Sins And Enemies

Nam multis annis pro suis offensis multis regibus servierunt, et iterum conversi liberati sunt. Sed quid est, quod saepe peccantes in manu hostili traduntur, nisi quod nostra peccata, quando delinquimus, vires hostibus praebent, et quando nos facimus malum in conspectu Domini, tunc confortantur adversarii nostri, id est, daemones, spiritualium nequitiarum virtutes? Sanctus Isidorus Hispalensis, Mysticorum Expositiones Sacramentorum Seu Quaestiones In Vetus Testamentum, In Librum Judicum, Cap I Source: Migne PL 83.379c-d

For many years, for their many wrongs, they were under the power of kings, 1 and again turning from their wrongs they were liberated. But what is this, that sinning often they were given into the hand of the enemy, unless that our sins, when we err, give strength to the enemy, and when we do evil in the sight of the Lord, then our adversaries are strengthened, that is, demons, powers of spiritual iniquity? Saint Isidore of Seville, Expositions of Sacred Mysteries or Questions on the Old Testament, On The Book of Judges, Chap 1 1 Judges 3

Resting The Soul

Ἐπίστρεψον, ψυχή μου, εἰς τὴν ἀνάπαυσιν, κ.τ.ἑ Ἀνάπαυσις τῆς ψυχῆς ἡ τῶν ἁμαρτημάτων ἀποκοπή· κατατείνει γὰρ αὑτὴν ἡ ἁμαρτία, καὶ πάσας αὐτῆς τὰς δυνάμεις συντρίβει. Ὅθεν καὶ τὸ βάπτισμα, ὡς ἀπαλλαγὴν ἁμαρτημάτων ἔχον, ὕδωρ ἀναπαύσεως, ὁ Δαυϊδ προσηγόρευσε. Τὴν ψυχὴν τοίνυν ὡς ἐν ἁμαρτίαις πλανηθεῖσαν ἐπιστρέψαι πρὸς τὴν ἀνάπαυσιν, ἤ διὰ τοῦ βαπτίσματος, ἤ διὰ τῶν δακρύων καὶ τῆς μετανοίας, προτρέπεται.  Ὠριγένης, Εἰς Ψαλμους, Ψαλμος ΡΙΑ' Source: Migne PG 12 1576

Turn, my soul, to your rest...1 The rest of the soul is abstinence from sin; for sin strives against it and crushes down all its virtue. Whence baptism, in which is found deliverance from sin, David names the water of resting. 2 Therefore the soul wandering in sin is exhorted to turn to rest, either by baptism, or by the tears of penitence. Origen, Excerpta On the Psalms, from Psalm 114 1 Ps 114.7 2 Ps 22.2

Impediments And Openings

Φιλήδονος καρδία, εἰρκτὴ καὶ ἄλυσι τῇ ψυχῇ ἐν καιρῷ ἐξόδου· ἡ δὲ φιλόπονος, θύρα ἐστὶν ἀνεῳγμένη. Ἅγιος Μάρκος ὁ Ἐρημίτης, Περὶ Νόμου Πνευματικοῦ Source: Migne PG 65.908

A pleasure loving heart is an imprisonment and a chaining of the soul against the time of its going out; the lover of trial opens the door. Saint Mark The Ascetic, from On The Spiritual Law.

Faith And Reason

Parati semper ad satisfactionem omni poscenti vos rationem... Duobus modis de spe et fide nostra rationem poscentibus reddere debemus, ut et justas spei ac fidei nostrae causas omnibus intimemus sive fideliter sive infideliter quaerentibus, et ipsam fidei ac spei nostrae professionem illibatam semper teneamus, etiam inter pressuras adversantium, ostendentes per patientiam quam rationabiliter eam servandam didicerimus, pro cujus amore nec adversa pati nec mortem subire formidemus. Sancta Beda, In Primam Epistolam Sancti Petri, Caput III Source: Migne PL 93.57a-b

Always be prepared to give satisfactory reason to all who question you... 1 In two ways we should give reason for our faith and hope to those who question us, that we make known the just causes of our hope and faith, whether the questioners be of the faithful or the faithless, and the same profession of our faith and hope we should hold to unshakably even amid adverse pressures, demonstrating by endurance how reasonably we have learned to guard it, for the love of it fearing neither to suffer, nor to undergo death. Saint Bede, from the Commentary on the First Letter of Peter, Chap 3 1 1 Pet 3.15

Blessings And Persecution

Beati persecutionem patiuntur propter justitiam, et reliquia. Perfecta ad postremum eos beatitudine muneratur, quibus omnia pro Christo pati pronus affectus est, quia ipse justitia est. His igitur et regnum reservatur et merces in coelo copiosa promittitur, qui in contemptu saeculi pauperes spiritu et damnis rerum praesentium jacturisque probrosi, et adversus maledicta hominum coelestis justitiae confessores, ac deinceps gloriosi promissorum Dei martyres, omnem vitae usum testimonio aeternitatis ejus impenderint. In Evangelium Matthaei Commentarius, Sanctus Hilarius Pictaviensis, Cap IV Source: Migne PL 9.933b-934a

Blessed are those who suffer persecution for the sake of righteousness...1 Finally He rewards with perfect blessedness those who are willing to suffer all things for Christ, because He is righteousness. For these both the kingdom is reserved and the abundant rewards of heaven are promised, those who in contempt for the world are poor in spirit, and by the loss of present things, and by the taunts of the shameless and in opposition to the abuse of men, are confessors of heavenly righteousness, and then glorious martyrs of God's promises, having given over their life in every way for the witness of His eternity. Saint Hilary of Poitiers, from the Commentary On The Gospel Of Saint Matthew, Chapter 4 1 Mt 5.10

Hated By The World

Nolite mirari, fratres, si odit vos mundus. Mundum dilectores mundi dicit. Nec mirandum quod qui amant mundum fratrem a mundi amore separatum, et coelestibus tantum desideriis intentum, amare non possunt. Abominatio est enim peccatori religio, ut Scriptura testatur Sanctus Beda, In I Epistolam Sancti Joannis Source: Migne PL 93 102c

Do not wonder, brothers, if the world hates you. 1 He speaks of the lovers of the world. One should not wonder that they who love the world are separated from their brothers by the love of the world and they are not able to love those who are intent only on heavenly cares. For religion is an abomination to the sinner, as Scripture testifies. 2 Saint Bede, from the Commentary On The First Letter of Saint John 1 1 Jn 3.13 2 Sirach 1.25

