propter septenariam cognitionem; senariam scilicet operum, quae fecit Deus, et septimam quietis Dei. Cum enim dixit Deus: Fiat lux, et facta est lux, si recte in hac luce creatio intellegitur angelorum, profecto facti sunt participes lucis aeternae, quod est ipsa incommutabilis sapientia Dei, per quam facta sunt omnia, quem dicimus unigenitum Dei filium; ut ea luce inluminati, qua creati, fierent lux et vocarentur dies participatione incommutabilis lucis et diei, quod est verbum Dei, per quod et ipsi et omnia facta sunt. Lumen quippe verum, quod inluminat omnem hominem venientem in hunc mundum, hoc inluminat et omnem angelum mundum, ut sit lux non in se ipso, sed in Deo; a quo si avertitur angelus, fit inmundus; sicut sunt omnes, qui vocantur inmundi spiritus, nec iam lux in Domino, sed in se ipsis tenebrae, privati participatione lucis aeternae. Mali enim nulla natura est; sed amissio boni mali nomen accepit.

Sanctus Augustinus Hipponensis, De Civitate Dei, Lib. XI
Where Sacred Scripture speaks of the creation of the world, it is not plainly declared whether or when the angels were created; but if they were not omitted it is either under the name of heaven they will be found, when it is said, 'In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth,' 1 or rather under the name of light, concerning with I shall speak. But that they were wholly omitted, I cannot credit, because it is written that God on the seventh day rested from all His works which He made, 2 and the same book begins, 'In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth,' so that before heaven and earth He seems to have made nothing. Since, therefore, He began with the heavens and the earth, and the earth, as Scripture adds, was at first invisible and formless, light not yet made, and darkness over the face of the deep, which is to say, over an indeterminate confusion of earth and sea, for where there is no light darkness must be, and then when all things having been created were disposed, which it is told was done in six days, how are the angels omitted, as if they were not among the works of God from which on the seventh day He rested? However, though the angels as a work of God are not omitted, it is indeed not plainly expressed; but elsewhere Sacred Scripture gives witness to it in the clearest manner. For in the song of the three men in the furnace it was declared, 'All you works of the Lord, bless the Lord;' and in the naming of these works afterwards the angels are named. 3 And in the Psalm it is said, 'Praise the Lord from the heavens, praise Him in the heights. Praise Him, all His angels; praise Him, all His hosts. Praise Him, sun and moon; praise him, all stars and light. Praise Him, heaven of heavens; and you waters above the heavens. Let them praise the name of the Lord; for He spoke, and they were made.' 4 Here the angels are most manifestly and by Divine authority said to have been made by God, for concerning them, among the recollection of other heavenly things, it is said, 'He spoke, and they were made.' Who, then, will dare opine that the angels were made after those things which are told in the six days? If any one is so witless, his vanity is refuted by a Scripture of equal authority, where God says, 'When the stars were made, all my angels praised me with a loud voice.' 5 Therefore the angels were before the creation of the stars, and the stars were made on the fourth day. Shall we then say that they were made on the third day? May it not be, for we certainly know what was done that day: the earth was separated from the waters, and each element took on its own form, and the earth produced whatever sinks its roots in it. May it have been the second day? Not even then; for then the firmament was made between the waters above and beneath, and was called heaven, in which firmament the stars were made on the fourth day. Without doubt, then, if the angels are considered to be of the works of God during these six days, they are that light which received the name of day, and whose unity is signified by calling that day not the first day, but one day. For the second day, the third, and the rest are not other days, but the same one day is repeated to complete the number six or seven, so that there should be knowledge of the six when God made and of the seven and His rest. For when God said, 'Let there be light, and there was light,' if we are correct in understanding in this light the creation of the angels, then certainly they were created as partakers of the eternal light which is the unchangeable wisdom of God, by which all things were made and whom we call the only begotten Son of God, so that they enlightened by the Light that created them might become light and be called Day in participation of the unchangeable Light and Day which is the Word of God, by whom both they and all else were made. 'The true Light, which enlightens every man who comes into the world,' 6 also enlightens every pure angel, that he may be light not in himself, but in God, from whom if an angel turn away, he becomes impure, as are all those who are called unclean spirits, and are no more light in the Lord but darkness in themselves, being deprived of the participation of Light eternal. For evil has no existence, but the loss of good has received the name of evil.

Saint Augustine of Hippo, The City of God, from Book 11

1 Gen 1.1
2 Gen 2.2

3 Dan 3. 57-58
4 Ps 148. 1-4
5 Job 38.7
6 Jn 1.9

27 Sept 2018

Angels And Sons Of God

Plerumque Angelos filios Dei vocat Scriptura; quia ex nullo homine generantur animae. Itaque viros fideles filios suos dicere non est aspernatus Deus. Sicut ergo viri probabilis vitae filii Dei vocantur: ita quorum carnalia sunt opera, hos filios dicimus carnis Scripturarum auctoritate. Dicit enim Johannes Evangelista: Quia quotquot Dominum Jesum receperunt, dedit eis potestatem filios Dei fieri, his qui credunt in nomine ejus, qui non ex sanguinibus, neque ex voluntate carnis, neque ex voluntate viri, sed ex Deo nati sunt.

Sanctus Ambrosius Mediolanensis, De Noe et Arca, Caput IV

Scripture often calls angels sons of God, for from no man were their souls generated. Thus faithful men are named sons, not being despised by God. Likewise, therefore, men of commendable life are called sons of God, 1 as those of carnal works with Scriptural authority we name sons of the flesh. 2 For John the Evangelist says 'However many received the Lord Jesus, He gave to them power to be sons of God, those who believe in His name, those who were born, not from blood, not from the will of the flesh, not from the will of man, but from God.' 3

Saint Ambrose, On Noah and the Ark, Chap 4

1 Job 1.6
2 cf Rom 9.8
3 Jn 1.12-13

26 Sept 2018

The Turning Sword


Καὶ ἔταξε τὰ χερουβὶμ καὶ την φλογνην ῥομφαίαν τὴν στρεφομένην φυλάσσειν τὴν ὁδὸν τοῦ ξύλου τῆς ζωῆς.

Ῥομφαία εἴρηται στρεφομένη, ἵνα στραφέντος ἀπὸ κακίας εἰς ἀρετὴν τοῦ ἀνθρώπου, καὶ αὐτὴ στραφῇ τὴν εἴσοδον παρέχουσα. Εἰ τοίνυν τῆς εἰσόδου τινὶ γένοιτο πόθος, διὰ τούτων χειραγωγεῖτα· τῶν μὲν χερουβὶν, αἰνιττομένων τὴν γνῶσιν τῆς ἀληθείας, ἦς μετέχειν εἰκὸς τὸν εἰσιέναι βουλόμενον ἑρμηνεύεται γὰρ πλῆθος γνώσεως· τῆς δὲ ῥομφαίας, τὴν ἐπίπονον ἀγωγήν. Διὰ πολλῶν γὰρ θλίψεων τῆς εἰσόδου τῆς βασιλείας ἔστιν ἐπιτυχεῖν.

Δυδύμος του Ἀλεξανδρέως, Εἰς Την Γενεσιν, Ἐκλογή

'And he placed the Cherubim with a flaming turning sword to guard the way to the tree of life.' 1

A turning sword, it says, that a man turning from vice to virtue is given entry by such turning. If then there comes to someone a desire to enter, by this he will be led. And by the Cherubim is signified knowledge of truth, the name interpreted meaning 'full of knowledge', which to partake of befits the one who desires to enter. And the sword indicates a life of trial; for entry into the kingdom is not permitted unless through many tribulations.

Didymus the Blind, Commentary on Genesis, Fragment

1 Gen 3.24

25 Sept 2018

Years Of Trial

Quid autem significaverunt illi quadraginta anni, quibus laboriose peractis, filii Israel ad repromissionis terram transierunt? Per hos quadraginta annos totum saeculi tempus significatur, in quo vivit Ecclesia sub laboribus et periculosis tentationibus, sperando quod non vidit per patientiam, quousque ad promissam aeternae felicitatis perveniat patriam. Ideo Dominicus quadraginta diebus jejunavit et quadraginta noctibus, et tentatus est in eremo. Corpus enim ejus, quod est Ecclesia, necesse est tentationes laboresque patiatur in hoc saeculo, quoad usque veniat illud tempus ubi post tentationes accipiat consolationes. Porro quod vestis Israel per tot annos in eremo nulla vestutate corrupta est, et morticina pellis calceamentorum tandiu sine labe duravit, potest figurare futuram incorruptibilitatem corporum, ubi ea quae corruptibilia sunt sine corruptione ulla permanebunt.

Sanctus Isidorus Hispalensis,Mysticorum Expositiones Sacramentorum Seu Quaestiones In Vetus Testamentum, In Deuteronomium, Caput II
What do those forty years signify in which amid laborious trials the sons of Israel crossed to the promised land? These forty years signify all the time of the age in which the Church lives under burdens and is beset by perilous trials, hoping through endurance for what it does not see until it come to the promised fatherland of eternal bliss. Therefore the Lord fasted forty days and nights and was tested in the desert. For it is necessary that his body, which is the Church, suffer trials and toils in this age, until it come to the time when after trials it receive consolation. And that the garments of Israel through all these years in the desert knew no wearing of age, and the dead skins of the shoes endured without fault, 1 can be a figure for the future incorruptibility of the body, when things which are corruptible without corruption persist.

