Philosophy And The World

Ἀλλ᾿ οὐ πάντες, φησί, φιλοσοφοῦμεν. Μήτι οὖν οὐδὲ πάντες τὴν ζωὴν μετερχόμεθα; τί σὺ λέγεις; πῶς οὖν πεπίστευκας; πῶς δὲ ἔτι ἀγαπᾷς τὸν Θεὸν καὶ τὸν πλησίον σου μὴ φιλοσοφῶν; πῶς δὲ σεαυτὸν ἀγαπᾷς, εἰ μὴ φιλοζωεῖς; γράμματα, φησίν, οὐκ ἔμαθον. Ἀλλ᾿ εἰ μὴ τὸ ἀναγιγνώσκειν ἔμαθες, τὸ ἀκούειν ἀναπολόγητον, ὅτι μὴ διδακτόν· πίστις δὲ οὐ σοφῶν τῶν κατὰ κόσμον, ἀλλὰ τῶν κατὰ θεόν ἐστιν τὸ κτῆμα· ἣ δὲ καὶ ἄνευ γραμμάτων ἐκπαιδεύεται, καὶ τὸ σύγγραμμα αὐτῆς τὸ ἰδιωτικὸν ἅμα καὶ θεῖον ἀγάπη κέκληται, σύνταγμα πνευματικόν. Ἐξὸν δὲ ἀκροᾶσθαι μὲν σοφίας θεϊκῆς, ἀλλὰ καὶ πολιτεύσασθαι ἐξόν, ἀλλὰ καὶ τὰ ἐν κόσμῳ κοσμίως κατὰ Θεὸν ἀγαγεῖν οὐ κεκώλυται. Καὶ ὁ πωλῶν τι ἢ ὠνούμενος μή ποτε εἴπῃ δύο τιμάς, ὧν ἂν ἢ ὠνῆται ἢ πιπράσκῃ, ἁπλῆν δὲ εἰπὼν καὶ ἀληθεύειν μελετῶν, ἂν μὴ τυγχάνῃ ταύτης, τυγχάνων τῆς ἀληθείας πλουτεῖ τῇ διαθέσει τῇ ὀρθῇ. Ἔπαινος δὲ ὅρκος τε περὶ παντὸς τοῦ πωλουμένου ἀπέστω, ἀπέστω δὲ καὶ ἐπὶ τῶν ἄλλων ὁ ὅρκος. Καὶ ταύτῃ φιλοσοφούντων οἱ ἀγοραῖοι καὶ οἱ κάπηλοι· οὐ γὰρ λήψῃ τὸ ὄνομα Κυρίου ἐπὶ ματαίῳ, οὐ γὰρ μὴ καθαρίσῃ Κύριος τὸν λαμβάνοντα τὸ ὄνομα αὐτοῦ ἐπὶ ματαίῳ. Τοὺς δὲ παρὰ ταῦτα πράττοντας, τοὺς φιλαργύρους, τοὺς ψεύστας, τοὺς ὑποκριτάς, τοὺς καπηλεύοντας τὴν ἀλήθειαν, τῆς πατρῴας ἐξέβαλεν αὐλῆς ὁ Κύριος, μὴ βουλόμενος ἀδίκου ἐμπορίας ἢ λόγων ἢ τῶν ἐξ ὕλης κτημάτων οἶκον εἶναι τὸν οἶκον τοῦ Θεοῦ τὸν ἅγιον. Κλήμης ὁ Ἀλεξανδρεύς, Ὁ Παιδαγωγός, Λογὸς Τρίτος, Κεφ. ΙΑ' Source: Migne PG 8 656b-657b

But it is said that we do not all philosophize. Do we not all, then, go after life? What do you say? How have you been faithful? And how indeed do you love God and your neighbour without philosophizing? And how do you love yourself, if you do not love life? It is said, 'I have not learned letters.' But if you have not learned to read, you have no such excuse with hearing, for that is not taught. And faith is not for those wise according to the world, but of those according to God; and it is taught without letters, and its text, at once rude and Divine, is called love, a spiritual book. Let there be attention to Divine wisdom, and let there be an ordering of one's life, for no one is prohibited from conducting affairs sensibly in the world  according to God. Let not he who sells or buys name two prices for what he buys or sells; one being what he would sell at and the other buy, but take care to speak the simple truth, and if a deal is not made yet truth is acquired and he is enriched with righteousness. But, above all, let an oath on account of all that is offered for sale be far from you; and swearing, too. And thus those who  frequent the market and the shop philosophize. 'For you shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain: for the Lord will not hold him guiltless that takes His name in vain.' 1 But those who act contrary to these things, the avaricious, the liars, the hypocrites, those who make merchandise of the truth, the Lord cast out of His Father's court, not willing that the holy house of God should be the house of unrighteous traffic either in words or in material things. 2 Clement of Alexandria, from The Teacher, Book 3, Ch 11 1 Exodus 20.7 2 Mt 21.12-13

Knowledge And Deeds

Τὰ δὲ ῥήματα μου τηρείτω σὴ καρδία. Μετὰ τὰ προστακτικὰ καὶ ἀπαγορευτικὰ τοῦ νόμου τοῦ Θεοῦ, τὰ ῥήματα τῆς σοφίας τοῦ Θεοῦ ἀπαγγέλλει τὴν τῶν ὄντῶν γνῶσιν ἀψευδῆ. Τοιοῦτόν ἐστι καὶ τὸ Ἐκ Σιὼν ἐξελεύσεται ὁ νόμος, καὶ λόγος Κυρίου ἐξ Ἰερουσαλήμ. Ὁ γὰρ τηρῶν τοὺς νόμους ἀναλήψεται τὴν σοφίαν. Σπείρατε γὰρ, φησὶν, ἑαυτοῖς δικαιοσύνην τρυγήσατε εἰς καιρὸν ζωῆς. Εἶθ' ἐξῆς τῷ πρακτικῷ ἐπιφέρεται· Φωτίσατε ἑαυτοῖς φῶς γνώσεως. Ὠριγένης, Ἐκλογαὶ Εἰς Παροιμίας, Κεφ Γ' Source: Migne PG 13 30a

Let your heart guard my words. 1 After the prescriptions and prohibitions of the Divine law, the words of the wisdom of God proclaim faultless knowledge of truth. So it is that: 'The law has gone forth from Sion, the word of the Lord from Jerusalem.' 2 For he who keeps the law acquires wisdom. Thus it says, 'Sow for yourselves righteousness and gather life in season.' Then after the deed it is added: 'Light for yourselves the light of knowledge.' 3 Origen, On Proverbs,  Chap 3, Fragment 1 Prov 3.1 2 Isaiah 2.5 3 Hosea 10.11-12 LXX

A Reader Questioned

Ἡδέως ἂν ἐροίμην σε Γραφικῶς τὸν Αἰθίοπα τὴν γνώμην· Ἆρα γε γίνώσκεις ἂ ἀναγινώσκεις; Ὥς τινες γάρ φασι, ρήμάτων μνημονεύεις τινῶν τοῦ θεοπνεύστον Πατρὸς ἡμῶν Βασιλείου, οὗ τῶν πραγμάτων κατ' οὐδὲν μνημονεύεις. Εἰ δὲ ἀληθὴς εἶ τοῦ ἀνδρὸς ἐραστὴς, ἔογοις τοὺς ἐκείνου λόγους ἐπίδειξαι, δι' ὦν τὰ ἤθη κανόνι φιλοσοφίας ἐῥῥύθμισεν. Εἰ γὰρ τὴν κατὰ μεθυόντων τοῦ ἀνδρὸς μετεχειρίσω πυκτίδα, σαυτὸν εὑρήσεις ἐκεῖ, τὸν μυρίον ἐσμὸν τῶν αἰσχυνῶν ὑπομένοντα. Ἅγιος Ἰσίδωρος Του Πηλουσιώτου, Βιβλίον Πρῶτον, ΞΑ' Ζωσιμῳ Source:  Migne PG 78. 221, 224

Cheerfully I might inquire of you who have an Ethiopian mind, 'Do you understand what you read?' 1 For some say that you remember some of the words of our divinely inspired father Basil but have no mind to practice the deeds. If truly you would be a lover of that man, then show his words in deeds, by whom was composed a wisdom loving rule for the direction of life. For if the writings of the man opposed to the drunkenness of men you merely hold in your hands you shall find there but myriad reasons for the tribulations of disgrace. Saint Isidore of Pelusium, Book 1, Letter 61, To Zosimus 1 Act 8.27