An Abominable People

Καὶ παρέδωκεν αὐτοὺς εἰς χεῖρας ἐχθρῶν, καὶ ἐκυρίευσαν αὐτῶν οἱ μισοῦντες αὐτοὺς. Οὐ παραδίδωσι δὲ Κύριος τὸν λαὸν αὐτοῦ, ἐὰν μὴ πρότερον βδελύξηται αὐτόν· βδελύσσεται δὲ αὐτὸν διὰ τὰς προλελεγμένας πράξεις. Ἐπειδὰν δὲ ὁ Κύριος παραδῷ, τίς οὐ δύναται τῶν αὐτοῦ κυριεύσειν; Καὶ ἔθλιψαν αὐτοὺς οἱ ἐχθροὶ αὐτῶν, καὶ ἐταπεινώθησαν ὑπὸ τὰς χεῖρας αὐτῶν, πλεονάκις ἐῥῥύσατο αὐτούς. Αὐτοὶ δὲ παρεπίκραναν αὐτὸν ἐν τῇ βουλῇ αὐτῶν, καὶ ἐταπεινώθησαν ἐν ταῖς ἀνομίαις αὐτῶν. Αὐτὸς μὲν, φησὶν, ἐῥῥύετο, χρηστὸς ὤν αὐτοῖς καὶ γλυκὺς γενόμνος· οἱ δὲ παρεπίκραναν, πικρὸν ἑαυτοῖς ποιοῦντες αὐτόν· καὶ πάλιν αὐτὸς ἔσωζεν οἶα σωτήρ· οἱ δὲ ἀπώλλυντο, ἔργοις ἀπωλείας ἑαυτοὺς περιπείροντες· καὶ τοῦτο πλεονάκις ἐγίνετο, ἕως οὖ αὐτοὶ ἑαυτοὺς ἐταπείνωσαν ἐν ταῖς αὐτῶν ἀνομίαις. Εὐσέβιος ὁ Καισάρειος, Ὑπομνηματα Ἐις Τους Ψαλμους. Ψαλμος ΡΕ' Source:Migne PG 23.1317b-c

'And He gave them into the hands of their enemies and they ruled over them who hated them.' 1 The Lord does not hand over His people unless they have become an abomination to Him, and they become an abomination to Him by their manifest works. And since the Lord hands them over, who is not able to rule over those who were His? 'And their enemies troubled them and they were humiliated beneath the work of their hands; often He liberated them. And they exasperated him in their counsels and they were cast down in their iniquities.' 2 He indeed liberates them, it says, being kind and gentle to them, but they embitter themselves to Him, making Him bitter to them, but again as a Saviour He saves them, when they are destroyed, pierced by their own ruinous works, and this is frequently the case while they are cast down in their own iniquities. Eusebius of Caesarea, Commentary on the Psalms, from Psalm 105 1 Ps 105. 41-43  2 Ps 105.42-43

Questions And Corrections

Stultas autem questiones, et originum enumerationes, et contentiones, et pugnas Legis devita; sunt enim inutiles et vanae. Stultas has questiones appellat, quae salutis effectum non habent, neque aliquam tribuunt scientiae peritiam ad utilitatem. His verbis multorum haereticorum denotat dogmata. Quamvis omnia, quae vera non sunt, stulta dicenta sint; alius tamen est, qui res fabulosas inducit, et alius qui calliditate tergiversationis rem veneno plenam proponit, ut Arius et Photinus. Fabulosa autem non Lex, sed haeresis est, quantum ad tempus pertinet illiud Judaeorum, dum quidam eorum sibi vindicarent praerogativam originum patriarcharum, quae de matrimoniis ortae sunt, cum ex hoc nullum meritum sit apud Deum. Quidam vero urceorum et caeterorum vasorum baptisam, et sanguinem mustelae magna cura expiandum: et quia ideo Moysis sepultura abscondita est, ne a magis excitaretur, quod si verum esset, et caeterorum sanctorum abscondenda fuerat sepultura: et quia Salomon adjutorio daemoniorum templum aedificavit, in quo opere ingens multitudo laboravit, quid tam fabulosum? Haereticum hominem post primam correptionem devita, sciens perversus est hujusmodi, et delinquit a semetipso damnatus. Haeretici hi sunt, qui per verba Legis Legem impugnant; proprium enim sensum verbis astruunt Legis, ut pravitatem mentis suae Legis auctoritate commendent. Sciens enim impietas auctoritatem Legis multum valere, fallaciam sub nomine ejus componiti ut quia res mala per semetipsam acceptabilis esse non potest, bono nominis commendetur. Idcirco hujusmodi homines ut inexcisabiles sint, semel corripi oportere dicit: frequentius enim correpti, exercitatiores fient in malo. Cogere autem illis videtur, qui saepe corripit; ut sollicitiores fiant ad perditionem multorum: ideo dimittendos, ut negligentiores effecti, soli forte depereant. Ambrosiaster, In Epistolam Beati Pauli Ad Titum, Caput III Source: Migne PL 17.503b-504b

Avoid foolish questions and enumerations of origins and contentions and rows over the Law; they are useless and vain.  1  He calls foolish questions those which have no bearing on the salvation of men, nor bring any understanding useful for knowledge. And with these words the teachings of many heretics are meant. Although indeed everything which is not true is spoken foolishly, another thing is he who introduces fantastical things, and another he who with treacherous cunning proposes something full of poison, as Arius and Photinus did. Fantastical things are not of the Law but heresy is, and this has much bearing on the time of the Jews, when certain ones of them would prove their superiority by their origins from the Patriarchs, and from what marriages they arose, none of which has any merit before God. And concerning the washing of the water pot and other vessels, and the great care to expiate the blood of the weasel, 2 and that the tomb of Moses is unknown, lest by the greater being known, if it were true, the tombs of other holy men would be forsaken, and that Solomon with the help of demons built the temple, in which work a great multitude labored, what is so fantastical? After the first correction avoid the heretical man, knowing that he is perverse and that by his own errors he is condemned. 3 These heretics are they who impugn the Law by the words of the Law, for with words they add to the proper sense, that with the authority of the Law they might promote the depravity of their own minds. For impiety knowing that the authority of the Law is too much to overcome, beneath its name  fashions its lies, that since they are not able to make acceptable their evils by themselves, with its good name they might be commended.Therefore men like this being inexcusable, he says they should be corrected once, for frequent correction will make them more practiced in evil. For he seems to drive them on who frequently corrects, that more anxious they become for the ruin of many, therefore dismissal making them more negligent, perhaps they will ruin themselves alone Ambrosiaster, from the Commentary On The Epistle of Saint Paul To Titus, Chap 3 1 Titus 3.9 2 Lev 11.29 3 Titus 3.10

The Aerians

Aeriani ab Aerio quodam sunt qui, cum esset presbyter, doluisse fertur quod episcopus non potuit ordinari; et in Arianorum haeresim lapsus propria quoque dogmata addidisse nonnulla, dicens offerri pro dormentibus non oportere, nec statua solemniter celebranda esse ieiunia; sed cum quisque voluerit, ieiunandum, ne videatur esse sub lege. Dicebat etiam presbyterum ab episcopo nulla differentia debere discerni. Quidam perhibent istos, sicut Encratitas vel Apotactitas, non admittere ad communionem suam nisi continentes et eos qui saeculo ita renuntiaverint ut propria nulla possideant. Ab esca tamen carnium non eos abstinere dicit Epiphanius; Filaster vero et hanc eis tribuit abstinentiam. Sanctus Augustinus Hipponensis, De Haeresibus ad Quodvultdeum Source: Migne PL 42.39-40

The Aerians are from a certain Aerius, who when he was a priest was grieved that he was not able to ordained a bishop and falling into the Arian heresy added not a few of his own teachings to it, saying that one should not pray for those who sleep, nor should there be solemn periods of fasting, but when a man wishes, so he should fast, lest it seem to be under a law. He even said that no difference should be discerned between priest and bishop. They also hold, like the Encratites and the Apoctactites, that there should be no admission to communion with them unless to the continent and those who have so renounced the world that they possess nothing of their own. Epiphanius does not say that they abstain from meat, however Philastrius does attribute this abstinence to them. Saint Augustine of Hippo, On Heresies, To Quodvultdeus.