Saint Isidore of Seville, Expositions of Sacred Mysteries or Questions on the Old Testament, On Deutronomy, Chap 2


1 Deut 29.5

24 Sept 2018

Confidence And Despair

Οὔτε θαῥῥεῖν ἀναγκαῖον ἐπὶ τῳ πλήθει τῶν ἀνδραγαθημάτων, οὔτ' ἀπογινώσκειν ἐπὶ τοῖς ἐπταισμένοις. Καὶ γὰρ ὁ Φαρισαϊος θαῥῥήσας ἐπ' ἐργασίᾳ χρηστῇ, ἐξ αὐτοῦ τῆς ἀρετῆς κατηνέχθη τοῦ ὕψους, καὶ ὁ τελώνης μὴ ἀπογνοὺς τοσοῦτον ἀνωρθώθη, ὡς καὶ τὸν ἐνάρετον Φαρισαϊον ὑπερνῆναι τῇ ψήφω τοῦ κρείττονος

Ἅγιος Νειλος, Βιβλιον Πρῶτον, Ἐπιστολὴ ΣΛ' Ζεφψριανῳ

Source: Migne PG 79.168b
Do not be confident in the abundance of your good deeds among men, nor let the soul despair because of errors. For the Pharisee who was confident in his good works fell from the height of virtue, and the tax collector who did not despair in so much was raised up, even to be lifted above the virtuous Pharisee in the judgement of who was better. 1

Saint Nilus of Sinai, Book 1, Letter 230, To Zephyrianus

1 Lk 18. 9-14

23 Sept 2018

Blessing the Lord


Ἰδοὺ δὴ εὐλογεῖτε τὸν κύριον πάντες οἱ δοῦλοι Κυρίου οἱ ἑστῶτες ἐν οἴκῳ Κυρίου ἐν αὐλαῖς οἴκου θεοῦ ἡμῶν. Ἐν ταῖς νυξὶν ἐπάρατε τὰς χεῖρας ὑμῶν εἰς τὰ ἅγια καὶ εὐλογεῖτε τὸν Κύριον.

 Εἰ και εὐλογοῦσι τὸν Κύριον, οὐ μακρὰν αὐτοῦ βεβηκότες ἀλλ' ἐν οἴκῳ αὐτοῦ συνεγγίζοντες Κυρίῳ κατὰ τὸ φρόνημα τὸ  ἐν Γραφαῖς θείαις εἶναι καὶ δόγμασιν ἀληθείας· αὗται γὰρ αὐτοῦ αἱ αὐλαί. Ἰστᾶσι δὲ καὶ εἰκότῶς εὐλογοῦντες Θεόν· ὕπνος γὰρ οὐ κατακρατήσει τότε τῆς τῶν ἀγίων συνόδου, δυνάμει τῶν ἀφθάρτων σωμάτων.

Δίδυμος Αλεξανδρεύς, Εἰς Ψαλμους, Ψαλμος ΡΛΓ'


'Bless the Lord all you servants of the Lord who stand in the house of the Lord, in the atria of the house of the Lord. In the night lift up your hands to the holy places and bless the Lord.' 1

And if they bless the Lord they are not far from Him, but indeed in His house, being near to the Lord in the meditation of the Divine Scriptures and the teachings of truth. For these are the atria. And they stand who bless the Lord, for there sleep does not overcome the gathering of the holy, on account of the virtue of the incorruptible body.

Didymus the Blind, Commentary on the Psalms, from Psalm 133

1 Ps 133.1-2

22 Sept 2018

Jonah's Flight

Et surrexit Jonas, ut fugeret in Tharsis a facie Domini. 

LXX similiter. Scit propheta, sancto sibi Spiritu suggerente, quod poenitentia gentium, ruina sit Judaeorum. Idcirco amator partiae suae, non tam saluti invidet Ninive, quam non vult perire populum suum. Alioquin legerat Moyse rogantem dixisse pro eo: Si dimittis eis peccatum, dimitte: sin autem non dimittis, et me dele de libro tuo, quem scripsisti, et ad preces iliius servatum Israel, et Moysen de libro non fuisse deletum, quin potius Dominum occasionem acceptisse per servum, ut caeteris conservis illius parceret. Dum enim dicit, dimitte me, ostendit se posse retineri. Tale quid et Apostilus loquitur: Optabam anathema esse pro fratribus meis, qui sunt Israelitae secundum carnem. Non quod ipse perire desideret, cui vivere Christus, et mori lucrum; sed magis meretur vitam, dum salvare vult caeteros. Praeterea videns Jonas comprophetas suos mitti ad oves perditas domus Israel, ut ad poenitentiam populum provocarent, Balaaem quoque divinum de salute Israelitici populi prophetasse, delet se solum electum, quo mitteretur ad Assyrios inimicos Israel, et ad civitatem hostium maximam, ubi idololatria, ubi ignoratio Dei; et quod his majus est, timebat ne per occasionem praedicationis suae, illis conversis ad poenitentiam, Israel penitus relinqueretur. Noverat enim eodem spiritu, quo illi gentium praeconium credebatur, quod quando nationes credidissent, tunc periret domus Israel, et quod aliquando futurum erat, hoc ne in suo fieret tempore, verebatur. Unde imitatus Cain Jonas et recedens a facie Domini.


Sanctus Hieronimus, Commentarius In Jonam Prophetem
''And Jonah rose up and fled from the face of the Lord to Tharsis.' 1

The Septuagint reads the same. The Prophet inspired by the Holy Spirit knows that the penitence of the Gentiles would be the ruin of the Jews. Therefore he is a lover of his fatherland, not so much begrudging Nineveh its salvation but rather not wishing the destruction of his own people. One may also read that Moses pleaded for the same people, saying, 'If you forgive them their sin, forgive, yet if you do not forgive, even remove me from your book which you have written' 2 and by his prayers Israel was spared and Moses was not removed from the book, since through his servant the Lord took the opportunity to spare his fellow servants. For since he said, 'forgive', he shows that it was possible that sins be retained. And so the Apostle said, 'I chose to be anathema to my brothers, who are Israelites according to the flesh.' 3 Not that he desired destruction, to whom to live is Christ, and to die profit; 4 but rather he merited life while he wished to save others. Moreover Jonah, perceiving that his fellow prophets were sent to the lost sheep of Israel so that they call the people to penance, and that the inspired Balaam also prophesied the salvation of the people of Israel 5, feared that he would destroy the elect by being sent to the Assyrians, the enemies of Israel, to the great city of the enemy, a place of idolatry and ignorance of God, if by his preaching they turn to penitence and Israel be utterly forsaken. For he knew by the same spirit by which he was confirmed as a preacher to the Gentiles, that when the nations believed, then would perish the house of Israel, and so that sometime in the future this was, lest in his own time it come to be, was his fear. Whence like Cain 6 Jonah withdrew from the face of the Lord.


Saint Jerome, Commentary on Jonah


1 Jonah 1.3
2 Exod 32,31-32
3 Rom 9.3
4 Philipp 1.21
5 Num 24
6 Gen 4.16

21 Sept 2018

A Change Of Business


Et surgens secutus est eum. 

Lucas dicit: Relictus omnibus secutus est eum. Sequi enim imitari est. Et bene sequebatur, dum relinqueret propria, qui rapere solebat aliena, et quomodo sequendum sit docuit, quod contemnens negotia humana, factus est fidelis dominicorum dispensator talentorum.


Sanctus Beda, In Matthaei Evangelium Expositio, Liber II, Cap IX
'And rising he followed Him.' 1
 
Luke says, 'Leaving everything, he followed him' 2. For to follow is to imitate. And well he followed when he left his own things, he who was accustomed to take the things of others, and how one must follow he taught, when scorning human business, he was made a faithful dispenser of the talents of the Lord.

Saint Bede, Commentary on the Gospel of Matthew, Book 2, Chap 9


1 Mt 9.9
2 Lk 5.28 

20 Sept 2018

Destruction And Protection

Minitatus est praeterea quod deleret hominem: Ab homine, inquit, usque ad pecus, et a reptilibus usque ad volatilia coeli delebo. Quid laeserant irrationabilia? Sed quia propter hominem illa facta erant, eo utique deleto propter quem facta sunt, consequens erat ut etiam illa delerentur; quia non erat qui his uteretur. Sensu autem altiore illud manifestatur, quia homo mens est quae est rationis capax; homo enim definitur animal vivum, mortale, rationale. Principali igitur exstincto, etiam sensus omnis exstinguitur; eo quod nihil reliqui ad salutem supersit, cum salutis fundamentum virtus defecerit. Ad condemnationem autem caeterorum, et ad expressionem pietatis divinae dicitur Noe apud Deum gratiam invenisse. Simul ostenditur quod hominem justum non obumbret aliorum offensio, quando ipse ad totius generis reservatur seminarium, qui non generationis nobilitate, sed justitiae et perfectionis merito laudatur. Probati enim viri genus virtutis prosapia est; quia sicut hominum genus homines, ita animarum genus virtutes sunt. Etenim familiae hominum splendore generis nobilitantur: animarum autem clarificatur gratia splendore virtutis.