Freedom And Knowledge

Quid enim aliud dicendum est eis, qui cum sint iniqui et impii, liberaliter sibi videntur eruditi, nisi quod in litteris vere liberalibus legimus: Si vos Filius liberaverit, tunc vere liberi eritis? Per eum namque praestatur ut ipse etiam, quae liberales disciplinae ab eis qui in libertatem vocati non sunt appellantur, quid in se habeant liberale noscatur. Neque enim habent congruum libertati, nisi quod habent congruum veritati: unde ille ipse Filius: Et veritas, inquit, liberabit vos. Non ergo illae innumerabiles et impiae fabulae, quibus vanorum plena sunt carmina poetarum, ullo modo nostrae consonant libertati; non oratorum inflata et expolita mendacia; non denique ipsorum philosophorum garrulae argutiae, qui vel Deum prorsus non cognoverunt vel cum cognovissent Deum, non sicut Deum glorificaverunt, aut gratias egerunt, sed evanuerunt in cogitationibus suis, et obscuratum est insipiens cor eorum, et dicentes se esse sapientes, stulti facti sunt. Sanctus Augustinus Hipponensis, Epistola CI, Memorio, Capuae episcopo

For what should we say to those who, though they are iniquitous and impious, consider themselves learned in the liberal arts, but what we read in those writings which truly are liberal: 'If the Son shall make you free, then truly you shall be free.' ? 1 For it is through Him that they may come to know anything which deserves the name in those liberal studies which by those who have not be called to liberty are termed liberal. For they have nothing that befits liberty, unless they have which befits the truth; whence the Son Himself has said: 'The truth shall make you free.' 2 Therefore the innumerable and impious fables with which the verses of vain poets are full have nothing in common with our liberty, nor do the bombastic and finely polished lies of orators, nor again do the verbose subtleties of philosophers, who either did not know God, or when they knew God, did not glorify Him as God, nor gave thanks, but they became vain in their own thoughts, and their foolish hearts were darkened, and declaring themselves to be wise, they became fools. 3 Saint Augustine of Hippo, from Letter 101, to Memorius Bishop of Capua 1 Jn 8.36  2 Jn 8.38 3 Rom 1.21-23

A Philosophical Mother

Atque ego rursus exordiens: Beatos esse nos volumus, inquam? Vix hoc effuderam, occurrerunt una voce consentientes. Videturne vobis, inquam, beatus esse qui quod vult non habet? Negaverunt. Quid? omnis qui quod vult habet, beatus est? Tum mater: Si bona, inquit, velit et habeat, beatus est; si autem mala velit, quamvis habeat, miser est. Cui ego arridens atque gestiens: Ipsam, inquam, prorsus, mater, arcem philosophiae tenuisti. Nam tibi procul dubio verba defuerunt, ut non sicut Tullius te modo panderes, cuius de hac sententia verba ista sunt. Nam in Hortensio, quem de laude ac defensione philosophiae librum fecit: Ecce autem, ait, non philosophi quidem, sed prompti tamen ad disputandum, omnes aiunt esse beatos qui vivant ut ipsi velint. Falsum id quidem: Velle enim quod non deceat, id est ipsum miserrimum. Nec tam miserum est non adipisci quod velis, quam adipisci velle quod non oporteat. Plus enim mali pravitas voluntatis affert, quam fortuna cuiquam boni. In quibus verbis illa sic exclamabat, ut obliti penitus sexus eius, magnum aliquem virum considere nobiscum crederemus, me interim, quantum poteram, intellegente ex quo illa, et quam divino fonte manarent. Sanctus Augustinus Hipponensi, De Beata Vita

And again I began: 'Shall I say that we all wish to be happy?' Scarcely had I spoken, than they all agreed with one voice. 'And does it seem to you,' I said, 'that he is happy who does not have what he wishes?' They denied it. 'Why, then,' I said, 'is everyone who has what he wishes happy?' My mother said, 'If he wants good things and he has them, he is happy, if however he wants bad things, although he has them, he is wretched.' And I smiling and gesturing at her said, 'Swiftly you have taken up the bow of philosophy, mother. For far from you was want of words for doubt, and so not in the manner of Cicero did you reveal what you did, but far more concisely than him. In the Hortensius, which is a book he composed in praise and defense of philosophy, he said, 'It is not the philosophical man but the one too hasty in discussion who says that all are happy who live as they wish. It is false, for a man may wish for what is indecent, that is, most wretched. For not so wretched is that one who does not obtain what he wants, than he who acquires what he wishes to have but should not have. The depravity of the will brings more evils to a man than fortune goods.' 1 And so because of the words she spoke, we utterly forgot her sex, and we believed that we were in the presence of a great man, and I meanwhile, as much as I was able, contemplated what she said as that which pours forth from a Divine spring.   Saint Augustine of Hippo, from On The Blessed Life 1 Cicero Hortensius, fragment 39

Help To Improve

Ἐβάφης τὸν λογισμὸν τῷ ὀφιώδει φθόνῳ τῇ τε πικρίᾳ τῆς βασκανίας· ἀλλ' ἔχεις ξύλον τίμιον τὸν σταυρὸν τοῦ Κυρίου, ἐὰν θελήσῃς, δυνάμενον γλυκᾶναι τὸ πικρὸν ὕδωρ τοῦ ἤθους σου. Καὶ γὰρ ὁ μέγας Μωσῆς ξύλον ἐμβαλὼν εἰς τὸ πικρότατον ὕδωρ τῆς Μεῥῥᾶς γλυκὺ εὐθέως καὶ προσηνὲς λίαν τοῦτο ἀπειργάσατο. Ἅγιος Νειλος, Βιβλιον Πρῶτον, Ἐπιστολὴ ΡϚ' Καπιτωνι Διακονῳ Source: Migne 79 128

Your mind has been struck with the envy of the serpent and the bitterness of malice, but you have the precious cross of Christ, which if you will, is able to turn the bitterness of your state into sweet water. For the great Moses, dipping the wood in the most bitter waters of Mara, made it sweet and clear. 1 Saint Nilus of Sinai, Book 1, Letter 106, To Capiton the Deacon 1 Exod 15.23

Changing For The Better

Ἡ δὲ ὑπὲρ τῶν ἀλλοιωθησομένων ἐπιγραφὴ τοῦτόν μοι δοκεῖ τὸν νοῦν ἔχειν, ὅτι μόνη κρείττων ἐστὶ τροπῆς τε καὶ ἀλλοιώσεως ἡ θεία φύσις· οὐ γὰρ ἔχει πρὸς ὅ τι χρήσεται τῇ τροπῇ, τοῦ μὲν κακοῦ ἀνεπίδεκτος οὖσα καθόλου, πρὸς δὲ τὸ κρεῖττον τραπῆναι μὴ δυναμένη· οὐκ ἔστι γὰρ πρὸς ὅ τι δέξεται τὴν ἀλλοίωσιν· οὐ γὰρ ἔχει τὸ ἑαυτῆς κρεῖττον, πρὸς ὃ μεταβήσεται. ἡμεῖς δὲ οἱ ἄνθρωποι ἐν τροπῇ τε καὶ ἀλλοιώσει κείμενοι κατ' ἀμφότερα διὰ τῆς ἀλλοιωτικῆς ἐνεργείας ἢ χείρους ἢ βελτίους γινόμεθα· χείρους μέν, ὅταν τῆς μετουσίας τῶν ἀγαθῶν ἀπορρέωμεν, ἀμείνους δὲ πάλιν, ὅταν πρὸς τὸ κρεῖττον ἀλλοιούμενοι τύχωμεν. ἐπεὶ οὖν τῷ κακῷ διὰ τῆς τροπῆς συνηνέχθημεν, χρεία τῆς ἀγαθῆς ἡμῖν ἀλλοιώσεως, ὡς ἂν διὰ ταύτης γένοιτο ἡμῖν ἡ πρὸς τὸ κρεῖττον μεταβολή· καὶ τοῦτο δῆλόν ἐστιν ἐκ τῆς συμφράσεως τῶν τοῖς ἀλλοιωθησομένοις συγγεγραμμένων· οὐ γὰρ μόνον τὸ δεῖν ἀλλοιωθῆναι συμβουλεύει ὁ λόγος, ἀλλὰ καὶ τρόπον τινὰ ὑποτίθεται, ὅπως ἂν τὸ τοιοῦτον κατορθωθείη, δι' ὑποδειγμάτων τινῶν τὴν πρὸς τὸ κρεῖττον μεταβολὴν προδεικνύων. Ἅγιος Γρηγόριος Νύσσης, Εἰς τας Επιγραφάς των Ψαλμών, Το Δεύτερον Βιβλίον, Κεφ' Δ' Source: Migne PG 44 500

The superscription 'For those who will be changed,' 1 seems to me to signify that only the Divine nature is beyond all alteration and change, for there can be no profitable change in that which never has the capacity for evil, and truly what is better cannot change, for it is not something which may receive something different, having nothing better than itself to which it might change. We men, however, are placed in change and alteration and according to both the potential and power of change we are taken to better or worse, worse when we are cut off from the communion of goods, better when we make a change to that which is better. When, therefore, we fall into some evil work it is necessary for us to change to the differing good, that we pass over to that which is better, and this is made clear by the body of the Psalms under the subscription 'for those who will be changed,' for not only does it persuade us that it is necessary that we change, but a way is proposed and instructions on how it might be are given, and examples of the change into what is better. Saint Gregory of Nyssa, On the Superscriptions of the Psalms, Second Tractate, Chapter 4 1 Ps 44.1, 68.1, 79.1

Thoughts And Deeds

Ἀγαθῶν καὶ κακῶν τὰς μετεμπλοκὰς ὁμαλῷ λογισμῷ ὑποδέχου· καὶ οὕτως ἀνατρέπει ὁ Θεὸς τῆς ἀνωμαλίας τὰ πράγματα. Ἅγιος Μάρκος ὁ Ἐρημίτης, Περὶ Νόμου Πνευματικοῦ  Source: Migne PG 65 9

The entanglement of goods and evils grasp with equable thought, and thus God will avert inequitable deeds. Saint Mark The Ascetic, from On The Spiritual Law.