The Punishments Of Indiscipline

At contra, Heli, quia filiorum peccata cognovit, sed eos invectione, qua digni erant, acerrima non corripuit, eisdem filiis a Philisthiim, in bello peremptis, ipse quoque de sella retrorsum cecidit, fractisque cervicibus exspiravit. Quin et arca Domini ab hostibus capta est, et prius quidem quatuor millia, deinde triginta millia virorum sunt, Philisthaeo trucidante, prostrata. Et quidem redarguit, et quidem corripuit: sed lenitate et mansuetudine Patris, non severitate, vel auctoritate pontificis: Quare inquit, facitis res hujusmodi quas ego audio, res pessimas, ab omni populo? Nolite, filii mei; non est enim bona fama quam audio. Audierat enim, Scriptura testante, quia dormiebant cum mulieribus quae observabant ad ostium tabernaculi. Porro quos inimicos Dei vidit, in perniciem suam filios recognovit: et quos hostili ferire gladio debuit, paternae blanditiae lenitate palpavit. Non sic ille fidelis in domo Domini famulus Moyses, magister videlicet ingenui Phinees. Stans enim in porta castrorum, ait, Si quis est Domini, jungatur mihi. Congregatique sunt ad eum omnes filii Levi, quibus ait: Haec dicit Dominus Deus Israel: Ponat gladium vir super femur suum: ite, et redite de porta usque ad portam per medium castrorum: et occidat unusquisque fratrem, et proximum, et amicum suum. Caesis itaque viginti tribus millibus hominum, ait Moyses: Consecrastis manus vestras hodie Domino, unusquisque in filio et fratre suo, ut detur vobis benedictio. Plane sicut benedictione digni sunt, qui culpas corrigunt, ita nihilominus maledictioni obnoxii sunt, qui peccantibus blandiuntur, sicut per prophetam dicitur: Maledictus qui prohibet gladium suum a sanguine. A sanguine quippe gladium suum prohibet, qui se ab inferenda reprobis dignae sententiae animadversione coercet. Facti siquidem culpam habet, qui quod potest, negligit emendare. Unde et praefato Heli dicit Dominus: Quare calce abjicitis victimam meam, et munera mea quia praecepti ut offerrentur in templo, et magis honorasti filios tuos quam me? Si ergo Heli propter duos duntaxat filios, quos non ea qua digni erant invectione corripit, eum eis simul, et cum tot hominum multitidune periit,; qua arbitramur dignos esse sententia, qui in aula ecclesiastica, et soliis judicantium praesident, et super non ignotis pravorum hominum criminibus tacent? Qui dum dehonestare homines in publico metuunt, ad contumeliam superni judicis divinae legis mandata confundunt: et dum perditis hominibus amittendi honoris officium servant, ipsum ecclesiasticae dignitatis auctorem crudeliter inhonorant. Unde et eidem Heli, qui Deum, suos filios honorando, contempserat, divina vox ait, Quicunque glorificaverit me, glorificabo eum; qui autem contemnunt me, erunt ignobiles. Ubi mox subditur: Ecce dies veniunt, et praecidam brachium tuum, et brachium domus patris tui. Ac si aperte dicat: Qui ego per pastoralis officii dignitatem contra inimicos meos brachium tibi fortitudinis contuli, sed tu ad eorum ultionem illud exerere noluisti; jam brachium a te praecidam, id est, vigorem tibi scardotalis culminis auferam: ut qui manceps fueras ad pugnandum pro me, jam nec manum habeas ad tuendum te. Ponamus plane, quod Ophni et Phinees, episcopi sint; Heli autem metropolitani vicem teneat: quid ergo deterius quis potest agere, quam si luxuriosis parcet, cum emendare praevaleat? Praesertim cum praefato Heli Dominus dicat: Praedixi ei, quod judicaturus esse domum ejus in aeternum, propter iniquitatem, eo quod noverat indigne agere filios suos, et non corripuerit eos; idcirco juravi domui Heli, quod non expietur iniquitas domus ejus victimis et muneribus, usque in aeternum. Si ergo victimis et muneribus omnia crimina diluuntur, sola autem falsa in episcopis pietas veniam non meretur; videat qui eorum dijudicare mala dissimulat, quam durae sententiae apud districtum judicem se obnoxium reddat. Peter Damianus, De Caelibatu Sacerdotum, Caput II Source: Migne PL 145.383a-384b

But on the contrary, Heli, since he was aware of the sins of his sons but did not correct them with the sharp invective of which they were worthy, with his sons, who were slain in war with the Philistines, he falling backward off his seat and breaking his neck, perished. And then the ark of the Lord was seized by the enemy, with first four thousand and then thirty thousand men slain, being cut down by the Philistines. 1 And yet he did reprove and he did admonish, but only with the lenity and meekness of a father, not with the severity or authority of a high priest. He said, 'Why do you do these things which I hear, the worse things, from all the people. Do not do so, my sons, for it is no good tale which I hear.'  For he heard, Scripture bears witness, that they coupled with the woman who kept watch at the entrance of the tabernacle. 2 Thus he saw those who were enemies of God, and he marked his sons in wickedness, but those against whom he should have borne a hostile sword, he caressed with gentle paternal blandishments. Not so that faithful servant in the house of the Lord, Moses, teacher of the upright Phineas. For standing in the gateway of the camps, he said, 'If someone is of the Lord, let him join with me. And they gathered to him all the sons of Levi, to whom he said, 'This does the Lord of Israel say: Gird your sword upon your thigh and go and return from gate to gate through the midst of the camps and kill every brother and neighbour and friend.'  And thus with the slaying of twenty three thousand men, Moses said: 'Today you have consecrated your hands to the Lord; each one in his son and his brother, that a blessing might be given you.' 3 Obviously they are worthy of a blessing, who correct fault, as they are worthy of a curse who indulge sins, as through the Prophet it is said: 'Cursed is he who withholds his sword from blood.' 4 From blood the sword is certainly withheld by him who restrains himself from the bringing of the words of reproof against those worthy of it. Whence the Lord said to Heli, 'Why now with your heel do you kick away my sacrifice and my gifts which I commanded to be offered in my temple, and you give more honour to your sons than Me?' 5 If therefore Heli who only on account of his two sons, whom he did not correct in those things in which they were worthy of invective, perished, and along with them, a whole multitude of men, what sentence shall we be deemed worthy of, who in the churches, sitting on the thrones of judgement, do not keep silent even over the undisclosed crimes of depraved men? While they who balk at disgracing men in public, confound unto insults the commands of the Divine law of the heavenly judge, and while they protect ruinous men from being expelled from offices of honour, cruelly disgrace the creator of ecclesiastical honour. Whence to that same Heli, who disdained God while honouring his sons, the Divine voice said, 'Whoever shall glorify Me, I will glorify him, and they who spurn me, they will be disgraced. ' And a little after: 'Behold, the days will come when I shall cut off your arm and the arm of the house of your father.' 6 As if He openly should say: Because I have brought my strong arm against enemies to you by the dignity of the pastoral office, but you are unwilling to exert yourself to the punishment of them, now I shall cut off that arm from you, that is, I shall take away from you the life of sacerdotal eminence, that you who were an agent in battle for me, no more shall have that hand for your protection. We shall propose plainly, then, that Ophnis and Phineas, the sons, are bishops, and Heli holds the archbishopric; and what therefore is worse to do, if he spares luxuriating bishops who is able to improve them? Especially when the Lord said concerning Heli, 'I said to him that judgement shall be passed on his house for eternity, because of iniquity, since he knew that his sons acted shamefully and he did not correct them, therefore I swear against the house of Heli, that the iniquity of his house shall not be expiated by sacrifices and gifts even unto eternity.'  7 If therefore sacrifices and gifts all crimes sweep away, and the false piety of bishops shall not merit forgiveness, let him see who dissembles over judgement of evils, what hard sentence shall be returned to the wavering judge who is guilty before Him. Peter Damian, from On The Celibacy of the Clergy, Chapter 2 1 1 Kings 4.1-18 2 1 Kings 2.22-24 3 Exodus 32.26-29 4 Jerem 48.10 5 1 Kings 2.29 6 1 Kings 2.30-31 7 1 Kings 3.13-14