Sanctus Ambrosius Mediolanensis, De Noe et Arca, Caput IV

God threatened more than to destroy man, for He said, 'From man even to cattle and from reptiles unto the birds of heaven I shall make an end. ' 1 But why harm irrational things? Because all these things were made for man and because of the destruction of that for which they were made, it follows that even they shall be destroyed because he would not be who would make use of them. And yet this manifests a higher sense, because man is mind which is capable of reason, and man is defined as a living animal, mortal and rational. So with his first part destroyed even all his senses are destroyed, by which nothing remains that can be saved, that is, when virtue the foundation of salvation has perished. For while others received condemnation, Noah, on account of piety, is said to had found grace with God. At the same time it is shown the righteous man is not blotted out by the offense of others, for he is reserved for the reseeding of the generations, a man who was not of noble lineage, but is praised with the merit of accomplished righteousness. Approved men are of the family of virtue, because  as men are of the family of man, so the family of souls is virtue. The families of men are ennobled by the splendour of their line, the grace of souls shine with the splendour of the virtues.

Saint Ambrose, On Noah and the Ark, Chap 4


1 Gen 6.7

19 Sept 2018

Man And The Sparrow

Ἐπὶ τῷ Κυρίῳ πέποιθα· πῶς ἐρεῖτε τῇ ψυχῇ μου· Μεταναστεύου ἐπὶ τὰ ὅρη ὡς στρουθίον;

Τελείου φωνὴ, καὶ κατὰ τὸν Ἀπόστολον εἰπεῖν δυναμένου, Τὶς ἡμᾶς χωρίσει ἀπὸ τῆς ἀγάπης τοῦ Θεοῦ; Οὐ κατὰ τὸν ἀτελῆ τὸν φυγῇ μεταναστεύοντα τόπον ἐκ τόπου, καὶ περιφεύγοντα τοὺς διώκοντας. Καθὰ δὴ στρουθίον τοὺς θηρεύοντας, ὁς κἂν διαφύγοι, λέγοι ἄν Ἡ ψυχὴ ἡμῶν ὡς στρουθίον ἐῥῥύσθη ἐκ τῆς παγίδος τῶν θηρευόντων. 


Εὐσέβιος ὁ Καισάρειος, Ὑπομνηματα Ἐις Τους ψαλμους, ψαλμος Ι'


In the Lord I trust; how do you say to my soul, fly off to the mountains like a sparrow? 1

This is the voice of the perfect man, who according to the Apostle is able to say, 'Who shall separate us from the love of God?' 2 His is not the manner of the imperfect man who flies from place to place fleeing  pursuers. And indeed like a sparrow escaping from hunters, he who does flee, may say, 'My soul has been seized like a sparrow from the trap of the hunters.' 3


Eusebius of Caesarea, Commentary on the Psalms, from Psalm 10 

1 Ps 10.1
2 Rom 8.35
3 Ps 123.7

18 Sept 2018

Hope And Salvation

Ἐπὶ σοὶ, Κύριε, ἤλπῐσα, μὴ καταισχυνθείεην εἰς τὸν αἰῶνα, ἐν τῇ δικαιοσύνη σου ῥῦσαί με καὶ ἐξελοῦ με, κ.τ.ε

Ὡσει ἔλεγε· Μηδὲν τοῦ αἰῶνος μέρος καταισχυνθείην, ἀλλ' ἐφ' ὅλον ἀνεπαίσχυντος γενοίμην· τινὲς γὰρ μὲν ἀναστήσονται εἰς ὀνειδισμὸν καὶ αἰσχύμην. Τὸ δὲ ἐξῆς πεποιθότος ἐστὶν ἑαυτῷ ἡ φωνή· οὐ γὰρ ταυτόν ἐστιν ἐλέῳ ῥυσθῆναι τῷ ἐν δικαιοσύνη· τὸ μὲν γὰρ ἐμφαίνει παῥῥησίαν, τὸ δὲ οὐ κατὰ τὴν ἀξίαν. Τίς δὲ ἄρα ὁ θαῥῥῶν ἐπ' ἀκρόασιν τῶν ἑαυτοῦ λόγων καλέσει τὸν Θεὸν, ὡς ὁ ταῦτα λέγων; Οὐκ οὕτως ἀπὸ πόνων, ὠς ἀπὸ κακίας ταχύτατα αἰτητέον, ἵνα Θεὸς ἐξέληται ἡμᾶς ἀπ' αὐτῆς, πρὶν ἐπὶ πλεῖον ἐν αὐτῇ βαφῶμεν. Οὐ μόνον ἐν τῇ δικαιοσύνῃ ῥύεται ἡμᾶς ὁ Θεὸς, ἀλλὰ γὰρ καὶ ἐν σωφροσύνῃ καὶ ἀνρδείᾳ καὶ ἀγάπῃ. Νῦν δὲ τέθικε τὴν δικαιοσύνην, ἐπειδὴ περιεκτική ἐστι πασῶν τῶν ἀρετῶν. Ἥ τάχα δικαιοσύνην λέγει τὸν Χριστόν· αὐτὸς γὰρ ἐγενήθη ἡμῖν σοφία ἀπὸ Θεοῦ, δικαιοσύνη τε καὶ ἁγιασμὸς καὶ  απολύτρωσις.


Ὠριγένης, Εἰς Ψαλμους, Ψαλμος Λ'
'In you, Lord, have I hoped, may I not be disgraced unto eternity, in your righteousness seize and free me.' 1

As if he said, 'May I not be disgraced by any part of this age, but may I be utterly free from wretchedness.' For certainly some will rise to disgrace and confusion. Whence it follows that this is a voice of trust. For here it is not a matter of mercy to liberate but 'in your righteousness', and this he expresses openly, that it is not on account of merit. Who then is so confident of the hearing of his words that he calls on God in this way? Not as one amid trials, as one amid evils who should with all haste entreat that God seize him before he disappears into the depths. And God may liberate us not only on account of righteousness, but even on account of temperance and fortitude and love. But here he posits righteousness, since it encompasses all the virtues. And perhaps by righteousness he may mean Christ,  'Who was made for us wisdom from God righteousness and sanctification and redemption.' 2


Origen, On the Psalms, from Psalm 30

1 Ps 30.1
2 1 Cor 1.30

17 Sept 2018

Hope And Tribulation

 Ἐν θλίψει ἐπεκαλεσάμην τὸν κύριον καὶ ἐπήκουσέν μου εἰς πλατυσμόν. κύριος ἐμοὶ βοηθός οὐ φοβηθήσομαι τί ποιήσει μοι ἄνθρωπος. κύριος ἐμοὶ βοηθός κἀγὼ ἐπόψομαι τοὺς ἐχθρούς μου. ἀγαθὸν πεποιθέναι ἐπὶ κύριον ἢ πεποιθέναι ἐπ' ἄνθρωπον.

 ̔Ο ἐν θλίψει γενόμενος δίκαιος οὐ τοσοῦτον παρακαλεῖ περὶ τοῦ ἐκτὸς αὐτῆς γενέσθαι, ἀλλ' ὅπως γενναίως καὶ ἱλαρῶς αὐτὴν ἐνέγκῃ. καὶ γὰρ ὁ ἐν σταδίῳ πρὸς ἀντιπάλους θλιβόμενος οὐ τὸν ἀγῶνα εὔχεται αὐτῷ παρελθεῖν, ἵνα μὴ ἐξαγώνιος γένηται, ἀλλὰ παρακαλεῖ τὸν παιδοτρίβην συνεργεῖν αὐτῷ, ὁ πως ἐγκαρτερῶν τοῖς ἐπιφερομένοις πρὸς τοῦ ἀντιπάλου ἐλπίδι νίκης καὶ στεφάνου προσηνῆ δόξῃ εἴναι τὰ δι' ὤν ἀποδίδοται ὁ στέφανος. Καὶ δύναται μὲν περὶ θνητῶν διαφόρων λέγεσθαι τὸ Οὐ φοβηθήσομαι τί ποιήσει μοι ἄνθρωπος, περὶ δὲ ἀοράτων πολεμίων τὸ Κἀγὼ ἐπόψομαι τοὺς ἐχθρούς μου· οἵ τινες ἐχθροὶ καὶ τοὺς ἀνθρώπους ἐπεγείρουσι καθ' ἡμῶν ἐκπολεμοῦντες αὐτοὺς πρὸς ἡμᾶς καὶ φονικῶς διατιθέντες καθ' ἡμῶν. εἰ δὲ καὶ τὸ Οὐ φοβηθήσομαι τί ποιήσει μοι ἄνθρωπος ἐπὶ τὸν διάβολον ἀναφέρεται διὰ τὸ ̓Εχθρὸς ἄνθρωπος ἐποίησε τοῦτο, φανερὸν δ' ὁ τι τὸ ἐπισπεῖραι τὰ ζιζάνια καὶ τὸ Σὺ δὲ ει ἄνθρωπος καὶ οὐ θεός, συνεπίσκεψαι. ̓Αγαθὸν πεποιθέναι ἐπὶ κύριον η πεποιθέναι ἐπ' ανθρωπον, καὶ τὰ ἑξῆς·