Virtues And Vices

Ad virtutes difficile consurgimus, ad vitia sine labore delabimur. Ista enim prona, illa ardua sunt. Grandes enim surdores perpetimur ut ad coelum conscendere valeamus. Quamadmodum ad virtutem tendentes culmen non a summis inchoant, sed a modicis, ut sensim ad altiora pertingant; ita et qui dilabuntur ad vitia non statim a magnis criminibus incipiunt, sed a modicis assuescunt, et sic in maximis proruunt. Nihil prodest admixto malo agere bonum, sed prius est cohibendum a malo, deinede exercendum bonum. Hoc enim indicat Propheta cum dicit: Quiescite agere perverse, discite benefacere. Prius vitia exstirpanda sunt in homine, deinde inserendae virtutes. Nam cohaerere et conjunji non potest veritas cum mendacio, pudor cum petulantia, fides cum perfidia, castitas cum luxuria. Theodulfus Aurelianensis, Fragmentum Sermonis Source:Migne PL 105 278

To virtues we rise with difficulty, into vices we fall without effort. The latter are easy, the former hard. We must pour out great sweat that we climb up to heaven. And as for reaching virtue's height, it is not done from the beginning, but it comes in degrees, so that slowly we come to touch the heights, and so even those who fall to vice do not instantly begin to perpetrate grave crimes, but by degrees they become accustomed to it and so tumble down into the worst things. There is no profit in mixing good and evil deeds, but first one must curb evil and then exercise oneself in the good. For this the Prophet indicates when he says, 'Be done with acting perversely, and learn to do good.' 1 First vices must be rooted out of man and then the virtues may be planted. It is not possible to stick and to join truth with a lie, modesty with wantonness, faith with treachery, chastity with lust. Theodulf of Orleans, Fragment from a Sermon 1 Isa 1.16

Houses And Inheritance

Ό μὴ συμπεριφερόμενος τῷ ἑαυτοῦ οἴκῳ, κληρονομήσει ἀνέμους. Οἶκος ὁ Θεὸς ἡμῶν ἐστιν ἐν ᾧ κινούμεθα καὶ ἐσμεν. Ὁ ἐν ταῖς ἐντολαῖς οὖν τοῦ Θεοῦ μὴ περιπατῶν συγκληρονόμενος ἔσται τῶν ἐναντίων δυνάμεων. Ὠριγένης, Ἐκλογαὶ Εἰς Παροιμίας, Κεφ' ΙΑ' Source: Migne PG 13 32b

He who does not attend to his own house shall inherit the wind. 1 Our house is God in whom we move and have our being. 2 He, then, who does not walk in the commandments of God shall be an inheritor of the opposing powers. Origen, On Proverbs, Fragment 1 Prov 11.29 2 Acts 17.28

Friendship And Judgement

Ἐπιγνώμων δίκαιος ἑαυτοῦ φίλος ἔσται αἱ δὲ γνῶμαι τῶν ἀσεβῶν ἀνεπιεικεῖς ἁμαρτάνοντας καταδιώξεται κακά ἡ δὲ ὁδὸς τῶν ἀσεβῶν πλανήσει αὐτούς Ὁ μὲν δίκαιος, εἰδὼς τὴν ἀνθρωπινην ἀσθένιαν, συγγινώσκει, κἂν ἁμάρτημα ᾗ τὸ παρὰ τοῦ φίλου· ἤ ὅτι κατ' εἰκόνα Θεοῦ ἐστιν ὁ φίλος, σύμφωνος ἑαυτοῦ ἐστι μετριοφρονῶν, καὶ φυλάσσων ἑαυτὸν, καὶ μηδὲν τῆς ἐχθρᾶς κακίας ἔχων, ἀστασιάστους ἔχει τοὺς λογισμούς. Δίδυμος Αλεξανδρεύς, Εἰς Παροιμίας Σολομώντος Εξηγήσεων, Κεφ ΙΒ' Source: Migne PG 39.1636

A righteous arbitrator shall be his own friend; but the unjust judgements of the impious shall pursue sinners with evils; and the way of impious men shall deceive them. 1 The righteous man is conscious of human infirmities and sympathises even with the faults of a friend. Or because he knows a friend should be an image of God, he conducts himself prudently, guarding himself, and possessing no wickedness of the enemy, bears tranquil thoughts. Didymus the Blind, On Proverbs, fragment   1 Prov 12.26 LXX

A Plea For A Slave

Κατέλαβέ τις τὴν ἐσχατιὰν, ἤν οἰκοῦμεν, νεώτερος, καὶ ἐντυχὼν τῷ τὴν θύραν φυλάσσοντι, πρὸς ἐμὲ γενέσθαι ἠξίωσεν. Ὡς δὲ ἐτοίμη ἡ ἡμετέρα συνήθεια πάντας οἴκοι προσίεσθαι, καὶ δεξιᾶς μεταδιδόνια ὁμιλίας καὶ ἀναπαύσεως, εἰσεκλήθη, καὶ πρηνὴς σπουδαίως ἐπ' ἐδάφους ἐγένετο, οὐδὲν εἰπὼν πρὸ κλαῦσαι πολλά· ἐπειδὴ δὲ εγὼ καὶ χειρὶ ἀντελαβόμην, καὶ συμβαλέσθαι τὰ ἐν δυνάμει ὑπεσχόμην, καὶ ὅς τις εἴη, καὶ ὅτου χρῇζει ἠρόμην, οἰκέτης μὲν ἔφη εἴναι ὑμέτερος, πταίσματι δὲ ἐξ ἀγνοίας ἐμπεπτωκέναι κρείττονι, ὡς ἐνόμισε, μεταγνώσεως καὶ τὸ μὲν πρώτῳ ἐξέπληξεν· οὐ γὰρ οἴμαι οἰκέτην ἔχειν τὸν φιλόχριστον Εἴρωνα, εἰδότα τὴν χάριν τὴν πάντας ἐλευθερώσασαν. Το δεύτερον δὲ ἠνίασεν, ἐπειδὴ πᾶν ἁμάρτημα παρὰ τῶν πραξάντων, καὶ δευτερούμενον ἐφιέναι ἀλλήλοις παρὰ Χριστοῦ ἐκελεύσθημεν, καὶ διδάξαντος, καὶ ποιήσαντος οὕτως. Διδάξαντος μὲν, Ἐὰν μὴ ἀφῆτε παραπτώματα τοῖς ἀνθρώποις, οὐδε ὑμῖν ἀφήσει ὁ Πατὴρ ὑμῶν ὁ οὐράνιος τὰς ἁμαρτίας ὑμῶν· ποιήσαντος δὲ ἐν τῷ τὴν πόρνην καὶ τὸν τελώνην Ματθαῖον καὶ Σαμαρείτιδα καὶ Παράλυτον, καὶ αὐτον Πέτρον τὸν τοῦ θιάσου μαθητῶν κορυφαῖον, οὐ μόνον σωματικῶν, ἀλλὰ καὶ ψυχικῶν ἁμαρτημάτων καὶ νοσημάτων. Εἰ οὖν Χριστὸν θέλεις μιμήσασθαι, τὰ μεγάλα συγχώρει τοῖς πταίουσιν ἁμαρτήματα. Τὰ γὰρ βραχέα καὶ ὡς  κοινὰ παρορῶσιν οἱ πλείονες, καὶ παρεκλήσει χαρίζονται. Τὰ δὲ μείζονα, μόνοι οἱ μεγάλην ἔχοντες πρὸς Θεὸν τὴν συνείδησιν, καὶ μεγάλους μεσθοὺς παρ' αὐτοῦ τῶν λαμπρῶν πράξεων περιμένοντες. Ἅγιος Ἰσίδωρος Του Πηλουσιώτου, Βιβλίον Πρῶτον, Ἐπιστολή ΡΜΒ' Εἴρων Σκολαστικῳ Source: Migne PG 78. 277 b-c