Weights And Measures

Non habebis in sacculo diversa pondera, majus et minus; nec erit in domo tua modius major et minor. Pondus habebus justum, et verum, et modius aequlis erit tibi, et verus, ut multo vivas tempore super terram. Hoc et idem legislator etiam in Levitico interdicit, Salomone quoque parem super hac sententiam proferente: Pondus magnum, et pusillum, et mensurae duplices, immunda sunt utraque ante Dominum, et qui facit ea, in adinventionibus suis compedietur. Proinde non solum illo corporali, sed etiam spirituali modo studendum est nobis, ut nec diversa pondera in cordibus nostris, nec in domo conscientiae nostrae mensuras duplices habeamus, id est, ne ipsi ea quae districtionis regulam molliunt remissiore indulgentia praesumentes, eos quibus verbum Dei praedicamus, districtioribus praeceptis et gravioribus quam ipsi perferre possumus obruamus ponderibus. Quod eum facimus, quid nisi diverso pondere atque mensura praeceptorum Domini mercedem frugemque vel appendimus, vel metimur? Si enim aliter ea nobis, aliter fratribus nostris dispensemus, recte increpamur a Domino, eo quod stateras diversas aut mensuras duplices habeamus, secundum illam sententiam Salominis qua dicitur: Abominatio est Domino pondus duplex, et statera dolosa non est bonum in conspectu ejus. Sanctus Isidorus Hispalensis,Mysticorum Expositiones Sacramentorum Seu Quaestiones In Vetus Testamentum, In Deuteronomium Caput XII Source: Migne PL 83.364a-c

You shall not have in your bag two weights, greater and lesser, nor shall there be in your house a measure greater and less. You shall have a fair weight, and true, and your measure shall be equitable and true, that you shall live long on the earth. 1 This also the legislator in Leviticus prohibits. 2 Solomon also offers a sentence of fairness: 'The great weight and the little one, deceitful measures, are both unclean before the Lord, and also the one who uses them,' 3 for he will be caught in his own contrivances. And this should not only be grasped by us in a corporeal manner but also spiritually, so that we do not have diverse weights in our hearts, nor in our consciences duplicitous measures, that is, lest taking up for ourselves those things that with gentle indulgence soften a hard rule, those to whom we preach the word of God we overwhelm with the weight of hard and heavy precepts, which we are not able to bear. And why do we do this, unless with a different weight and measure we add to or estimate the rewards and the fruit of the commandments of the Lord? If we deal with ourselves one way and our brothers in another way, we are justly denounced by the Lord, having different weights and deceitful measures, according to which Solomon says, 'A deceitful weight is an abomination to the Lord and the unfair balance is not good in His sight.' 2 Saint Isidore of Seville, Expositions of Sacred Mysteries or Questions on the Old Testament, On Deuteronomy, Chap 12 1 Deut 25.13-15 2 Levit 19.35-36 3 Prov 20.10 4 Prov 20. 23

Errant Clergy

Qui vero crediti quidem sunt a multis esse presbyteri, serviunt autem suis voluptatibus, et non praeponunt timorem Dei in cordibus suis, sed contumelis agunt reliquos, et principalis concessionis tumore elati sunt, et in absconsis agunt mala, et dicunt. 'Nemo vos videt'  redarguentur a Verbo, qui non secundum gloriam judicat, neque faciem attendit, sed in cor: et audient eas quae sunt a Daniele propheta voces: Semen Chanaan, et non Juda, species seduxit te, et concupiscentia evertit cor tuum; inveterate dierum malorum, nunc advenerunt peccata tua quae faciebas ante, judicans judicia injusta: et innocentes quidem damnabas, dimittebas vero nocentes, dicente Domino: Innocentem et justum non occides. De quibus dixit et Dominus: Si autem dixerit malus servus in corde suo: Tardat dominus meus, et incipiat caedere servos et ancillas, et manducare, et bibere, et inebriari; veniet dominus servi illius in die qua nescit, et hora qua non sperat, et dividet eum, et partem ejus cum infidelibus ponet. Sanctus Ireneaus Lugdunensis, Adversus Haereses, Lib IV Cap XXVI Source: Migne PG 7.1054b-c

Those, however, who are believed by many to be presbyters, but attend to their own pleasures, and do not place the fear of God highest in their hearts, but conduct themselves with contempt towards others, and are puffed up being raised to the chief place, and do evil in secret, saying, 'No one sees us,' 1 shall be convicted by the Word, who does not judge according to outward glory, nor looks upon the countenance, but into the heart; and they shall hear these words, which are spoken by Daniel the prophet: 'O you seed of Canaan, and not of Judah, beauty has deceived you and lust has perverted your heart.' 2 And: 'You have grown old amid wicked days and now your sins have come before you; for you have judged unjustly and have condemned the innocent, and let the guilty go free, though the Lord says: You shall not slay the innocent and the righteous.' 3 Concerning which the Lord said: 'But if the wicked servant shall say in his heart: My lord delays in His coming, and he begins to beat the servants and handmaids, and to eat and drink and be drunken; the Lord of that servant will come for him on a day he does not know, and in an hour that he is not aware of, and He shall separate him and appoint his portion with the faithless.' 4   Saint Ireneaus of Lyons, Against Heresies, Book 4, Ch 26 1 Dan 13.20 2 Dan 13.56 3 Dan 13.52-53 4 Mt 24.48