Δίδυμος Αλεξανδρεύς, Εἰς Ψαλμους, Ψαλμος ΡΙΖ'
'In tribulation I called on the Lord and He heard me. The Lord is my help and I shall not fear what a man may do to me. The Lord is my help and I will look down on my enemies. Good it is to hope in God rather than to hope in men.' 1  

The righteous man in tribulation invokes the Lord, not that he be freed from tribulation, but rather that God might give to him an upright and cheerful soul. Thus he who is sent into the arena to struggle against enemies, rather than begging that he be freed from it, asks that the master of the arena might aid him, by which aid he may try to gain victory over his adversaries, and with which hope of victory and crown, it seems he shall more easily acquire a crown. And he can say against mortal adversaries 'I shall not fear what a man may do to me.' But concerning unseen opponents 'I shall look down on my enemies.' For some enemies are men, who rise up against us and fight against us and strive to slay us, and yet even when it is said, 'I shall not fear what a man may do to me,' this also refers to the devil who is the enemy who makes men do this, for he manifestly sows the weeds, 2 and you being a man, and not God, need double protection. Good it is then to hope in the Lord than to hope in men.


Didymus the Blind, Commentary on the Psalms, from Psalm 117

1 Ps 117.5-8
2 Mt 13.24-30

16 Sept 2018

The Works Of Patience

Nos autem, fratres dilectissimi, qui philosophi non verbis sed factis sumus, nec vestitu sapientiam, sed veritate praeferimus, qui virtutum conscientiam magis quam jactantiam novimus, qui non loquimur magna sed vivimus, quasi servi et cultores Dei, patientiam quam magisteriis coelestibus discimus obsequiis spiritalibus praebeamus. Est enim nobis cum Deo virtus ista communis. Inde patientia incipit, inde claritas ejus et dignitas caput sumit. Origo et magnitudo patientiae Deo auctore procedit. Diligenda res homini quae Deo chara est: bonum quod amat majestas divina commendat. Si dominus nobis et pater Deus est, sectemur patientiam domini pariter et patris: quia et servos oportet esse obsequentes, et filios non decet esse degeneres. Qualis vero in Deo et quanta patientia, quod, in contumeliam suae majestatis et honoris instituta ab hominibus profana templa et terrena figmenta et sacra sacrilega patientissime sustinens, super bonos et malos aequaliter facit diem nasci et lumen solis oboriri, et cum imbribus terras rigat, nemo a beneficiis ejus excluditur quominus justis similiter et injustis indiscretas pluvias largiatur. Videmus inseparabili aequalitate patientiae nocentibus et innnoxiis, religiosis et impiis, gratia agentibus et ingratis, Dei nutu tempora obsequi, elementa famulari, spirare ventos, fontes fluere, grandescere copias messium, fructus maturescere vinearum, exuberare pomis arbusta, nemora frondescere, prata florere. Et cum crebris immo continuis exacerbetur offensis Deus, indignationem suam temperat, et praestitutum semel retributionis diem patienter exspectat. Cunque habeat in potestate vindictam, mavult diu tenere patientiam, sustinens scilicet clementer et differens, ita, si fieri potest, multum malitia protracta aliquando mutetur, et homo in errorum et scelerum contagione volutatus vel sero ad Deum convertatur, ipso monente et dicente: Nolo mortem morientis, quantum ut revertatur et vivat.

Sanctus Cyprianus, De Bono Patientiae
But for us, dearest brethren, who are philosophers, not in words, but in deeds, and do not display our wisdom in our garments, but in truth, who are more acquainted with the consciousness than the boast of the virtues, who do not speak great things, but live them, let us, as servants and worshippers of God, exhibit in our spiritual obedience the patience which we learn from the heavenly teachings. We have this virtue in common with God. From Him patience begins, from Him its glory and its dignity arise. The origin and greatness of patience proceeds from God as its author. Men should love that which is dear to God; for the good the Divine Majesty loves, He commends. If God is our Lord and Father, let us cleave to the patience of our Lord as well as our Father; because it befits servants to be obedient, and it is not fitting for sons to be degenerates. But how great is the patience in God that, most patiently enduring the contempt of His majesty in the profane temples and images of earth, and the sacrilegious rites instituted by men, He makes the day begin and the light of the sun rise equally over the good and the wicked, and when He waters the earth with showers, no one is excluded from His benefits, but similarly upon the righteous and the unrighteous He bestows His undiscriminating rains. We see that at God's command, with equality of patience, the seasons minister to the guilty and the guiltless, to the religious and the impious, to those who give thanks and the thankless; we see that the elements serve them, that the winds blow, the springs flow, the abundance of the harvests grows, the fruits of the vineyards ripen, the orchards abound with apples, the woods put forth their leaves, the meadows their flowers; and while God is provoked with frequent, or rather with continual offenses, He tempers His indignation and in patience waits for the day of retribution, once and for all determined; for though He has revenge in His power, He prefers to keep patience for a long while, bearing mercifully, that is to say, and deferring, so that, if it might be possible, long protracted wickedness may at some time be changed, and man, embroiled in the contagion of errors and crimes, may, even though late, be converted to God, as He Himself warns, saying, 'I do not wish the death of him that dies, but rather that he might return and live.' 1

Saint Cyprian, from On The Good of Patience

1 cf Ez 18.32

15 Sept 2018

Words And Deeds

Ὁ Κύριος ἀπεφήνατο, ὅτι Τοῖς λέγουσί μοι ἐν τῇ ἡμέρᾳ ἐκείνῃ, γνωρίζεσθαι ὑπ' ἐμοῦ, ἀποκρινοῦμαι, ὅτι Οὐκ οἴδα ὑμᾶς· διότι λόγῳ μὲν τὴν εὐσεβειαν ἐτιμᾶτε, ἔργῳ δὲ τὰ φαῦλα μετήρχεσθε.

Ἅγιος Νειλος, Βιβλιον Πρῶτον, Ἐπιστολὴ ΡΛϚ', Σεραπιωνι Πρεσβυτερῳ
The Lord declared: 'To those who say to me on that day that they are known by me, I shall reply, I do not know you,' 1 that is, to those who honour piety in words alone but partake of depraved deeds.


Saint Nilus of Sinai, Book 1, Letter 136, To the Priest Serapion

1 Mt 7.22-23

14 Sept 2018

Hymns And Preaching


Ἐπεὶ γὰρ οἱ ἀπὸ τῆς Ἀρείου αἱρέσεως, ἀφαιρεθέντες τῶν ἐν τῇ Κωνσταντινουπόλει ἐκκλησιῶν ἐπὶ τῆς Θεοδοσίου βασιλείας, πρὸ τῶν τειχῶν ἐκκλησίαζον, νύκτωρ πρότερον ἐν ταῖς δημοσίαις στοαῖς συνελέγοντο, καὶ εἰς συστήματα μεριζόμενοι, κατὰ τὸν τῶν ἀντιφώνων τρόπον ἔψαλλον, ἀκροτελεύτια συντιθέντες πρὸς τὴν αὐτῶν δόξαν πεποιημένα. Ὑπὸ δὲ τὴν ἕω ταῦτα δημοσίᾳ ψάλλοντες, εἰς τοὺς τόπους ἀπῄεσαν, ἔνθα καὶ ἐκκλησίαζον. Ἐποίουν δὲ ὧδε ἐν ταῖς ἐπισήμοις ἑορταῖς, καὶ τῇ πρώτῃ καὶ τελευταίᾳ τῆς ἑβδομάδος ἡμέρᾳ. Τελευτῶντες δὲ, καὶ πρὸς ἔριν τὰς ᾠδὰς προσετίθεσαν, Ποῦ εἰσὶν οἱ λέγοντες τὰ τρία μίαν δύναμιν, καὶ ἕτερα τοιάδε τοῖς ὕμνοις ἀναμιγνύντες. Δείσας δὲ Ἰωάννης, μή τινες τούτοις ὑπαχθῶσι τῶν ὑπ̓ αὐτὸν ἐκκλησιαζόντων, ἐπὶ τὸν ἶσον τρόπον τῆς ψαλμῳδίας τὸν αὐτοῦ λαὸν προτρέπει. Ἐν ὀλίγῳ δὲ ἐπισημότεροι γενόμενοι, τοὺς ἀπὸ τῆς ἐναντίας αἱρέσεως ὑπερέβαλλον τῷ πλήθει καὶ τῇ προόδῳ. Καὶ γὰρ δὴ καὶ σταυρῶν ἀργυρᾶ σημεῖα ὑπὸ κηροῖς ἡμμένοις προηγοῦντο αὐτῶν: καὶ εὐνοῦχος τῆς βασιλέως γαμετῆς ἐπὶ τοῦτο τέτακτο, τὴν περὶ ταῦτα δαπάνην καὶ τοὺς ὕμνους παρασκευάζων. Ἐντεῦθεν δὲ ἢ ζηλοτυπήσαντες οἱ ἀπὸ τῆς Ἀρείου αἱρέσεως, ἢ ἀμυνόμενοι τοῖς ἀπὸ τῆς καθόλου ἐκκλησίας, εἰς μάχην κατέστησαν. Καὶ κτείνονταί τινες ἑκατέρωθεν. Ὁ δὲ Βρίσων, τοῦτο γὰρ ἦν ὄνομα τῷ βασιλικῷ εὐνούχῳ, λίθῳ κατὰ τοῦ μετώπου βάλλεται. Κινηθεὶς δὲ πρὸς ὀργὴν ὁ βασιλεὺς, ἔπαυσε τῶν ἀπὸ τῆς Ἀρείου αἱρέσεως τὰς τοιαύτας συνόδους. Οἱ δὲ ἀπὸ τῆς καθολικῆς, ἐξ αἰτίας τοιᾶσδε τὸν εἰρημένον τρόπον ὑμνεῖν ἀρξάμενοι, καὶ εἰσέτι νῦν οὕτω διέμειναν. Ἰωάννης δὲ ἐκ τούτων, καὶ τῶν ἐπ̓ ἐκκλησίας λόγων, πρὸς μὲν τὸν δῆμον ἐπεδίδου τὸ φίλτρον: μῖσος δὲ πρὸς τοὺς δυναμένους καὶ τοὺς κληρικοὺς ἐκ τῆς κατ̓ αὐτῶν παρρησίας. Τοὺς μὲν γὰρ ἀδικοῦντας ὁρῶν, ἤλεγχε: τοὺς δὲ πλούτῳ, καὶ ἀσεβείᾳ, καὶ ἡδοναῖς ἀσέμνοις διεφθαρμένους, ἀνῆγε πρὸς ἀρετήν.