There came down to our remote spot in which we dwell a young man who asked the guard of the gate that he be admitted to me. And as it is our custom to have our dwellings prepared to admit all for converse or rest, so without delay he came in, and instantly casting himself down, before any speech, he wept profusely, whence I offered my hand and promised him that I would do for him all that was in my power, and asking who he might be, and what he wanted done by me, he said that he was your slave who in ignorance had fallen into sin, which, I thought, his awareness of surpassed, and at first I was amazed. For I did not judge that the Christ loving Eiron who knows that grace liberates all, had a slave. Then I was grieved. Certainly every sin, even those ones which are repeated, Christ commands that others must forgive others. For so He taught and so He did. The Lord, I say, spoke these words, 'Unless you forgive men their sins, neither shall your Father in heaven forgive you.' 1 So He forgave the whore,2 and the tax collector Matthew, 3 and the Samaritan woman 4 and  the paralytic, 5 and Peter himself, the head of the Apostolic brotherhood, releasing not only bodies but even souls from faults and afflictions. If, then, you wish to imitate Christ, forgive the grave sins of those in fault. For little things are commonly overlooked by many and they please the pleader. Greater things are only for those who have great understanding with God, and from Him expect great rewards for glorious deeds. Saint Isidore of Pelusium, Book 1, Letter 142, To Eiron the Advocate 1 Mt 6.15 2 Lk 7.37 3 Mt 9.9 4 Jn 4.3- 5 Mt 9.2

Choosing Company

Etenim si introierit in conventum vestrum vir, aureum annulum habens, in veste candida, introerit autem et pauper in sordido habitu, et intendatis in eum qui indutus est veste praeclara,et dixeritis ei: Tu sede hic bene, pauperi autem dicatis: Tu sta illic, aut sede sub scabello pedum meorum. In hujus expositione sententiae beati Augustini dictis utamur. Si hanc, inquit, distantiam sedendi et standi ad honores ecclesisaticos referamus, non est putandum leve esse peccatum in personarum acceptione habere fidem Domini nostri Jesu Christi gloriae. Quis enim ferat eligi divitem ad sedem honoris Ecclesiae, contempto paupere instructiore et sanctiore? Si autem de quotidianis consessibus loquitur, quis hic peccat, si tamen peccat, nisi cum apud semetipsum intus ita judicat, ut ei tanto melior quanto ditior ille videatur? Hoc enim videtur significasse subdendo. Nonne judicatis apud vosmetipsos, et facti estis judices cogitationum iniquarum.  Sequitur: Audite, fratres, mei dilectissimi. Diligentius, inquit,animadvertite, quia non qui ditiores existunt ad seculum, ii in divino examine sunt meliores. Nonne Deus elegit paupere in hoc mundo, divites in fide, et haeredes regni quod promisit diligentibus se? Pauperes vocat humiles, et qui per contemptam rerum visibilium, fide autem invisibilium divitiarum mundo huic despicabiles parent. Tales namque elegit Dominus noster Jesus Christus dicendo: Nolite timere, pusillus grex, quia complacuit Patri vestro dare vobis regnum. Tales elegit cum parentes sibi pauperes, quorum officio in mundum veniens nutriretur, creavit. Sed hos tamen futuri regni exspectatione praeclaros reddidit ac nobiles. Sanctus Beda, Super Divi Jacobi Epistolam, Caput II Source: Migne PL 93 18-19

If a man enter into your company, wearing a gold ring, in white vestments, and a poor man enter in vile habit, intent on him who has come in with shining garment, you say to him, 'You indeed sit here,' but to the poor man you say, 'Stand over there,' or 'Sit at the footstool of my feet.' 1 In explanation of this passage we shall quote the blessed Augustine: 'If this distinction in matters of sitting and standing refers to Ecclesiastical honours, it is not be thought to be a trivial fault to have respect of persons in the faith of our Lord Jesus Christ of glory. 2 For who can bear the choosing of the rich man for the seat of honour in the Church in contempt of the poor man who is more learned and holy? And if this speaks of daily gatherings, who does not err here, if indeed he does sin, unless within himself he judges that the richer a man appears so the better he is?' 3 And this seems to have been signified in the next line: Judging among yourselves, have you not made yourself judges with wicked thoughts? 4 It follows: Hear, my dear brothers. 4 More diligently attend, he says, because it is not those who are richer in the world who are better in the Divine judgement . Did not God choose the poor of the world to be rich in faith and inheritors of the kingdom which he has promised to the lovers of Him? 5  The humble he calls the poor, who with contempt of visible of things, with faith in invisible wealth, despise this world. Such our Lord Jesus Christ chooses, saying, 'Do not fear, little flock, because it has pleased your Father to give to you the kingdom' 6 Such He chose when He made poor parents for Himself, that such nourish Him coming into the world. These whom, however, He made eminent and noble in the hope of the future kingdom. Saint Bede, from the Commentary on the Letter of Saint James, Chapter 2  1 Jam 2.2-3 2 Jam 2.1 3 Augustine, Letter 167.18 4 Jam 2.4 5 Jam 2.5 6 Lk 12.32

Guests And Hosts

Advertit sanctitas vestra, fratres, evangelicam lectionem, quemadmodum Dominus discipulis suis inter caeteras exsequendas virtutes, etiam hospitalitatis jura praescripserit: ait enim: In quamcunque civitatem introieritis, interrogate quis in ea dignus sit: et ibi manete, donec exeatis, et reliqua. Sancta plane et divina sententia, quae et discipulis eligendi optionem primitus detulit, et facilitatem penitus amputavit. Providit enim modum statuendo, ne vir sanctus aut citus esset in judicando, aut levis in hospite commutando. Sicut enim vobis permisit arbitrium, ita et voluit vos tenere constantiam. Quam enim reprehensibilie est ut vir, qui Evangelium annuntiat, et docet errandum non esse, ipse per diversos incipiat oberrare et domum, cui pacem dixerat deserere; hospitem cui benedictionem intulerat contristare. Magna enim hospitalitatis est gratia, nec facile violanda; omnibus aperta est, omnibus parata est, et sanctos libenter suscipit, et peccatores tolerat patienter. Sed repetamus sanctam ipsam divinamque sententiam; si enim in littera placet, et in mysterio forsitan plus placebit. Ait igitur: Ut cum intramus in civitatem, interrogemus quis in ea vel hospes dignus, vel idonea domus sit, et ibi maneamus donec dies profectionis adveniat. Quae sententia altiorem nobis tribuit intellectum; non enim mihi videtur de hujus saeculi hospite, vel domo jussisse, nec tam diligenter inquirere, sed de illo magis, qui nos usque ad diem exitus nostri possit inoffensos hospites, illaesosque servare. Nam hujus saeculi hospitem cita laedimus, cito offendimus: interdum ei et post triduum displicemus; fidelis igitur domus, et hospes dignus inquiri jussus est. Quae domus fidelior Ecclesia? Quis hospes dignior Salvatore? Iste peregrinos, ut filios suscipit; illa susceptos refovet, ut infantes. Iste hospitibus, sicut experti sumus, pedes lavare gestit: illa mensam parare festinat: quos enim Salvator viva aqua refrigerat, hos reficit coelestibus cibis Ecclesia. Hunc igitur hospitem evangelista inquiri jussit, et usque ad diem exitus nostri cum hoc habitare praecepti, ne aliqua levitate medio tempore aliorsum forsitan emigremus; hoc est qui semel in Christum credidimus, non iterum velut transgressores ad idola recurramus; scriptum est enim: Nemo potest duobus dominis servire: dum enim uni placere gestit, alterum sentit iratum. Christum igitur hospitem deserere non debemus, quemadmodum et Petrus apostolus cum suis similibus deserentibus aliis Dominum non reliquit; sed dicamus quod ille ad Salvatorem dixit: Domine, ad quem ibimus? Verba vitae aeternae tu habes, et nos credimus. Ecce exsecutor coelestium praeceptorum; qui quoniam Christi non mutavit hospitum, meruit cum Christo regni coelestis habere consortium. Sanctus Maximus Taurinensis, Homilia XCIX, De Hospitalitate Source: Migne PL 57 483a-4b