A Bishop Counselled

Litteris vestrae beatitudinis acceptis  satis me laetificavit facies illarum,et sensus omnia gaudiis perfundit viscera, nisi tantum infirmitas vestra meas perturbavit venas. Sed iuxta Apostolum infirmitas corporis fortitudo est animi: gaudeat filius, ut erudiatur a patre. Aurum examinatur in fornace, ut purior splendescat ex flammis; et homo in dolore corporis excoquitur, ut purior exsiliat anima de ergastulo carceris sui. Placeat tibi castigatio paterna, quia flagella patris proficiunt ad salutem. Pauci sunt dies laboris: et perpetuae mercedis. Idcirco instanter laboret lingua in praedicationibus, manus in eleemosynis, pes in circuendo gregem Christi. Animus vigilet in orationibus, et in psalmodiis solidetur, et in laude Dei laetificetur. Quod semper erit acturus homo in coelis, hic saepius agat in terris. Sacrificium laudis honorificavit me, dicit Deus per Prophetam, illic iter est, quo ostendam illi salutare Dei. Sit humilitas in corde et in corpore; sit patientia in moribus et verbis; sit servus Domini fervens in mente; sit pax in ore, et in corde charitas; et semper suavia verba misceantur durioribus, quia facilius durum cor penetrant mollia verba quam amara. Sit discretio quid cui conveniat tempori, personae, aetati et operi. Sit lectio crebra, et jejunia sobria et convivia modesta, et honor hospitym, et ordinatio pauperum, et cura familiae, et diligentia in populo. Quid agam, et quid est quod scribo, nisi quia charitas tacere nescit, et quoddam refrigerium est verbis proferre, in quo mens inflammatur? Et scio te rusticitatem meam patienter ferre, et familiaritatis litterulas non abhorrescere. Ideo non erubesco prius dicta rescribere, et iterare quae ante direxi. Etsi immemor sim quid prius scripserim, non tamen immemor sum charitatis aeternae. Nunc velim te properare in patriam et ordinare puerorum lectiones, quis grammaticam discat, quis epistolas et parvos libellos legat, quis sanctam Scripturam sobria mente haurire dignus sit. Tu vere, sancte Pater, evangelicis maxime studeas lectionibus, et canonicis sanctarum Scripturarum inservire eruditionibus, quia te decet meditatio divinae legis, ut dicatur de te: In lege Domini meditabitur die ac nocte, ut fructus tuus vigeat in aeternum, et omnia quaecunque facias prospera tibi sint ad salutem. Et memor mei valeto, sanctissime Pater. Alcuinus, Epistola CLXXX, Ad Quemdam Episcopum Source: Migne PL 100.451a-452b

Having received the letters of your blessedness, the appearance of which was enough to delight me and their every sense poured joy into my interior, were it only that your sickness troubled my veins. But according to the Apostle the infirmity of the body is the strength of the soul, so let a son rejoice that he is instructed by a father. Gold is examined in the fire that it might shine more purely drawn from the flames, 1 and man is tormented in the pains of the body that purer he may go out from the chains of his prison. May paternal reproof be pleasing to you, because the whip of the father profits for salvation. Few are the days of labour and eternal the reward. Therefore let the tongue labour urgently in preaching, the hand in alms giving, the foot in visitations of the flock of Christ. Let the soul be watchful in prayer and strengthened in psalmody, and let it take joy in the praise of God. Because what a man will always be doing in heaven, let him do often here on earth. 'With a sacrifice of praise he has honoured me,' says God through the Prophet, 'whence is the way by which I shall show to him the salvation of God.' 2 Let there be humility in the heart and in body, let there be patience in conduct and words, let a man be a zealous servant of the Lord in his mind, and let peace be in his mouth, and love in his heart, and always let sweet words be mixed with those more severe, because more easily is the hard heart pierced by soft words than bitter ones. Let there be discretion appropriate to the time and the person and the age and the work. Let reading be abundant, fasting sensible and feasting modest. Let honor be given to guests and arrangement made for the poor, and care had for families, and love given to the people. What do I do and why do I write but that love knows not how to be silent and a certain relief is given in words by which the mind burns? I know you bear patiently with my rusticity and you do not abhor the little communications of friends. Therefore I do not blush to write again what I have said before, and to repeat again what I have directed. Even if I were forgetful of what I had written, I am not however forgetful of eternal love. And now I wish you to make haste to your inheritance and to the arranging of reading for boys, who may learn their grammar, who may read the little works, who may be worthy to draw with sober mind from the Holy Scriptures. You, however, holy father, exert yourself greatly in the reading of the Gospel and take care to be learned in the precepts of Holy Scripture because meditation of the Divine Law befits you, so that it may be said of you: 'On the law of the Lord he shall meditate day and night,' 3 that your fruit might flourish in eternity and all that you do prosper for your salvation. And may the memory of me strengthen you, most blessed father. Alcuin of York, from Letter 180, to a certain Bishop 1 Prov 27.21 2 Ps 49.23 3 Ps 1.2

Discord And Union

Quia autem nil sine concordia Deo placeat. Ipsa per se Veritas demonstrat, dicens: Si offers munus tuum ad altare, et ibi recordatus fueris quia frater tuus habet aliquid adversum te, relinque ibi munus tuum ad altare, et vade prius reconciliari fratri tuo, et tunc veniens offeres munus tuum. Ecce a discordantibus accipere non vult sacrificium, holocaustum suscipere recusat. Hinc ergo perpendite, quantum sit malum discordiae, propter quod et illud abjicitur, per quod culpa laxatur. Quia vero electi semper in charitate conjuncti sunt, et haec eadem eorum charitas sonum laudis reddit auctori, malignis vero spiritibus, id est antiquis suis hostibus poenam incutit timoris. Sanctus Gregorius Magnus, In Ezechielem Prophetam, Liber Primus, Homilia VIII Source: Migne PL 76.858b-c

For nothing that lacks harmony is pleasing to God. So the Truth Himself demonstrates to us, saying, 'If you bring your gift to the altar and there you remember that your brother has something against you, leave your gift there and go be reconciled to your brother, and then come and offer your gift.' 1 Behold, from those in dispute He will not accept sacrifice, and He refuses a holocaust. Whence, therefore, attend to how great may be the evil of discord, on account of which one is spurned, by which fault is increased. The elect, then, are ever joined in love and this same love of theirs is a song of praise given to the Creator, but against wicked spirits, that is, His old enemies, it strikes a fearful blow. Saint Gregory the Great, On the Prophet Ezekiel, Book 1, from Homily 8 1 Mt 5.23-24

The Love Of The Lord

Ἠγάπησα ὅτι εἰσακούσεται Κύριος τῆς φωνῆς τῆς δεήσεώς μου, ὅτι ἔκλινεν τὸ οὖς αὐτοῦ ἐμοί καὶ ἐν ταῖς ἡμέραις μου ἐπικαλέσομαι Ὁ πάλαι φοβούμενος τὸν Κύριον, ἥδη προκόψας ἀπὸ τοῦ φόβου, καὶ μεταβὰς ἐπὶ τὴν αγάπην τοῦ Θεοῦ, εἰποι ἂν Ἠγάπησα· τίνα δὲ, ἢ δηλαδὴ Κύριον τὸν Θεὸν ἐξ ὅλης καρδίας, καὶ δυνάμεως καὶ ψυχῆς, ὥστε ἔνεκεν αὐτοῦ καὶ μέχρι θανάτου ἀγωνίζεσθαι ὑπὲρ ἀληθείας, πάντα τε ὑπομεῖναι πειρασμὸν, καὶ πάντα κινδυνον ὑποστῆναι προθύπως διὰ τὴν πρὸς Θεὸν ἀγάπην; Περιέσχον με ὠδῖνες θανάτου κίνδυνοι ᾅδου εὕροσάν με θλῖψιν καὶ ὀδύνην εὗρον καὶ τὸ ὄνομα Κυρίου ἐπεκαλεσάμην ὦ Κύριε ῥῦσαι τὴν ψυχήν μου ἐλεήμων ὁ Κύριος καὶ δίκαιος καὶ ὁ θεὸς ἡμῶν ἐλεᾷ φυλάσσων τὰ νήπια ὁ Κύριος ἐταπεινώθην καὶ ἔσωσέν με ἐπίστρεψον ἡ ψυχή μου εἰς τὴν ἀνάπαυσίν σου ὅτι Κύριος εὐηργέτησέν σε ὅτι ἐξείλατο τὴν ψυχήν μου ἐκ θανάτου τοὺς ὀφθαλμούς μου ἀπὸ δακρύων καὶ τοὺς πόδας μου ἀπὸ ὀλισθήματος.   Πάντα γὰρ ταῦτα, φησὶ, διὰ τὸν Θεὸν ὑπομείνας ἠγάπησα. Οὐ γὰρ παρὰ προαίρεσιν, οὔτε φεύγων, προθύμως δὲ ἐμαυτὸν τούτοις ἄπασιν ἐπιδιδοὺς, ἔστερξα διὰ τὴν πρὸς τὸν Θεὸν ἀγάπην· ὡς δύνασθαι λέγειν· Ἕνεκέν σου θανατούμεθα ὅλην τὴν ἡμέραν. Πάντα γὰρ ταῦτα ἠγάπησα διὰ τὸν Κύριον, καὶ ἀγαπήσας τὸ ὄνομα Κυρίου ἐπεκαλεσάμην. Εὐσέβιος ὁ Καισάρειος, Ὑπομνηματα Ἐις Τους Ψαλμους. Ψαλμος ΡΙΔ' Source: Migne PG 23.1358b-d