Ἑρμείος Σωζομενός, Ἐκκλησιαστίκη Ἱστορία, Τομ Η' Κεφ Η'
Those of the Arian sect, their churches in Constantinople being taken from them in the reign of Theodosius, 1 assembled outside the walls. They gathered together during the night in the public porticoes and were divided into bands that they might sing antiphonally, songs having been composed which attempted to express their dogma, then, at dawn, singing these things, they marched to the places in which they held their assemblies. They did this for solemn festivals and on the first and last days of the week. The views expressed in these songs were were likely to cause strife, such as: 'Where are they who say that the Three Persons are One Power?' And other similar things were mixed in throughout their hymns. John was fearful lest any of his own church people should be misled by witnessing such things, and therefore he exhorted them to sing hymns in the same manner, and in a short time they surpassed the opposing heretics in number and processions; for they had silver crosses and lighted wax tapers carried before them. A eunuch of the Empress 2 was appointed to regulate these processions, to pay costs and to prepare hymns. Whence some Arians, on account of either jealousy or revenge, attacked members of the Catholic Church. Some were slain on both sides. Briso, for this was the name of the Imperial eunuch, was struck on the forehead by a stone. This provoked the anger of the Emperor 3 and he put a stop to the Arian assemblies. But the Catholics having adopted the custom of singing hymns in the manner that they did and for the reason recorded, did not discontinue the practice, but have maintained it to the present. The institution of these things in the Church endeared John to the people, but he was hated by the powerful and the clergy on account of his frankness, for perceiving unrighteousness he rebuked it, and from those who were led astray by wealth, or impiety, or vulgar pleasures, he demanded a return to virtue.

Sozomen, Ecclesiastical History, Book 8, Chapter 8 

1 Theodosius I
2 Aelia Eudoxia
3 Arcadius

13 Sept 2018

A Humble Child

Εἰ μὴ ἐταπεινοφρόνουν, ἀλλὰ ὕψωσα τὴν καρδίαν μου, ὡς τὸ ἀπογεγαλακτισμένον ἐπὶ τὴν μητέρα αὐτοῦ, ὡς ἀνταποδώσεις ἐπὶ τὴν ψυχὴν μου.

Ἄλλος, Οὕτος ἀνταποδοθείη τῃ ψυχῇ μου. Καθ' ὑπερβατόν, ἐστι τὸ εἰρημένον, οἶον, Εἰ μὴ ἐταπεινοφρόνουν, ὡς τὸ ἀπογεγαλακτισμένον ἐπὶ τὴν μητέρα αὐτοῦ, ἀλλ' ὕψωσα τὴν καρδίαν μου, οὕτως ἀνταποδοθείη τῇ ψυχῇ. Ὅ δὲ λέγει, τοιοῦτον ἐστιν· οὐ μόνον τῆς κακίας καθαρὸς ἥμην, τῆς ἀλαζονείας λέγω, οὐδὲ μόνον τῶν ἐχόντων αὑτὴν ἀλλότριος, ἀλλὰ καὶ τὴν ἀρετὴν τὴν ἐναντίαν αὐτῇ μετὰ πολλῆς ἐδεξάμην τῆς ὑπερβολῆς, τὴν ταπεινοφροσύνην, τὸ μετριάζειν, τὸ συντετρίφθαι. Τοῦτο ἐκεῖνο ὅ τοῖς μαθηταῖς ὁ Χριστὸς ἐκέλευσε λέγων· Ἐαν μὴ στραφητε, καὶ γένησθε ὡς τὰ παιδία, οὐ μὴ εἰσέλθητε εἰς τὴν βασιλείαν τῶν οὐρανῶν. Τοιαύτην, φησὶν, ἑκτησαμην ταπεινοφροσύνην, ὡς τὸ  ὑπομάζιον παιδίον. Ὥσωπερ γὰρ ἐκεῖνο ἔχεται τῆς μητρὸς, τεταπείνωται, ἀλαζονείας ἀπάσης ἐστὶ καθαρὸν, ἀφελείᾳ συζῇ καὶ ἁπλότητι· οὕτω καὶ ἐγὼ πρὸς τὸν Θεὸν ἥμην, ἐχόμενος αὐτοῦ διηνεκῶς.

Ἅγιος Ἰωάννης ὁ Χρυσόστομος, Εἰς Τον ΡΛ' Ψαλμον

Source: Migne PG 55.378
'If I have not been humble in my thoughts, but lifted up my heart, like a weaned child over his mother, return it to my soul.' 1

Or otherwise: 'may it be returned to my soul.' And this is said using the trope of hyperbaton and so one may rearrange it: 'If I have not thought humbly like a weaned child over its mother but I have lifted up my heart, thus may it be returned to my soul.' What he says is this: Not only was I unstained by vice, I speak of vaunting, not only was I foreign to it as a possession, but truly its opposing virtue I took up over it, that is, humility, moderation, contrition. And this Christ commands his disciples, saying, 'Unless you turn and become as little children you shall not enter the kingdom of heaven.' 2 With such humility, he says, as an infant at the breast of his mother. For the humble one is like a child clinging to his mother, free from all pride, living in consummate innocence and simplicity, thus I was to God, clinging to him continually.

Saint John Chrysostom, Exposition of the Psalms, from Psalm 130

1 Ps 130.2-3
2 Mt 18.3

12 Sept 2018

Little Children And Virtue

Dic mihi, infans parvulus quantas virtutes habet? 

Respondit: IV: Non laesus meminit; non perseveret in ira; non delectatur pulchra femina; non aliud cogitant vel aliud loquitur.

Sanctus Isidorus Hispalensis, De Veteri et Novo Testamento Quaestiones, Quaestio XL
Tell me, does a little child have any virtues? 

I reply that he has four: He does not remember an injury, he does not persist in anger, he does not lust for feminine beauty, he does not think one thing and say another.

Saint Isidore of Seville, Questions on the Old and New Testaments, Question 40

11 Sept 2018

Ways To Heaven

Si diligenter audistis evangelicam lectionem, intelligere potestis quae ministris ac sacerdotibus Dei reverentia debeatur, vel quia ipsos clericos invicem humilitatis sedulitate se oporteat praevenire. Ait Dominus percunctantibus discipulis quis eorum in regno coelorum major esset futurus, statuo coram  omnibus puerulo: Quicunque humiliaverit se sicut puer iste, hic major erit in regno coelorum; unde intelligimus quod humilitate pervenitur ad regnum, simplicitate penetratur ad coelum. Quisquis ergo cupit Divinitatis tenere fastigia, humilitatis ima sectetur; quicunque vult fratrem praevenire regnando, prius illum praeveniat obsequendo, sicut ait Apostolus: Honore invicem praevenientes, vincat eum officiis, ut possit vincere sanctiate. Si enim te non laesit frater, obsequium meretur, ut diligas: quod si forsitan laesit, magis officium meretur, ut vincas. Haec enim nostrae Christianitatis summa est ut amantibus vicissitudinem, laedentibus patientiam rependamus. Qui ergo fuerit patientior ad injuriam, potentior constituetur in regno; non enim ad imperium coelorum pervenitur superbia, divitiis, praefectura, sed humilitate, pauperie, lenitate. Arcta enim et angusta est via quae ducit ad regnuum. Quisquis ergo honoribus inflatus fuerit, et auri thesauris dilatatus, tanquam onustum et impeditum animal, per angustum regni iter transire non poterit, simul etiam ut se existimat pervenisse, sarcinam ejus exigua porta non capiens, repercusso limine, retrorsum abire cogetur, tam enim angusta est diviti porta coelestis.