Turn your sanctity, brothers, to the Gospel reading, how the Lord prescribed to His disciples, among other virtues, the following of hospitality, for He said, 'In whatever city you enter, ask who is worthy there and remain there, until you leave,' 1 and so on. A holy and divine sentence certainly, which first took away the privilege of choosing from the disciples and utterly cut off ease. For he wished to establish a way, lest a holy man be either hasty in judgement or easy in his changing of place. For as He has given us free will, so even He wished us to hold to constancy. For how reprehensible it is that a man who announces the Gospel and teaches that one should not stray, himself might begin wandering between different men and houses saying that he finds no peace, the host of whom he brings the blessing of grief. Great is the grace of hospitality and not with ease should it be violated, to all it is open, for all prepared, and it receives the holy willingly and sinners it tolerates patiently. And let us reconsider the same holy and divine sentence, for if the letter pleases, in its more mystical sense it may please more. It is thus said that when we enter into a city we should ask who there is a worthy host, whose house is suitable, and there we should remain until the day of departure comes. Which passage offers a higher understanding, for it does not seem to me that this is about worldly hospitality, or a command about a house, nor about diligent inquiry, but more concerning that to the day of departure we should be inoffensive guests, serving without harm. For the host of this age we quickly wound and swiftly offend, and within three days we are displeasing to him, and therefore we are commanded to seek a faithful house and a worthy host. What house is more faithful than the Church? Which host more worthy than the Saviour? He receives wanderers like sons and He cherishes the ones he receives like children. He, as we know by experience, washes the feet of guests, He hurries to prepare the table, for those whom the Saviour refreshes with living water, the same he revives in the Church with the heavenly bread. This, then, the Gospel commands to be sought in the host, and it commands that we dwell there until the day of our exit, lest we go out, perhaps with a certain levity, in the middle of our time for something else, that is, that we who have once believed in Christ, should not again be as transgressors returning to idols, for it is written, 'No one is able to serve two masters.' 2 ; for while a man acts to please one, he angers the other. We should not then weary of the host Christ, as even Peter the Apostle, when others like him withdrew, did not abandon the Lord, but let us say what he said to the Saviour: 'Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life and we believe.' 3 Behold, a follower of the heavenly precepts, he who since he did not change the host Christ, merited fellowship with Christ in the kingdom of heaven. Saint Maximus of Turin, Homily 99, On Hospitality 1.Mt 10.11 2 Mt 6.24 3 Jn 6.67-70

The Giving Of Feasts

Ὅταν ποιῇς ἄριστον ἢ δεῖπνον, μὴ  φώνει τοὺς φίλους σου, κ. τ. λ. Ἀλλὰ τοῦτο μὲν περὶ τῆς ταπεινοφροσύνης τὸ παράγγελμα· καλὸν δὲ καὶ πρὸς καλοῦντας ἐπιφέρει τὸ δίδαγμα, μέγαν εἰσάγων τῆς παρὰ ἀνθρώποις δεξιώσες τὸν σκοπὸν, καὶ τὸν  τοῦ καρπὸν ἀξιοσπούδαστον, εἰ καὶ μακρὰν οὕτος καὶ οὐκ ἔχων παραχρῆμα τὴν ἀνταπόδοσιν, ὅπερ οἱ μικοροψυχοι ποιοῦσι· φίλους καλοῦντες, ἀδελφοὺς, συγγενεῖς, γείτονας, ἵν' εὐθὺς ἀντικληθέντες, κομίσαιντο τοῦτο· οὖ πολλῷ κάλλιον καὶ μεγαλοπρεπέστερον εἰσήγαγεν ὁ Κύριος, τὸ τοὺς δεομένους καλεῖν, τὸ πρὸς τοὺς ἀσθενεῖς καὶ λελωβημένους φιλανθρωπεύσθαι, παρ' ὧν οὐκ ἔστιν ἀνταπόδοσις, ἀλλὰ Θεὸς ὁ ανταποδιδοὺς τῆς φιλανθρωπίας τὴν τιμὴν ἐπὶ τῆς μελλούσης ζωῆς. Τοῦτο δέ φησιν, οὐχ ἵνα τῆς πρὸς τοὺς ἰδίους ἀπείρξῃ τιμῆς, ἀλλ' ἵνα διδαξῃ μὴ πιπράσκειν τὰς φιλοφροσύνας τῶν ἴσωεν ἀνταποδόσεων, ἀλλ' ὠφελίμους ποιεῖσθαι ταύτας, ἐπὶ μεγάλαις ἀντιδόσεσι ταῖς παρὰ Θεοῦ. Ἐρεῖ γὰρ· Δεῦτε, κληρονομήσατε τὴν ἡτοιμασμένην ὑμῖν βασιλείαν· ἐπείνασα γὰρ, καὶ ἐδώκατέ μοι φαγεῖν, καὶ τὰ ἐξῆς, Ἐφ' ὅσον γὰρ ἐποιήσατε ἐνὶ τούτων, ἐμοὶ ἐποιήσατε. Ἅγιος Κύριλλος Ἀλεξανδρείας, Ἐξὴγησις Εἰς Τὸ Κατὰ Λούκαν Εὐάγγελιον, Κεφ. ΙΔ' Source: Migne PG 72. 787

'When you give a dinner or supper, do not invite your friends,' etc  1 This is an exhortation to humility, and well He does to bring this teaching to those who invite, offering a great dish of benefits to those who are willing to receive it, and precious fruit, even if it is for a distant reward, not one in the near future, that those with little souls act. They who invite friends, brothers, relations, neighbours, do so that they receive invitations in turn, which they give and accept with all speed, for which common custom the Lord substitutes a better and more worthy thing, that they rather invite the needy and do good to the infirm and lame, those from whom no reciprocation is expected, but from God alone who gives to men reward in the future life for charity done. And He says this, not as one who prohibits honour, but that He might teach how little we gain from our equal exchange of amity. But let us do benefits on account of the great rewards that God will give. For He says, 'Come, possess the kingdom prepared from you. For I hungered and you gave me to eat ... whatever you have done to one of these little ones you have done to me.' 2 Saint Cyril of Alexandria, from The Commentary on the Gospel of Saint Luke, Chapter 14 1 Lk 14.12 2 Mt 25.34

Mountain And Church

Domine, quis habitat in tabernaculo tuo, aut quis requiescet in monte sancto tuo? Sed mons Domini nullus in terra est, omnis enim terra jam pridem per vitia hominum maledictis obnoxia est. Nam et in Adae operibus, et in Abel sanguine meruit offensam, et sub Noe habitantium peccatis fuit plena, et nunc quoque edita et excelsa quaeque montium fanis, templis sacrisque maculantur. Ergo non in talibus exspectandus hoc mons est. Sed ut editissimae humi partes montes nuncupantur, ita necesse est in his quae coelestia sunt maxima atque sublimia sub montis nomine opinari. Et quid sublimius Christo? quidve exclesius Deo nostro? Mons autem ejus est illud quod ex homine corpus assumpsit, in quo nunc habitat et sublimis et exclesus super omnem principatum et potestatem et omne nomen. Super hunc montem aedificata est civitas, quae non possit abscondi: quia sicut ait Apostulus: Non est aliud fundamentum nisi Christus. Ergo quia qui Christi sunt, in Christi corpore ante constitutionem mundi electi sunt, et Ecclesia corpus est Christi, et fundamentum aedificationis nostrae Christus est, et civitas super montem aedificatat: hic ille mons est, in quo quaeritur quis possit esse requiescens. In alio quidem psalmo de hoc eodem monte sic legimus: Quis adscendet montem Domini, aut quis stabit in loco sancto eius? Et Esaias nobis erit testis: Et erit in novissimis diebus manifestus mons domus Domini, et dicent: Venite, adscendamus in montem Domini, in aedem Dei Jacob. Et rursum Paulus: Vos accessistis ad Sion montem, et ad civitatem Dei viventis Jerusalem. Si ergo requiei nostrae spes omnis est in Christi corpore, et cum in monte sit quiescendum, montem non aliud possumus intelligere, quam corpus quod suscepit ex nobis, ante quod Deus erat, et in quo Deus est et per quod transfiguravit corpus humilitatis nostrae conformatum corpori gloriae suae; si tamen et nos vitia corporis nostri cruci ejus confixerimus, ut in ejus corpore resurgamus. Ad illud enim post habitationem Ecclesiae scanditur, in illo in Domini sublimitate requiescitur, in illo cum Angelorum choris, cum et nos simus Dei civitas, sociabimur. Sanctus Hilarius Pictaviensis,Tractatus super Psalmos, Tractatus in Psalmum XIV Source: Migne PL 9 301c-303a