'I loved because the Lord listened to the voice of my prayer, for He inclined His ear to me in the days when I called upon Him.' 1 He who once feared the Lord, now advances from fear and passes over to the love of God, whence rightly it is said, 'I loved', and certainly who, if not with that love for the Lord God which is from a whole heart, and which is with all strength and soul on account of Him, 2 even to death struggles for truth and endures trials, or eagerly undergoes any danger?   The sorrows of death surrounded me the peril of hell came upon me. Tribulation and grief found me, and I invoked the name of the Lord. O Lord, free my soul, merciful and just is the Lord, and our God is compassionate. The Lord guards his little ones, and I was humbled, and He saved me. Turn, my soul, to your rest, because the Lord has blessed you. Because He has seized my soul from death, my eyes from tears, my feet from falling. 3 All these things, he says, he has suffered for the love of God. 'Not by choice, nor in flight, but eagerly giving myself to all of them, loving on account of the love of God, that thus it be possible to say, 'On account of you we die every day.' 4 For all these things I loved on account of the Lord, and in love I invoked the name of the Lord.' Eusebius of Caesarea, Commentary on the Psalms, from Psalm 114  1 Ps 114.1-2 2 Deut 6.5, Mt 22.37 3 Ps 114.3-8  4 Ps 43.22

Perfecting Love

...Et charitas ejus in nobis perfecta est. Quaerendum autem quomodo dicat perfectionem divinae charitatis in mutua dilectione consistere, cum Dominus in Evangelio pronuntiet non esse magnum si diligamus eos qui nos diligunt, nisi ad inimicos etiam, de quibus hic penitus tacere videtur, eadem dilectio pertingat? Nisi forte ipsos quoque inimicos fraterni amoris intuitu diligere debeamus, videlicet, ut non semper inimici remaneant, sed resipiscant a diaboli laqueis, nobisque germano foedere socientur. Si diligamus, inquit, invicem, Deus in nobis manet, et charitas ejus in nobis perfecta est. Incipe diligere, perficieris. Coepisti diligere, coepit Deus in te habitare, ut perfectius habitando faciat te perfectum. Sanctus Beda, In Primam Epistolam Sancti Joannis Source: Migne PL 93.110a

...And His love is perfected in us. 1 It must be asked how he might say that the perfection of love consists of mutual love when the Lord in the Gospel declares that it is not a great thing if we love those who love us, 2 but that it is only to be found in love of enemies, concerning which here there seems to be silence? Unless perhaps it is that by our experience of fraternal love we should love our enemies, that is, that they not remain always enemies, but withdrawing from the snares of the devil, be bound to us as with a brotherly bond. If we love, he says, one another, God remains in us, and His love is perfected in us. Begin to love, you shall be perfected. You begin to love, God begins to dwell in you, that dwelling in you more perfectly He may make you perfect. Saint Bede, from the Commentary On The First Letter of Saint John 1 1 Jn 4.12 2 Mt 5.46-48

Avoiding Discord

Dixit ergo Abram ad Lot: Ne, quaeso, sit  jurgium inter me et te, et inter pastores meos et pastores tuos, fratres enim sumus. Ecce universa terra coram te est; recede a me, obsecro. Si ad sinistram ieris, ego dexteram tenebo; si tu dexteram elegeris, ego ad sinistram pergam.   Typice autem beatus Abram discordiam pastorum suorum ac pastorum Lot vitare cupiens, et ob hoc secessum abinvincem eligens, nos ad admonet ut nihil charitati et concordiae praeponamus, sed semper parati simus, sive per prospera, quod dextra significat, sive per adversa, quae per sinistram exprimuntur, in pace et dilectione perseverare. Rabanus Maurus, In Genesim Libri Quatour, Liber II, Cap XIV Source: Migne PL 107.536b

Therefore Abram said to Lot: Let there not be strife between me and you and between my shepherds and your shepherds, for we are brothers. Behold all the world is before you, withdraw from me, I beg. If you go to the left, I shall hold to the right; if you chose the right, I shall take the left.' 1   Figuratively the blessed Abram desiring to avoid discord between his shepherds and the shepherds of Lot, and the choosing of separation between them, admonishes us not to prefer anything before love and harmony, that we should always be prepared, whether for prosperity, which the right hand signifies, or for adversity, which the left expresses, to persevere in peace and love. Rabanus Maurus, from the Commentary On Genesis, Book 2, Chap 14 1 Gen 13.8-9