Sanctus Maximus Taurinensis, Homilia LXXXV

Source: Migne PL 57.445c-447b
If you diligently attend to the Gospel reading you will understand that reverence befits the servants and priests of God, and that the same clerics should be keen to be in a state of humility with one another. The Lord spoke to his disciples about who was to be great in the future in the kingdom of heaven, and placing a child before them, said, 'Whoever humbles himself like this child, he shall be great in the kingdom of heaven,' 1 whence we understand that humility brings one to the kingdom and simplicity bears one to heaven. Whoever, therefore, desires to achieve the Divine high place, let him seek the depths of humility. Whoever wishes that a brother may come to reign, let him first come to serve, as the Apostle said, 'In service coming before one another.' 2 Let him conquer with duty that be able he conquer with sanctity. For if a brother does not harm you, he has earned service, which you should love, and if perhaps he does hurt you, more than a duty you have merited, by which you may conquer. For these things are the height of Christianity, that we should return love to loved ones, and patience to harmful folk. Therefore he who shall be more patient in suffering, shall be more highly placed in the kingdom, for to the kingdom of heaven we do not come by pride, or by wealth, or by status, but by humility, by poverty, by mercy. Narrow and difficult is the way which leads to the kingdom. Whoever, then, is puffed up with honours and bloated with wealth is like a burdened and inert animal than is not able to travel along the way of the kingdom, and even if he thinks himself to have come there, the gate will not allow him with his load to pass, but he will be repulsed from the threshold and forced to turn back, for narrow is the gate of the Divine heavens.

Saint Maximus of Turin, from Homily 85

1 Mt 18.3
2 Rom 12.10

10 Sept 2018

Distinguishing Prophets

Προφήτης, ἐν ᾦ τὸ ἐνὑπνιόν ἐστι, διηγησάσθω.

Ἐπειδὴ καὶ οἱ ψευδοπροφῆται κατεχρῶντο τᾧ, Τάδε λέγει Κύριος, τοὺς ἀληθεῖς προφήτας ὑποκρινόμενοι, ἔδει δὴ σημείων διαστελλόντων ἐκατέρους. Ἤν μὲν οὖν κατὰ τὸν Ἀποστολον πνευμάτων διακρίσεως χάρισμα, καὶ ὁ τοῦτο ἔχων διέκρινε πνεύματα, τά τε θεῖα ὄντα καὶ τὰ πονηρὰ, καθάπερ ἀργυραμοιβὸς τὸ νόμισμα τὸ δόκιμόν τε καὶ κίβδηλον. Χωρὶς δὲ τῆς καθολικῆς ἐπιστήμης καὶ τὸ νῦν εἰρημένον ἀρκει πρὸς διάκρισιν. Ὁ γὰρ λόγος μου, φησὶν, οὐ διάκενος καὶ τρόφιμος ἀλόγων, ἀλλ' οἱονεὶ σϊτος καὶ λογικῶν τροφή. 


ὨριγένηςἘκλογαι Εἰς Ἱερεμαιν
'The Prophet in whom there is a dream let him speak.' 1

Since false prophets have deceived with their words, saying 'Thus says the Lord,' true prophets are distrusted, and by signs they were distinguished. And certainly according to the Apostle there is a gift of distinguishing the spirits, 2 and he who has it, should judge the spirits, what was good, and what was evil, as one tests a coin for authenticity or falseness. But apart from general knowledge, it suffices now to question for the purposes of distinguishing. For my word, it then says, is not empty and fodder for irrational beasts, but as wheat and sustenance for rational creatures.

Origen, Commentary On Jeremiah, Fragment

1 Jer 23.28
2 1 Cor 12:4-11

9 Sept 2018

An Effective Preacher


Et comedi illud, et factum est in ore meo sicut mel dulce.

Liber qui viscera replevit dulcis in ore sicut mel factus est, quia ipsi de omnipotenti Domino sciunt suaviter loqui, qui hunc didicerint in cordis sui visceribus veraciter amare. In ejus quippe ore Scriptura sacra dulcis est, cujus vitae viscera mandatis illius replentur, quia ei suavis est ad loquendum, cui interius impressa ad vivendum fuerit. Nam sermo dulcedinem non habet, quem vita reproba intra conscientiam remordet. Unde necesse est ut qui verbum Dei loquitur prius studeat qualiter vivat, ut ex vita colligat quae et qualiter dicat. Ad praedicandum namque plus conscientia sancti amoris aedificat, quam exercitaio sermonis, quia amando coelestia intra semetipsum praedicator legit quomodo persuadeat ut despici debeant terrena. Qui enim vitam suam interius pensat, et exemplo suo foris admonendo alios aedificat, quasi in corde linguae calamum tingit, in eo quod manu verbi proximis exterius scribit. Unde admirabilis praedicator cum multa discipulis exhortando dixit, quia nullam intra semetipsum de conscientia contrarietatem pertulit, securus adjunxit: Si qua virtus, si qua laus disciplinae, haec cogitate; quae et didicistis, et accepistis, et audistis, et vidistis in me, haec agite, et Deus pacis erit vobiscum.


Sanctus Gregorius Magnus, In Ezechielem Prophetam, Liber Primus, Homilia IX
'And I ate it and it was made in my mouth as sweet as honey.' 1

The book which fills him within is made sweet as honey in his mouth, because they know how to speak sweetly of almighty God, who have learned in the depths of their heart truly to love. Certainly in his mouth Sacred Scripture is sweet, who is within himself filled with His commandments, because to him it is sweet to speak, whose interior is inscribed with life. For the word has no sweetness to him whose conscience by a reprobate life gnaws at him. Whence it is necessary that he who would speak the word of God, before he does so, should consider the worthiness of his life, that from it he gathers the worthiness of what he will speak. For in preaching the more the conscience is edified by Divine love, so the more is the effectiveness of the word, because with celestial love within him the preacher gathers how he should persuade that worldly things should be despised. Indeed he who ponders the life within him and with his own example edifies others without with admonishments, is as one who dips the reed of his tongue in his heart and with the hand of the word writes it outwardly for his neighbour. Whence that preacher is admirable to his listeners with his exhortations because nothing within himself he bears contrary to his conscience, and confidently he may conclude, 'Whatever is of virtue, whatever is of praiseworthy discipline, think on; and the things which you have learned, and received, and heard, and seen in me, these things do, and the God of peace will be with you. 2


Saint Gregory the Great, On the Prophet Ezekiel, Book 1, from Homily 9

1 Ezek 3.3
2 Phil. 4.8-9

8 Sept 2018

The Mouth of the Righteous

Μετὰ τοῦτο ἤνοιξεν Ἰὼβ τὸ στόμα αὐτοῦ

Ὅτι δίκαιος ἀνοίγει τὸ στόμα, οὐχ ἁπλῶς οὑτωσὶ προσήκει προσέχειν τοῖς λεγομένοις, ἀλλὰ τὰ ἐκ τῶν λόγων ἀναζητεῖν ὠφέλειαν. Μεστὰ γὰρ ἀεὶ ὠφελείας τὰ τοιαῦτα ῥήματα τῶν ἁγίων· καὶ ἀνοίγων τὸ στόμα δίκαιος, κεκρυμμένους δημοσιεύευ θησαυρούς. Διὸ καὶ τὸ σκεῦος τῆς ἐκλογῆς ὁ Παῦλος ἐπιστέλλων φησί· Τὸ στόμα μου ἀνέῳγε πρὸς ὑμᾶς, Κορίνθιοι. Καὶ περὶ τοῦ Κυρίου γέγραπται ὅτι Ἀνοίξας τὸ στόμα αὐτοῦ ἐδίδασκε. Καὶ ἁπλῶς ἐκεῖνος μαρτυρεῖται στόμα ἀνοίγειν, ὁ σιωπῆς μέτρα πρότερον διδαχθείς. Οὐκεοῦν καὶ Ἰὼβ ἀνοίγει τὸ στόμα μετὰ τοῦτο· τουτέστι μετὰ το μέγα τρόπαιον, μετ' ἐκεῖνα τὰ πάθη, οὐκ ἀβασανίστως φθέγγεται περιαλγῶν τῷ σώματι, τῆς γλώσσης φθανούσης τὸ τῆς φρονήσεως ἔνθεσμον, ἀλλὰ σωφρονῶν καὶ ταῖς φωναῖς ὑποδείκνυται. Δηλοῖ δὲ καὶ τὴν γαλήνην τῆς ψυχῆς καὶ τῶν ῥημάτων τὸ ἐμπρεπὲς ἡ τοῦ ἀνοῖξαι τὸ στόμα αὐτοῦ μαρτυρία.