Lord, who shall dwell in your tabernacle, or who shall rest on your holy mountain? 1 But the mountain of the Lord is not on the earth, for all the earth on account of the vices of men has been cursed. For by the deeds of Adam and by the blood of Abel it has earned offense, and in the time of Noah by the sins of the people it was full of sin, and so any lofty and elevated temple on a mountain, along with its sacred things, are defiled. Therefore not among such things should we hope for this mountain. But as mountains are declared truly lofty parts of the earth, so it is necessary that the greatest and sublime things of heaven are referred to under the name of mountains. And what is higher than Christ? Or what is more exalted than our God? His mount is that body which He took up from men, in which now He dwells on high, exalted over all the princes and powers and every name. Upon this mountain is built the city which He is not able to forsake, for so says the Apostle, 'There is no other foundation but Christ.' 2 Therefore since those who are of Christ, in the body of Christ were chosen before the foundation of the world, 3 and the Church is the body of Christ, and the foundation of our building is Christ, and the city is built on a mountain, so He is the mountain, on which it is asked who can rest there. And in another Psalm we read about this same mountain: 'Who shall ascend to the mountain of the Lord, or who shall stand in his holy place?' 4 And Isaiah shall be a witness for us: 'And it shall be in the last days that the mount of the house of God is manifest, and they shall say, Come, let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, into the house of the God of Jacob.' 5 And again Paul: 'You have drawn near to Mount Sion and to the city of the living God, Jerusalem.' 6 If, then, all our hope of rest is in the body of Christ, then the mount on which we should rest is not able to be understood otherwise than the body which he took up for us, before which He was God, and in which He is God and through which He transfigured the body of our humility to conform to the body of His glory; and even we, if we have fixed the vices of our body to His cross, in His body might rise. For the mount is scaled after dwelling in the Church, in which sublimity of the Lord there is rest, with choirs of angels, when even we are citizens of the city of God. Saint Hilary of Poitiers, Homilies on the Psalms, from Psalm 14 1 Ps 14 .1 2 1 Cor 3.11 3 Ephes 1.4 4 Ps 23.3 5 Isai 2.2-3 6 Heb 12.22

A Woman Adorns Herself

Quid est quod Judith post peractam orationem exuit se vestibus lugubribus, et induit se vestimentis jucunditatis, nisi quod sancta Eccleisa, licet aliquando pro peccatis suis poenitentiae gerat affectum, tamen spe remissionis et futuri praemii anxium satis exhilarat animum. Lavat corpus suum, cum actus corporis sui poenitentiae lacrymis mundat. Unxit se myrrho optimo, cum in propriae mortificatione carnis, charitatis ac caeterarum virtutum se replet odore. Discriminat crinem capitis sui, cum solerti discretione singulas cogitationes distinguit cordis. Imponit mitram capiti, cum galeam salutis circumdat menti. Induit pedes suos sandaliis, cum gressus operum suorum evangelicis munit doctrinis. Assumit dextraliola et lilia, et inaures et annulos. In dextraliolis spes futurorum bonorum exprimitur, quae in dextra Dei sanctis in futuro dantur. In liliis castitas, in inauribus obedinetiae devotio, et in annulo signaculum fidei designatur. His ergo omnibus ornamentis se sancta Ecclesia ornat, quia omnium virtutum decore se illustrare certat. Cui etiam Dominus contulit splendorem gratiae suae, quoniam omnis ista composito non ex libidine praesentis vitae, sed ex virtute pendebat futura. Et ideo Dominus hanc in illa pulchritudinem ampliavit, ut incomparabili decore omnium oculis appareret. Quia valde justum est, ut qui dilectionis perfectae Dei fevet amore, omnium dignus habeatur honore. Rabanus Maurus, Expositio in Librum Judith, Caput X Source: Migne PL 109.565a-d

Why is it that after prayer Judith takes off her garments of mourning and puts on her joyful garments, 1 unless because the holy Church permits that when for sins the grief of penance has been borne for a time the hope of forgiveness and future reward shall lift up the anxious soul. She washes her body when she cleans with the tears of penance the deeds of the body. She anoints herself with myrrh when in her mortification of the flesh she is redolent of charity and the other virtues. She combs the hair of her head, when with acute discrimination she distinguishes every thought of the heart. She places a covering on her head, when she binds the helm of salvation around the mind. She places shoes on her feet when the step of her good works beautify the evangelical doctrine. She puts on bracelets and lilies and earrings and rings. In the bracelets is the hope of future goods expressed, which in the right hand of God is given to the saints in the future, and by the ring is signified the seal of faith. By these ornaments, then, the holy Church adorns herself, because she strives to adorn herself with the beauty of every virtue. And the Lord brings to it the splendour of His grace because all this adornment is not on account of lust for this present life, but for future virtue. And therefore the Lord increases her beauty, that it appears as an incomparable fairness to every eye. Because most certainly it is just that the one who burns with the perfect love of God shall be worthy of every honour. Rabanus Maurus, from the Commentary On Judith, Chap 10 1 Judith 10.1-4

Gathered And Uplifted

Εὐφρανθήσεται δίκαιος ἐν τῷ Κυρίῷ, καὶ ἐλπιεῖ ἐπ' αὐτὸν· καὶ ἐπαινεθήσονται πάντες οἱ εὐθεῖς τῇ καρδίᾳ. κ.τ.ἑ. Ὅσοι συνάγονται μετὰ τοῦ Ἀβραὰμ, οὗτοι τὴν γνῶσιν ἔχουσι τοῦ Ἀβραὰμ. Τὸ γὰρ συνήχθησαν ἀντὶ τοῦ συναχθήσονται. Ἀπὸ γὰρ τῶν γεγονότων, φησὶν, οἱ πάντων τῶν ἐθνῶν ἄρχοντες ἄμα ἡμῖν συναχθέντες εἰς ὑμνῳδίαν Θεὸν αἰνέσουσι. Τοῦ αὐτοῦ   Εἰ τις ἐστὶ κραταιὸς τῆς γῆς, τοῦ Θεοῦ ἐστιν ἐκεῖνος· ὁ γὰρ ἀσθενὴς οὐδέπω αὐτοῦ ἐστι. Κραταιὸς δὲ τῆς γῆς ὁ κατὰ τοῦ φρονήματος τῆς σαρκὸς κεκραταωμένος. Τῶν ἐν τῇ γῇ κραταιῶν εἰσὶ τινες τοῦ Θεοῦ, οἴτινες οὐχ ἁπλῶς ἐπῄρθησαν, ἀλλὰ σφόδρα· οὐ μέντοιγε ὑπερεπῄρθησαν. Ὠριγένης, Εἰς Ψαλμους, Ψαλμος ΜϚ' Source: Migne PG 12 1437

The rulers of the peoples are gathered with the God of Abraham, the strong of the earth are uplifted. 1 Those who are gathered with Abraham have the knowledge of Abraham. And that they have been gathered means that they shall be gathered. On account of which they are made, he says, princes of all the nations, one with us gathered for the singing of hymns to God. On the Same If someone is a strong one of the earth, that one is of God, for he who is weak is not His. A strong one of the earth is he who is fortified against the care of the flesh. And of those who are the strong ones of the earth, being of God, they are not simply lifted up, but excessively so, but not beyond measure. Origen, On the Psalms, from Psalm 46 1 Ps 46.10

Leaders And Elevation

Ἄρχοντες λαῶν συνήχθησαν μετὰ τοῦ θεοῦ Αβρααμ ὅτι τοῦ θεοῦ οἱ κραταιοὶ τῆς γῆς σφόδρα ἐπήρθησαν. Οἱ των λαῶν ἄρχοντες, ἤ οἱ ἀπόστολοι, ἤ οἱ ἡγούμενοι τῶν Ἐκκλησιῶν, εἰσὶ συναγόμενοι μετὰ τοῦ Ἀβραὰμ, ἵνα προσάγωσιν τοὺς πρὸς αὐτῶν ὠφελουμένους λαούς· καὶ γὰρ αὐτῶν Θεὸς ἐστιν τέκνων γενομένων τοῦ Ἀβραάμ. Ἐπίστησον δὲ εἰ ἄρχοντες τῶν λαῶν εἶναι δύνανται ἄγγελοι περὶ ὦν εἴηται· Ἔστησεν ὄρια ἐθνῶν κατὰ ἀριθμὸν ἀγγέλλων Θεοῦ. Οἴτινες καὶ συνάγονται μετὰ τοῦ Θεοῦ Ἀβραὰμ, ἐπεὶ διὰ πίστεως υἱοποιήθησαν τῷ Ἀβραὰμ αἱ μερίδες ὦν τυγχάνουσιν ἄρχοντες. Κραταιοὶ τῆς γῆς, οἱ ἐξ αὐτῶν ὀρθῶς πολιτευσάμενοι, ἐπαιρόμενοι τῷ ἄνω φρονεῖν, τῷ τὰ ἀνω ζητεῖν. Οὗτοι γὰρ σφόδρα ἐπαρθέντες γνώσει θείᾳ, καὶ ἀρετῇ μετεωριζόμενοι, τοῦ Θεοῦ γεγένηνται· οἱ γὰρ κραταιοὶ τῆς γῆς, τοῦ Θεοῦ κτῆμα γεγενημένοι, ἐπήρθησαν. Δίδυμος Αλεξανδρεύς, Εἰς Ψαλμους, Ψαλμος ΜϚ Migne PG 39.1378

The rulers of the peoples are gathered with the God of Abraham, the strong of the earth are uplifted  1 The rulers of the people are either the Apostles or the leaders of the Churches, who are are gathered together with the God of Abraham, that they lead the people under their charge, for theirs is the God of the children of Abraham. Let us see whether the princes of the people are also angels, concerning which it is said, 'He has established the limits of his people according to the number of the angels of God.' 2 Those who are gathered with the God of Abraham, since by faith they are made sons of Abraham, are those who have their part are princes. The strong ones of the earth are those who are rightly established and are lifted up to think of high things. 3 They who are highly elevated by Divine knowledge, and sublime virtues, they are made sons of God, for the strong ones of the earth, by the adoption of God, are lifted up. Didymus the Blind, Commentary on the Psalms, from Psalm 46 1Ps 46.10  2 Deut 22.8  3 Coloss 3. 1-2