Impossible Mixings

Περὶ ἀμίκτων, καὶ τῶν ἀκοινωνήτως ἐχόντων πρὸς ἄλληλα. Τί τὸ ἄχυρον πρὸς τὸν σῖτον; Τί κοινωνήσει λύκος ἀμνῷ; οὕτως ἁμαρτωλὸς πρὸς εὐσεβῆ. Τί κοινωνήσει χύτρα πρὸς λέβητα; αὕτη προσκρούσει, αὕτη συντριβήσεται. Οὐ δύνασθε τραπέζης Κυρίου μετέχειν, καὶ τραπέζης δαιμονίων. Τίς μετοχὴ δικαιοσύνης καὶ ἀνομίας; ἢ τίς κοινωνία φωτὶ πρὸς σκότος; τίς δὲ συμφώνησις Χριστῷ πρὸς Βελίαρ; ἢ τίς μερὶς πιστῷ μετὰ ἀπίστου; τίς δὲ συγκατάθεσις ναῷ Θεοῦ μετὰ εἰδώλων;  Ἄμικτος ἡ τοῦ ἐλεήμονος καὶ τοῦ ἀπηνοῦς ἐναντίωσις. Οὐχ ὑπομένει τὸ σκότος τὴν τοῦ φωτὸς παρουσίαν·οὐ νόσος ὑγείας ἐπιλαβούσης ἵσταται· οὐκ ἐνεργεῖ τὰ πάθη τῆς ἀπαθείας παρούσης· φροῦδος ὁ θάνατος, ἀφανὴς ἡ φθορὰ, ὅταν ἐν ἡμῖν βασιλεύῃ ἡ ζωὴ, καὶ ἡ ἀφθαρσία τὸ κράτος ἔχῃ. Γενηθήτω ἐν ἐμοὶ τὸ θέλημά σου, ἵνα σβεσθῇ τοῦ διαβόλου τὸ θέλημα. Ὥσπερ γὰρ ἐν τοῖς ζοφώδεσι τῶν σπηλαίων, φωτὸς εἰσκομισθέντος, ὁ ζόφος ἐξαφανίζεται, οὕτως τοῦ σοῦ θελήματος ἐν ἐμοὶ γενομένου, πᾶσα πονηρὰ καὶ ἄτοπος τῆς προαιρέσεως κίνησις εἰς τὸ μὴ ὂν περιίσταται.   Ἡδονὴ οὐ παραδέχεται πόνον, οὐδὲ λύπη χαρὰν, οὐδὲ κατήφεια εὐφροσύνην, οὐδὲ αὖ πάλιν πόνος δυναστεύων ἡδονὴν προσίεται, οὐδὲ κρατοῦσα λύπη ἔχει χαρὰν παρεζευγμένην, οὐδὲ κατηφείᾳ ἐγκέκραται εὐφροσύνη. Ἀνεπιπλόκως γὰρ ἔχει πρὸς ἄλληλα τὰ ἐναντία πάθη, καὶ οὐκ ἂν εἰς ταυτὸν ἔλθοι ποτέ· οὐδὲ ὁμηρεύσει ποτὲ πρὸς φιλικὴν κοινωνίαν, διὰ τὴν ἐκ φύσεως ἄσπονδον ἔχθραν καὶ ἀλλοτρίωσιν.   Ἀμήχανον συνυπάρχειν τὴν πρὸς τὸν κόσμον ἀγάπην τῇ πρὸς τὸν Θεὸν ἀγάπῃ, ὡς ἀμήχανον συνυπάρχειν ἀλλήλοις φῶς καὶ σκότος Άγιος Ιωάννης ο Δαμασκηνός, Τὰ Ιἐρα Παραλληλα, Στοικειον Α'  Τιτλ ΝΑʹ.  Source: Migne PG 95 1257d-1260c

Concerning things which cannot be mixed, nor have anything in common. What has chaff to do with wheat? 1 What does the wolf have in common with the lamb? So it is with the righteous man and the sinner. What does a kettle have in common with a pot? If one strikes, the other will be smashed. 2 You cannot partake of the table of the Lord and the table of demons. What do righteousness and iniquity share? Or what do light and darkness have in common? What pact has Christ with the devil? Or what portion have the faithful with unfaithful? Or what agreement has the temple of God with idols? 3 Mercy and cruelty are opposites, that cannot be mixed. 4 The presence of light cannot tolerate evil. With the coming of sickness health no longer remains. Distress is not able to exist in tranquility. Death is not present and corruption is unseen, when life reigns is us and incorruption rules. 5 May your will be done in me, that the will of Satan is extinguished. For as in a dark cave, when a light is lit, darkness cannot remain, so if your will is done in me, every disordered and wicked impulse of my will shall be cast out into nothingness. 6   Pleasure admits no toil, nor joy grief, nor sorrow delight, nor again does toil have any connection with pleasure, nor grief with joy, nor delight with sorrow. For the effects of opposites have this reason, that they are not able to be be brought together in the least, nor may they ever be brought into amicable association on account of the implacable hostility that they have for one another in their nature. 7 It is not possible that love of the world coexist with the love of God, just as it is not possible that light and darkness tolerate one another. 8   Saint John of Damascus, Sacred Parallels, Part 1, Chap 51 1 Jerem 23.28 2 Sirach 13. 3,21 3 1 Cor 10.21, 2 Cor 6.14-16 4 Greg Nyssa On the Fifth Beatitude 5 Greg Nyssa On the Lord's Prayer 3 6 Greg Nyssa On The Lord's Prayer 5 7 Nilus 8 Philo

Uncovering A Leper

Καὶ ὁ λεπρὸς, ἐν ᾧ ἐστιν ἀφὴ, τὰ ἱμάτια αὐτοῦ ἔσται παραλελυμένα, καὶ ἡ κεφαλὴ αὐτοῦ ἀκάλυπτος. Διατί τοῦ λεπροῦ ἀκάλυπτον εἶναι κελεύει τὴν κεφαλὴν, καὶ τὰ ἱμάτια παραλελυμένα; Ἵνα γνωριστὸς ᾖ, καὶ μὴ μεταλαγχάνωσι τῆς ἀκαθαρσίας οἱ προσπελάζοντες. Οὕτως ὁ Ἀπόστολος περὶ τῶν ἁμαρτανόντων ἔφη· Στέλλεσθε ὑμᾶς ἀπὸ παντὸς ἀδελφοῦ ἀτάκτως περιπατοῦντος, καὶ μὴ κατὰ τὴν παράδοσιν, ἣν παρελάβετε παρ' ἡμῶν· καὶ Ἐάν τις ἀδελφὸς ὀνομαζόμενος, ἢ πόρνος, ἢ πλεονέκτης, ἢ εἰδωλολάτρης, ἢ μέθυσος, ἢ λοίδορος, ἢ ἅρπαξ· τῷ τοιούτῳ μὴ συνεσθίειν Ὠριγένης, Εκλογαι Εἰς  ἐν τον Λευϊτικον Source: Migne PG 17.20a-b

And the leper, he who is touched by the disease, his vestments you shall remove and his head uncover. 1 Why is it commanded that the head of the leper be uncovered and his vestments be removed? That it be known whether they who draw near to him will participate in uncleanliness. So the Apostle says, 'Withdraw yourselves from every brother who walks in disorder and not according to the tradition which you have received from us.' 2 And again, 'If someone who is named a brother is a fornicator or avaricious or an idolator or a drunkard, or a reviler, or a thief, do not eat with him.' 3  Origen, Fragment on Leviticus 1 Lev 13.45 2 2 Thess 3.6 3 1 Cor 5.11

The Golden Statue

Quid per statuam auream intelligendum est, quam fecit Nabochodonosor rex Per regem illum et per statuam intellegimus omnes haereticos, qui fulgore eloquentiae saecularis falsum dogma componunt. Petrus Archidiaconus  Liber De Diversis Quaestiunculis, Questiones In Danielem  Source:  Migne PL 96 1349

What is to be understood by the golden statue that was made by king Nebuchadnezzar? 1 By that king and statue we understand all heretics who amid the blaze of worldly eloquence fashion their false teachings. Peter of Pisa, The Book of Diverse Questions, Questions on Daniel 1 Dan 3.1