Ὠριγένης, Εκλογαι Εἰς Τον Ιὠβ
After this Job opened his mouth. 1

Because it is a righteous man that has opened his mouth, he should not seek to conform to those who have spoken, but he should seek that from his words he do good. Full of goodness indeed always are the words of the holy, and when the righteous mouth opens it brings forth hidden treasures. Thus even that vase of election, Paul, writes, saying, 'My mouth has opened itself to you, O Corinthians.' 2 And concerning the Lord it is written, 'Opening His mouth He taught them.' 3 And he bears witness to this opening of the mouth, who before has been taught in silence. Thus Job opened his mouth after this, that is, after the great trophy, after his sufferings, not without affliction of his body speaking of grief, the law of prudence coming before the work of the tongue, for in the voices of those who are temperate this is shown. And clear then is the tranquility of the soul and the weightiness of the words, of whom, in given witness, it is said, he opened his mouth.

Origen, On Job, Fragments 

1 Job 3.1 
2 2 Cor 6.11 
3 Mt 5.2

7 Sept 2018

Gradual Improvement

Et ascendit per gradus ejus.

Quid enim gradus sunt hujus portae, nisi merita virtutum? Sive enim in cognitione Mediatoris Dei et hominum, hominis Jesu Christi, seu in scientia divini eloquii, seu in ipsa fide quam de illo accepimus, quibusdam gradibus ad altiora incrementa pervenimus. Nemo enim repente fit summus, sed in bona conversatione a minimis quisque inchoat, ut ad magna perveniat. De his gradibus per Psalmistam dicitur: Deus in gradibus ejus dignoscetur dum suscipiet eam. Dum enim sanctam Ecclesiam Dominus suscipit, in gradibus ejus dignoscitur, quia ejus gloria per illius incrementa declaratur. Quantum enim sancta Ecclesia ascendendo profecerit, tantum Deus hominibus ex ejus virtutibus innotescit. De his quoque gradibus beatus Job loquitur, dicens: Per singulos gradus meos pronuntiabo illum. Omnipotentem quippe Dominum per singulos gradus suos pronuntiat, qui per incrementa virtutum quae accipit ei semper laudem suae pietatis reddit. Si quidam gradus in cordis ascensione non essent, Psalmista non diceret: Ambulabunt de virtute in virtutem. Nec mirum si de virtute in virtutem gradus sunt, quando unaquaeque virtus quasi quibusdam gradibus augetur, et sic per incrementa meritorum ad summa perducitur. Aliud namque sunt virtutis exordia, aliud provectus, aliud perfectio. Si enim ipsa fides ad perfectionem suam non quibusdam gradibus duceretur, sancti apostoli minime dixissent: Adauge nobis fidem. Et quidam venit ad Jesum, qui curari voluit filium suum, sed requisitus an crederet, respondit: Credo, Domine, adjuva incredulitatem meam. Pensate, rogo, quod dicitur. Si credebat, cur incredulitatem dicebat? Si vero incredulitatem habere se noverat, quomodo credebat? Sed quia per occultam inspirationem gratiae meritorum suorum gradibus fides crescit, uno eodemque tempore is qui necdum perfecte crediderat simul et credebat et incredulus erat. Hos nimirum gradus Dominus sub messis nomine describit, dicens: Sic est regnum Dei, quemadmodum si jaciat homo semen in terram, et dormiat, et exsurgat nocte ac die, et semen germinet et crescat, dum nescit ille. Ultro enim terra fructificat primum herbam deinde spicam, deinde plenum frumentum in spica. Et cum se produxerit fructus, statim mittit falcem, quoniam adest tempus messis. Semen homo jactat in terram, cum cordi suo bonam intentionem inserit. Et postquam semen jactaverit dormit, quia in spe boni operis quiescit. Nocte vero exsurgit ac die, inter adversa et prospera proficit. Et semen germinat et crescit, dum nescit ille, quia et cum adhuc metiri incrementa sua non valet, semel concepta virtus ad provectum ducitur. Et ultro terra fructificat, quia, praeveniente se gratia, mens hominis spontanee ad fructum boni operis assurgit.Sed haec eadem terra primum herbam, deinde spicam, deinde plenum frumentum producit in spica. Herbam quippe producere est inchoationis bonae adhuc teneritudinem habere. Ad spicam vero herba pervenit, cum se virtus animo concepta ad profectum boni operis pertrahit. Plenum autem frumentum in spica fructificat, quando jam in tantum virtus proficit, ut esse robusti et perfecti operis possit. At cum se produxerit fructus, statim mittit falcem, quoniam adest tempus messis. Omnipotens enim Deus producto fructu falcem mittit, et messem suam desecat, quia cum unumquemque ad opera perfecta perduxerit, ejus temporalem vitam per emissam sententiam incidit, ut granum suum ad coelestia horrea perducat. Cum igitur desideria bona concipimus, semen in terram mittimus. Cum vero operari recta incipimus, herba sumus. Cum autem ad provectum boni operis crescimus, ad spicam pervenimus. Cumque in ejusdem boni operis perfectione solidamur, jam plenum frumentum in spica proferimus.


Sanctus Gregorius Magnus, In Ezechielem Prophetam, Liber Secundus, Homilia III


And he went up by its steps. 1 


And what are the steps of this gate, unless the merits of virtue? Whether in the knowledge of the mediator of God and men, the man Jesus Christ, 2 or in the knowledge of Divine eloquence, or in that faith which from Him we receive, by which steps we come by increments to the heights. For no one suddenly is made perfect, but in the good way beginning little by little a man comes to great things. Concerning these steps it is said by the Psalmist 'God in steps shall be known while he takes her up.' 3  For when the Lord takes up the holy Church, in steps he is known, that is, His glory in increments is revealed. For as much as the Holy Church has risen up, as much God is known to men by his virtues. Job also speaks about these steps, saying, 'With each of my steps I shall confess Him.' 4 Since he confesses the almighty God through each of his steps who by the increase of the virtues which He gives to him ever returns praise by his piety. If someone does not have the steps of ascent in his heart the Psalmist would not say, 'They shall walk from virtue to virtue.' 5 It is not to be wondered if there are steps from virtue to virtue, when every virtue is increased as if by steps, leading by an increase of merits to perfection. For it is one thing to begin the virtue, and another to progress in it, and another to perfect it. For if the same faith was not brought to perfection by steps, the holy Apostle certainly would not have said, 'Increase our faith.' 6 And that man who came to Jesus, who wished to have his own son cured, and asked whether he believed, answered, 'I believe, Lord, help my disbelief.' 7 I ask you to think on this which is said. If he believed, why did he say he did not believe? If someone knows himself not to believe, how does he believe? But by the hidden inspiration of grace on account of his merits by steps faith grows, and at one and the same time this man who does not believe perfectly is believing and not believing. The Lord certainly speaks of these steps under the name of the harvest, saying that the kingdom of God is like a man who throws down seed onto the earth, and it sleeps, and it rises up night and day, and the seed germinates and grows while no one knows it. Of its own accord the earth gives increase, first the shoot, then the ear, then the perfect grain in the ear. And when it has produced the fruit, the scythe is brought, because the time of harvest has come. 8 The man throws down seed on the earth when his heart is filled with good intention. And after the seed that he has thrown down sleeps, because in the hope of good works he rests. And truly it rises up day and night, advancing among adversity and prosperity. And the seed produces shoots and grows, while he knows it not, because though he is not yet able to increase his merit, virtue once conceived leads him to advance. And finally the earth is fruitful, because with grace given, the soul of man of its own will rises to the fruit of good works. But first is the shoot in the earth, then the ear, then the full crop in the ear. Certainly to produce the shoot is the beginning of goodness when it is yet weak. And the shoot comes to the ear when virtue having been conceived in the soul comes to the doing of a good work. And the full crop in the ear is given when now to such virtue he has advanced that he is able to be strong and perfect in his works. And when he has produced the crop, instantly the scythe is brought because the time of harvest is come. For almighty God sends the scythe to the crop produced, and his harvest he cuts, because when he has led anyone to perfected works, He marks his life with the sign of where it will be sent, that his grain be brought to the celestial granary. When, then, we conceive good desires, we place the seed in the earth. And when we begin to work rightly, we are the shoot. And when we grow in progress in the good work, we have come to the ear. And when in the perfection of good works we are confirmed, we yield the good fruit in the ear.


Saint Gregory the Great, On the Prophet Ezekiel, Book 2, from Homily 3

1 Ezek 40.6
2 1 Tim 2.5 
3 Ps 47.4 
4 Job 31.37 
5 Ps 83.8
6 Lk 17.5 
7 Mk 9.24
8 Mk 4.26

6 Sept 2018

Drunks and Teaching

Μεθυσθήσονται ἀπὸ πιότητος τοῦ οἴκου σου.