Exalting The Lord

Ὑποῦτε Κύριον τὸν Θεὸν ἡμῶν, καὶ προσκυνεῖτε εἰς ὄρος ἅγιον αὐτοῦ, ὅτι  ἅγιος Κύριος ὁ Θεὸς ἡμῶν. Μηδὲν τεπεινὸν, φησὶ, καὶ ἀνθρώπινον περὶ τοῦ Κυρίου φρονεῖτε· ἀλλ' ὑψοῦτε αὐτὸν ὑψηλὰ περὶ αὐτοῦ δοξάζοντες, καὶ τὸ προσῆκον αὐτῷ προσενέγκατε σέβας. Ὄρος δὲ ἅγιον πάλαι μὲν τὸ Σιὼν ἐκαλεῖτο, νῦν δὲ τῆς θεογνωσίας τὸ ὕψος· οὕτω γὰρ καὶ Ἠσαΐας καὶ Μιχαίας ἐθέπισαν· Ἔσται ἐν ταῖς ἐσχάταις ἡμέραις ἐμφαντὲς τὸ ὄρος Κυρίου· τουτέστιν ἡ τοῦ Θεοῦ γνῶσις πᾶσι δήλη γενήσετει. Οἴδε γὰρ καὶ ὁ Ἀπόστολος νοητὸν ὅρος Σιών· Προσεληλύθατε γὰρ ὄρει Σιὼν καὶ πόλει Θεοῦ ζῶντος Ἰερουσαλὴμ ἐπουρανίῳ. Προστετάγμεθα τοίνυν κατὰ τὴν δοθεῖσαν ἡμῖν ὑπὸ Θεοῦ γνῶσιν προσφέρειν αὐτῷ προσκύνησιν· ὅς καὶ Κύριος ἡμῶν ἐστιν ὡς δούλων, καὶ Θεὸς ὡς πλἀστης. Ἀλλ' οὕτω μὲν πνευματικώτερον τὸν ψαλμὸν νοήσαιμεν. Εὐσέβιος ὁ Καισάρειος, Ὑπομνηματα Ἐις Τους ψαλμους, ψαλμος ϟΗ' Source:  Migne PG 23.1237D- 1240A

Exalt the Lord your God and adore Him on His sacred mountain, because holy is the Lord our God. 1 He tells us that we should think nothing base or human concerning the Lord, but exalt Him by thinking high things, and so fulfill the duty of worship. For he names the mount holy that was Sion, and now it is the cognition of Divine sublimity, for thus Isaiah and Micah made the prophecy, 'And in the last days the mount of God shall be manifest.' 2 that is, the knowledge of God shall be open to all. For the Apostle also knew the spiritual mount Sion when he said, 'You have come to mount Sion and the city of the living God, the celestial Jerusalem.' 3 Thus we have been exhorted according to our gift of the knowledge of God to offer worship to Him; He who is our Lord as we are servants, and God as creator. This is the spiritual understanding of the Psalm. Eusebius of Caesarea, Commentary on the Psalms, from Psalm 98 1 Ps 98.9 2 Is 2.2; Mich 4.1 3 Hebr 12.22

The Beautiful Soul

Sed puellam de populo, ne contaminet semen suum. Pulchra namque a Deo creata est anima, et satis decora, quae imaginem habet, et similitudinem Dei. Dehinc sequitur: De genere suo ducat uxorem, animam scilicet, quae ei fide conjungitur. Nec contaminabit semen suum, id est, verbum Dei, quod in Ecclesia praedicatur, sicut in Evangelio scriptum est: Ne dederitis sanctum canibus, neque mittatis margaritas ante porcos, ne conculcent eas pedibus suis. Sanctus Isidorus Hispalensis,Mysticorum Expositiones Sacramentorum Seu Quaestiones In Vetus Testamentum, In Leviticum, Caput XII Source: Migne PL 83.331

But a maiden from the people, lest his seed be debased. 1 For the soul created by God is beautiful, and it is fully adorned, having the image and likeness of God. Whence it follows that from his own people he will lead a wife, that is, the soul, which is bound to him in faith. Nor should his seed be contaminated, that is, the word of God, which is preached in the Church, as it is written in the Gospel: 'Do not give a holy thing to dogs, nor cast pearls before swine, lest they trample on them with their feet.' 2 Saint Isidore of Seville, Expositions of Sacred Mysteries or Questions on the Old Testament, On Leviticus, Chap 12 1 Lev 21.14-15 2 Mt 7.6 3 Lk 12.49

Knowledge And Beauty

Ην ἄρα, ὡς ἔοικεν, πάντων μέγιστον μαθημάτων τὸ γνῶναι αὑτόν· ἑαυτὸν γάρ τις ἐὰν γνῷ, Θεὸν εἴσεται, Θεὸν δὲ εἰδὼς ἐξομοιωθήσεται Θεῷ, οὐ χρυσοφορῶν οὐδὲ ποδηροφορῶν, ἀλλὰ ἀγαθοεργῶν καὶ ὅτι μάλιστα ὀλιγίστων δεόμενος· ἀνενδεὴς δὲ μόνος ὁ Θεὸς καὶ χαίρει μάλιστα μὲν καθαρεύοντας ἡμᾶς ὁρῶν τῷ τῆς διανοίας κόσμῳ, ἔπειτα δὲ καὶ τῷ τοῦ σώματος, ἁγνὴν στολήν, σωφροσύνην, περιβεβλημένους. Τριγενοῦς οὖν ὑπαρχούσης τῆς ψυχῆς, τὸ νοερόν, ὅ δὴ λογιστικὸν καλεῖται, ὁ ἄνθρωπός ἐστιν ὁ ἔνδον, ὁ τοῦ φαινομένου τοῦδε ἄρχων ἀνθρώπου, αὐτὸν δὲ ἐκεῖνον ἄλλος ἄγει, Θεός· τὸ δὲ θυμικόν, θηριῶδες ὄν, πλησίον μανίας οἰκεῖ· πολύμορφον δὲ τὸ ἐπιθυμητικὸν καὶ τρίτον, ὑπὲρ τὸν Πρωτέα τὸν θαλάττιον δαίμονα ποικίλον, ἄλλοτε ἄλλως μετασχηματιζόμενον, εἰς μοιχείας καὶ λαγνείας καὶ εἰς φθορὰς ἐξαρεσκευόμενον· ἤτοι μὲν πρώτιστα λέων γένετ᾿ ἠυγένειος, ἔτι φέρων τὸν καλλωπισμόν· ἄνδρα δείκνυσιν ἡ τοῦ γενείου κόμη· αὐτὰρ ἔπειτα δράκων ἢ πάρδαλις ἠδὲ μέγας σῦς· κατώλισθεν εἰς τὴν ἀσέλγειαν ἡ φιλοκοσμία. Οὐκέτι καρτερῷ θηρίῳ ἄνθρωπος φαίνεται, γίνετο δ᾿ ὑγρὸν ὕδωρ καὶ δένδρεον ὑψιπέτηλον, ἐκχεῖται τὰ πάθη, ἐκβλύζονται αἱ ἡδοναί, μαραίνεται τὸ κάλλος, καὶ θᾶττον ἀποπίπτει τοῦ πετάλου χαμαί, ὅταν αὐτοῦ καταπνεύσωσιν αἱ ἐρωτικαὶ τῆς ὕβρεως λαίλαπες, καὶ πρὶν ἢ τὸ μετόπωρον ἐλθεῖν μαραίνεται τῇ φθορᾷ· πάντα γὰρ ἡ ἐπιθυμία γίνεταί τε καὶ πλάττεται καὶ φενακίζειν βούλεται, ἵνα κατακρύψῃ τὸν ἄνθρωπον. ὁ δὲ ἄνθρωπος ἐκεῖνος, ᾧ σύνοικος ὁ λόγος, οὐ ποικίλλεται, οὐ πλάττεται, μορφὴν ἔχει τὴν τοῦ λόγου, ἐξομοιοῦται τῷ Θεῷ, καλός ἐστιν, οὐ καλλωπίζεται· κάλλος ἐστὶ τὸ ἀληθινόν, καὶ γὰρ ὁ Θεός ἐστιν· Θεὸς δὲ ἐκεῖνος ὁ ἄνθρωπος γίνεται, ὅτι βούλεται ὃ Θεός. ὀρθῶς ἄρα εἶπεν Ἡράκλειτος· ἄνθρωποι θεοί, θεοὶ ἄνθρωποι. Λόγος γὰρ αὐτός μυστήριον ἐμφανές· Θεὸς ἐν ἀνθρώπῳ, καὶ ὁ ἄνθρωπος θεός, καὶ τὸ θέλημα τοῦ πατρὸς ὁ μεσίτης ἐκτελεῖ· μεσίτης γὰρ ὁ λόγος ὁ κοινὸς ἀμφοῖν, Θεοῦ μὲν υἱός, σωτὴρ δὲ ἀνθρώπων, καὶ τοῦ μὲν διάκονος, ἡμῶν δὲ παιδαγωγός. Δούλης δὲ οὔσης τῆς σαρκός, καθὼς καὶ ὁ Παῦλος μαρτυρεῖ, πῶς ἄν τις εἰκότως τὴν θεράπαιναν κοσμοίη προαγωγοῦ δίκην; ὅτι γὰρ δούλου μορφὴ τὸ σαρκικόν, ἐπὶ τοῦ Κυρίου φησὶν ὁ ἀπόστολος· ὅτι ἐκένωσεν ἑαυτὸν μορφὴν δούλου λαβών, τὸν ἐκτὸς ἄνθρωπον δοῦλον προσειπὼν πρὶν ἢ δουλεῦσαι καὶ σαρκοφορῆσαι τὸν Κύριον. ὁ δὲ συμπαθὴς θεὸς αὐτὸς ἠλευθέρωσεν τὴν σάρκα τῆς φθορᾶς καὶ δουλείας τῆς θανατηφόρου καὶ πικρᾶς ἀπαλλάξας τὴν ἀφθαρσίαν περιέθηκεν αὐτῇ, ἅγιον τοῦτο τῇ σαρκὶ καὶ ἀιδιότητος καλλώπισμα περιθείς, τὴν ἀθανασίαν. Κλήμης ὁ Ἀλεξανδρεύς, Ὁ Παιδαγωγός, Λογὸς Τρίτος, Κεφ. Α Source: Migne PG 8 556a-557b

It is then, as appears, the greatest of all lessons to know one's self, for if a man knows himself, he will know God, and knowing he will be made like God, not by wearing gold or long robes, but by good works, and by needing very little. God alone needs nothing, and rejoices most when He sees us bright with the adornment of intelligence, and also in him who wears the sacred robe of prudence on his body. Since then the soul consists of three divisions; the intellect, which is called the reasoning faculty and is the inner man which is  ruler of this man that is seen, and that another guides. But the passionate part, being wild, dwells near to insanity, and the third part, appetite, is many-shaped far beyond the sea demon Proteus, who changed himself for one thing to another, and it allures to adulteries, to lust, and to ruin.     'At first he was a lion with ample beard.' 1 While he yet retained the ornament, the hair of the chin showed him to be a man.     'But after that a serpent, a leopard, or a big sow.' Love of ornament has fallen to wantonness. No longer does a man appear as a powerful beast,     'But he became moist water, and a tree with lofty branches.' Passions pour forth, pleasures overflow, beauty fades, and falls quicker than a leaf to the ground, when the amorous storms of lust blow on it before the coming of autumn, and it withers into ruin. For appetite becomes and feigns all things, and wishes to deceive, so as to conceal the man. But that man in whom the Word dwells does not embellish himself, he does not feign; he has the form of the Word; he is made like to God, he is beautiful; he does not add ornaments to himself: his is the true beauty, for it is God; and that man becomes God because God wishes it. Heraclitus, then, rightly said, 'Men are gods, and gods are men.' For the Word Himself is manifest mystery: God in man, and the man God. And the Mediator performs the Father's will, for the Mediator is the Word who is common to both the Son of God, the Saviour of men; His Servant, our Teacher. And the flesh being a slave, as Paul bears witness, how does it seem right that one should adorn the handmaid like a pimp? For that which is of the flesh has the form of a servant, and speaking of the Lord, the Apostle says, 'Because He emptied Himself, taking the form of a servant,' 2 calling the outer man a servant previous to the Lord becoming a servant and wearing flesh. But the compassionate God Himself liberated the flesh from ruin and from the servitude of death and from bitter bondage and endowed it with incorruptibility, arraying the flesh in this, the holy adornment of eternity, immortality. Clement of Alexandria, from The Teacher, Book 3, Ch 1 1 Odyssey 4. 457 2 Philippians 2.7

Beauty And The Field

Ἔγνωκα πάντα τὰ πετεινὰ τοῦ οὐρανοῦ καὶ ὡραιότης ἀγροῦ μετ' ἐμοῦ ἐστιν Ἡ δεξαμένη ἀγαθὴ γῆ, τουτέστιν καρδία ὀρθὴ, τὸν ὑπὸ Ἰησοῦ βαλλόμενον σπόρον, καὶ καρποφορήσασα ἐκατὸν, ἐξήκοντα, τριάκοντα, τὸν πλήρη καὶ ὤριμον καρπὸν ἔχουσα, ὠραιότης ἐστὶν ἀγροῦ, οὐ μακράν οὖσα τοῦ σπορέως. Αὐτὸς γάρ φησιν, Ὠραιότης ἀγροῦ μετ' ἐμου ἐστιν. Δίδυμος Αλεξανδρεύς, Εἰς Ψαλμους, Ψαλμος ΜΘ' Migne PG 39.1392

I know all the birds of heaven and the beauty of the field is mine. 1 The good field is the upright heart that is receptive to being sowed with the seed of Christ, and it gives fruit a hundredfold and sixtyfold and thirtyfold, 2 and it is full of ripe fruits, which is the beauty of the field, which from the sower is not far, and so He says,'The beauty of the field is mine.' Didymus the Blind, Commentary on the Psalms, from Psalm 49 1 Ps 49.11 2 Mt 13.8, Mk 4.8

Nearing The Lord

Appropinquate Deo et appropinquabit vobis. Appropinquate Domino per humilitatem ejus vestigia sectando, et appropinquabit vobis per misericordiam, vos de angustia liberando. Non enim regionibus longe est quisque a Deo, sed affectibus. Namque uno commorantes terrae loco, is qui virtutibus studet, et is qui defluit sordibus vitiorum, longe est a Deo, alius proximum habet Deum. Unde et Psalmista dicit: Prope est Deus omnibus invocantibus eum in veritate. Rursumque: Longe est a peccatoribus salus. Illa utique salus cui canimus: Dominus illuminatio mea et salus mea, quem timebo? Et ipse Dominus, cum nos sibi appropinquare suaderet dicens: Venite ad me, omnes qui laboratis et onerati estis, et ego reficiam vos, continuo quia non hoc pedibus, sed actibus esset implendum demonstravit, cum subdidit: Tollite jugum meum super vos, et discite a me quia mitis sum, et humilis corde. Emundate manus, peccatores, et purificate corda, duplices animo. Hoc est veraciter Domino nos appropinquare, operis videlicet munditiam, et cordis simplicitatem habere. Innocens, inquit, manibus et mundo corde, hic accipiet benedictionem a Domino, et misericordiam. Et hoc est veraciter Dominum appropinquare nobis, suae nobis dona pietatis simpliciter quaerentibus dare. Sanctus enim Spiritus disciplinae effugiet fictum, et auferet se a cognitionibus quae sunt sine intellectu. Sanctus Beda, Super Divi Jacobi Epistolam, Caput IV Source: Migne PL 93 34

Draw near to God and He shall draw near to you. 1 Draw near to the Lord by the humility that adheres to His way, and He shall draw near to you by mercy, liberating you from distress. God is not far from anyone in respect of space, but by condition. For remaining in one place in the earth, one man exerts himself in virtues and one man tumbles into filthy vices, and one is far from God and the other is near God. Whence the Psalmist says, 'God is near to all those who invoke him in truth.' 2 And again, 'Salvation is far from sinners.' 3 That salvation concerning which we sing, 'The Lord my enlightenment and my salvation, whom shall I fear?' 4 And the Lord Himself has encouraged us to draw near to Him, saying, 'Come to me, all you who labour and are burdened, and I shall give you rest.' and immediately, to show that this is fulfilled with deeds and not feet, He adds, 'Take my yoke on you, and learn from me, because I am meek and humble in heart.' 5 Clean your hands, sinners, and purify your hearts, deceitful in soul. This is truly to come near the Lord, to have cleanliness in works and simplicity of heart. It says, 'He who has innocent hands and a clean heart, he shall receive a blessing from God and mercy. 6 And this is truly to bring the Lord near to us, that He give to us who seek sincerely the gifts of His own piety. 'For the Holy Spirit flees the fiction of discipline and He takes himself away from the thoughts of those who are without understanding.' 7 Saint Bede, from the Commentary on the Letter of Saint James, Chapter 4  1 Jam 4.8 2 Ps 144.18 3 Ps 118.155 4 Ps 26.1 5 Mt 11.28-29 6 Ps 25.11? 7 Wis 1.5