Οἰκου θεοῦ τῆς ἐκκλησίας τυγχανούσης, πιότης αὐτοῦ ἡ ἐκκλησιαστικὴ διδασκαλία τυγχάνει. ἀπὸ ταύτης νηφάλιον μεθυσθήσονται μέθην οἱ περιεχόμενοι αὐτῆς. εἰ δὲ οἰκος θεοῦ εἰη ὁ σωτήρ, ἀπὸ τῆς παιδεύσεως αὐτοῦ οὐσης
πιότητος μεθυσθήσονται οἱ ἀπολαύοντες αὐτῆς.

 
Δυδυμος του Αλεξανδρεως, Εἰς Ψαλμους, Ψαλμος ΛΕ'

They shall be intoxicated by the richness of your house. 1
 
The house of God being the Church, the richness of it is the teaching of the Church. And they are intoxicated to sobriety who come to it to drink. And if we say the house of God is the Saviour, then from His teaching is the richness which shall intoxicate them and make them joyful.


Didymus the Blind, Commentary on the Psalms, from Psalm 35

1 Ps 35.9

5 Sept 2018

An Eye For An Eye


Illud vero quid significat, quod in hac lege oculum pro oculo dari jubetur? Oculus enim est quisque doctor , tanquam vitae demonstrans iter. Idem autem si intentionem auditoris per aliquam perniciosam doctrinam conetur exstinguere, si oculum laedet animam, et intellectum ejus turbet, auferatur necesse est ab Ecclesia preasulatu, et intellectus ejus turbulentus ac ferox, qui scandalum fidei generat, projiciatur. Sed etsi quis dentem laesit auditoris, per quem Scripturarum cibos comminuebat, et dividens spiritualiter distinguebat, ut subtilem ex his ad interiora animae transmitteret sensum; quiquis ergo hujusmodi evellens dentem conatur a corpore praecidere, auferatur dens illi. De talibus enim dicitur : Dentes peccatorum contrivisti, siquidem et manus pro manu, et pes pro pede deposcitiur. Manus est actio operantis, pes est per quem inceditur ad bona opera vel mala. Praecidatur ergo ille scandalum facit, non solum in fide, sed etiam in actibus, qui per manum significantur, aut offendiculum praebet, quo pedes intelliguntur. Recipiat etiam combustionem qui combussit, et gehennae fraternam tradidit animam. Per quae signacula ostenditur ut iste percussor, omnibus detruncatus membris, a corpore excidatur Ecclesiae, ut caeteri videntes timorem habeant, et non faciant similiter. 

Sanctus Isidorus Hispalensis, Quaestiones in Vetus Testamentum, Caput XXXVI
What does it mean in this law when it is commanded, 'An eye for an eye?' 1 The eye is as a teacher, as that which shows the way of life. Yet if the same tries to extinguish the understanding of the hearer by some wicked teaching, if he harms the eye of the soul, and troubles the intellect, it is necessary that he should be removed from the Church and his troublesome and wild mind, which is a cause of scandal, cast out. But if someone harms the teeth of the hearer, by which he feeds on the bread of Scripture and separating it spiritually distinguishes, that the lofty meaning pass into the interior of his soul, whoever then tries to remove the teeth from the body, shall loose his own teeth. For concerning this it is said, 'You crushed the teeth of the sinners.' 2 And likewise a hand for a hand and a foot for a foot is demanded. 1 The hand is the worker of the deed, and the foot is that by which one is brought to good or evil deeds. He shall be cut off, then, who causes scandal, not only in the faith, but in his acts, which the hand signifies, or when he gives offence, which we understand by the feet. And he shall receive fire who brings fire, 3 and gives a brother's soul to hell. By which signs it is shown that he who is a killer, from all its members severed, shall be cut off from the body of the Church, so that others seeing fear it, and do not do the same.

Saint Isidore of Seville, Questions on the Old Testament, Chapter 36


1 Exod 21.24
2 Psalm 3.8

3 Exod 21.25

4 Sept 2018

Casting Out The Crow

Per hanc igitur fenestram corvum primum justus emisit. Quaerenda causa, nec tamen latet quantum ad litteram pertinet; quia plerique quasi annuntium futurorum corvum aestimant, et voces ejus observant, volatusque rimantur. Sensus autem altior significat quod mens justi quando mundare se incipit, quae tenebrosa sunt, et immunda, et temeraria primo a se repellit. Siquidem omnis impudentia, atque culpa tenebrosa est, et mortuis pascitur, sicut corvus: lumini autem vicina virtus quae mentis puritate et simplicitate resplendet. Et ideo tamquam emittitur et fugatur culpa, et separatur ab innocentia, ut nihil remaneat in viri justi mente tenebrosum. Denique egressus corvus non revertitur ad justum; quia fugitans omnis culpa est aequitatis, nec probitati videtur et justitiae convenire. Denique evasisse se credit injustus tamquam de vinculis, cum justus ab ejus se consortio separaverit, diluvii cujusdam et corruptelae familiaris, ut corvus qui cum siccitatem terrae nusquam inveniret, non reversus, est, sed remansit.

Sanctus Ambrosius Mediolanensis, De Noe et Arca, Caput XVII 
Through this window the righteous man first sent the crow. 1 And the reason for this must be sought lest much be hidden which the passage contains, for many yet judge that the crow is some sort of herald of the future, and to the voice of it they attend and the manner of its flight. But this has a higher significance because the mind of the righteous when it begins to clean itself, first casts out of itself that which is dark and unclean and defiling. Certainly all shamelessness and fault is darkness and a feeder on the dead like a crow, but around virtue light shines, and it is resplendent in the pure and simple mind. And therefore the crow is cast out and fault flees and it is separated from innocence, that nothing of darkness remain in the mind of the righteous man. And having departed the crow does not return to the righteous, for every fault is in flight from justice, nor is it seen to associate with the honest and upright, for just as the unrighteous man believes himself to have escaped as from chains when he is removed from the company of the righteous man, so it is with the crow, which is a familiar of the flood and corruption, who when it did not discover dry land did not return but remained.

Saint Ambrose, On Noah and the Ark, Chap 17

1 Gen 8.6
 

2 Sept 2018

Cities and Deserts

Σὺ δὲ, εἰ μὲν πόλιν μέλλεις οἰκεῖν, πολλὰ περὶ ἀέρων πολυπραγμονεῖς, εὶ μὴ νοσώδεις, εἰ μὴ δύσκρατοι, εἰ μὴ αὐχμηροί· ψυχῆς δὲ μέλλων ποιεῖσθαι λόγοιν, οὐ περιεργάζῃ τὴν συνουσίαν τῶν μελλόντων ὁμιλεῖν αὐτῇ· ἀλλ' ἁπλῶς καὶ ὡς ἔτυχε πᾶσιν αὐτὴν ἐπιτρέπεις; Καὶ ποίας τεύξῃ συγγνώμης, εἰπέ μοι, οὕτως αὐτῆς ὑπερορῶν; Πόθεν γὰρ οἴει τοὺς τὰς ἐρήμους κατειληφότας θαυμαστούς τινας καὶ λαμπροὺς γίνεσθαι; οὐκ ἐπειδὴ θορύβους καὶ ἀγορὰς φεύγουσι, καὶ τοῦ καπνοῦ τῶν ἐν τῷ μέσῳ πραγμάτων μακρὰν ἑαυτοὺς ἐσκήνωσαν; Τούτους καὶ αὐτὸς ζήλωσον, ἐπὶ μέσης πόλεως ἐρημίας διώκων. Πῶς δὲ ἔσται τοῦτο; Ἐὰν τοὺς πονηροὺς φεύγῃς, ἐὰν τοὺς ἀγαθοὺς διώκῃς. Οὕτω γὰρ πλείονα καρπώσῃ τῶν ἐν ταῖς ἐρήμοις ἀσφάλειαν, οὐκ ἐν τῇ τῶν βλαπτόντων φυγῇ μόνον, ἀλλὰ καὶ ἐν τῇ τῶν ὠφελούντων κοινωνίᾳ. Ἂν γὰρ φεύγῃς μὲν τοὺς πονηροὺς, διώκῃς δὲ τοὺς ἀγαθοὺς, ἐκατέρωθεν σοι τὰ τῆς ἀρετῆς αὐξηθήσεται, καὶ τὰ τῆς κακίας οἰχήσεται.

Ἅγιος Ἰωάννης ὁ Χρυσόστομος, Εἰς Τον Δ' Ψαλμον
But you, if in some city you are intending to dwell, is it not that you enquire carefully about the air, whether it is healthy, whether temperate, whether dry, and yet you are uninterested in what may be the state of one's soul there, nor do you care for the conduct there, those with whom you will dwell, but boldly and without consideration you will permit them anything? And what, tell me, shall become of those who neglect this? Do you judge those who dwell in the desert admirable and glorious? Is it not clamour and the marketplace they have fled? And can it be that they may be far from the smoke of business who live in the mist of it? Yes, even these one may imitate and in the midst of the city seek the desert. But how shall this be? It can be if you flee the wicked and follow the good. Thus even you may lay hold of greater safety along with those who dwell in the deserts, not only fleeing those things which wound, but even being in communication with things which benefit. For if you flee evil things you will follow after good things, and as virtue grows so vice decreases.

Saint John Chrysostom, from the Exposition of the Psalms, Psalm 4