Speakers Of Vanities

Τοὺς ἐγγαστριμύθους, καὶ τοὺς ἀπὸ τῆς γῆς φωνοῦντας, τοὺς κενολογοῦντας, καθώς φησιν ἡ Γραφὴ φευκτέον ἡμῖν· πᾶς γὰρ κεκωλυμένος, καὶ ψευδὴς λόγος, κενός ἐστιν ἀληθείας. Βλέπε, τί φασιν ἐν τῷ Εὐαγγελίῳ, ὅτι Ἐκ τοῦ πληρώματος τοῦ Θεοῦ ἐλάβομεν. Οἱ δέ γε κενολογοῦντες αἱρετικοὶ οὐκ ἔχουσι λόγους ἐκ πληρώματος, πάντας δὲ κενοὺς τῆς ἀληθείας, καὶ κενοὺς τῆς θείας δυνάμεως, καὶ σοφίας. Οἴτινες ἐκ τῆς κοιλίας φωνοῦσιν· οἱ γὰρ μὴ ἔχοντες μὲν τὴν ἀλήθειαν ἐπαγγελλόμενοι δὲ ταύτην, δῆλον ὅτι ἐκ κοιλίας φωνοῦσι, τῇ ἑαυτῶν κοιλίᾳ δουλεύοντες, ὧν Θεὸς ἡ κοιλία λελόγισται. Ἡ γὰρ πηγὴ τῶν λόγων τῶν γαστριμάργων οὐκ ἐξ ἁγίου προέρχεται Πνεύματος, οὐκ ἀπὸ ἡγεμονικοῦ, οὐκ ἀπὸ τῆς καρδίας τῆς τὸν Χριστὸν ποθούσης, ἀλλ' ἀπὸ κοιλίας ἐκβλύζεται. Ἅγιος Νειλος, Βιβλιον Πρῶτον, Ἐπιστολὴ ΣΝϚ' , Πελαγιῳ Source: Migne PG 79.178a-b

They who speak from their stomachs and they who cry out from the earth, are the speakers of vanities, and as it says in Scripture, 'Flee them,' 1 for every forbidden and lying word is empty of truth. See what it says in the Gospel: 'From the fullness of God we have received.' 2 He who has the vain words of heretics does not have the words of fulness but is empty of every truth and Divine power and wisdom. They who cry out from their stomachs are they who do not possess the truth but what they declare is clear in the yelping of their bellies, for they are slaves of the same, as it is said, 'Their God is their stomach.' 3 For the fount of the words of those who speak from their stomachs does not proceed forth from the Holy Spirit, nor from the highest part of a man, nor from the heart desiring Christ, but they belch forth from their lower parts. Saint Nilus of Sinai, Book 1, Letter 256 To Pelagius 1 Lev 19.31 2 Jn 1.16 3 Phillip 3.19

The World Hears Them

Et mundus eos audit. Quia spiritualium corda ad mundanos carnalesque sensus revocare a fidei simplicitate non valent. Sed et catholici quicunque audientes illam Domini sententiam: Diligite inimicos vestros, benefacite his qui oderunt vos, et orate pro persequentibus et calumniatibus vos; et iterum: Si dimiseritis hominibus peccata eorum, dimittet et vobis Pater vester coelestis delicta vestra, si non dimiseritis hominibus, nec Pater vester dimittet vobis peccata vestra, dicunt se nullatenus suas injurias posse dimittere inultas: hi nimirum de mundo esse, et ideo de mundo loqui convincuntur. Et quia charitatis viscera non habent, frustra fidei intemerata mysteria servant. Sed nec Antichristi nomine possunt carere, qui Christi mandatis probantur adversari. Sanctus Beda, In Primam Epistolam Sancti Joannis, Caput IV Source: Migne PL 93.107b-c

And the world hears them. 1  Since spiritual hearts are not able to be called away from the simplicity of faith to mundane and carnal things. But even Catholics hearing that teaching of the Lord: 'Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, and pray for your persecutors and those who calumniate you'; 2 and again, 'If you forgive men their sins, your Father in heaven shall forgive you yours and if you do not forgive men, nor shall your Father forgive you your sins,' 3 who then say to themselves that not all injuries can be forgiven without punishment, these are without doubt from the world, and therefore they are convicted of speaking from the world. And because they do not have the depths of charity, vainly do they observe the pure mysteries of the faith. For they are not able to be cleared of the name of Antichrist, who are proved to be enemies of the commandments of Christ. Saint Bede, from the Commentary On The First Letter of Saint John, Chap 4 1 1 Jn 4.5 2 Mt 5.44 3 Mt 6.14-15

The Words Of Fools

Initium verborum ejus insipientia, et novissimum oris ejus error pessimus. Et stultus multiplicat verba. Ignorat homo quid sit, quod factum est: et quod futurum est post eum, quis annuntiabit ei? Adhuc ei de stulto disputatio est, cujus labia praecipitant sapientem, sive juxta aliam interpretationem, stultum ipsum corruere faciunt. Initium enim sermonis ejus et finis stultitia est error pessimus; sive, ut Symmachus transtulit, tumultus, et quaedam verborum inconstantia; dum non manet in sententia, sed putat in multiplicatione sermonum effugere se posse peccatum. Cum enim nec praeteritorum meminerit, nec futura cognoscat, et in ignorantia et tenebris volutetur, falsam sibi scientiam repromittens; in eo doctum, in eo se putat esse sapientem, si verba multiplicet. Potest hoc et de haereticis accipi, qui prudentium virorum dicta non capiunt; sed se ad disputationes contrarias praeparantes, et initium et finem loquendi vanitate, tumultu, errore convolvunt: et cum nihil sicant, loquuntur plura quam norunt. Sanctus Hieronymous, Commentarius Ecclesiasten, Cap X Source: Migne PL 23 1152b-d

The beginning of his words is foolishness and the end of his speech is the worst error. A fool multiplies words. A man is ignorant of what is, what has been, and who can tell him what will be after him? 1 There is yet debate concerning this fool, whose lips cast down wisdom, 2 whether, according to another translation, they make the ruin of the fool himself, 'The beginning of his speech and the end is foolishness, the worst error,' or as Symmachus translates, 'the disorder' is a certain inconstancy of words, when he does not stand in reason, but thinks that in the multiplication of words he will be able to escape from fault. For indeed when he does not remember what has come before, nor does he know the future, he tumbles about in ignorance and darkness, taking himself to false wisdom, in which he is educated, in which he thinks himself wise if he heaps up words. It is possible to understand this of heretics, who do not grasp the sayings of the wise but are ever prepared for contentious disputes, and the beginning and end of their speech is embroiled in vanity, confusion and error, and knowing nothing they yet speak the many things which they have learned. Saint Jerome, from the Commentary on Ecclesiastes, Chap 10 1 Eccles 10.13-14 2 Eccles 10.12

Evaluating Offerings

Concluso ergo illo et convicto Cain crimine, aliud oblationis vitium discutiamus. Obtulit, inquit, ex fructibus terrae, non a primis fructibus primitias Deo. Hoc est primitias sibi prius vindicare: Deo autem sequentia deferre. Itaque cum vere anima corpori tamquam servo domina sit praeferenda, utique primitias ejus, hoc est, animae prius quam corporis offerre debemus. Primitiae animae primatus sunt bonarum disciplinarum. Quae licet tempore posteriores sint, quam corporis primitiae, quae sunt esca, incrementum, visus, auditus, et tactus, odor, vox (mens autem et sensus pars animae) pars corporis, tamen prioris sunt disciplinis. Quarum primitiva est pure corde et simplici sermone oblata Deo gratiarum actio. Haec munera obtulit Abel, et ideo respexit Deus in munera ejus, quoniam e primitivis obtulit. Accedit ergo quia de primitivis ovium, et de adipibus earum. Considera quia non de insensibilibus, sed de animantibus obtulit. Plus est enim animalis, quam terrenus; siquidem animalis proximus spiritali est. Non enim prius quod spiritale est, sed quod animale, deinde quod spiritale. Quod animale spirat, habet vitalem spiritum: non ita quod de terrarum est fructibus. Deinde obtulit non secunda, sed prima; non exigua, sed pinguia:. Sanctus Ambrosius Mediolanensis, De Cain et Abel, Liber I, Caput X Source: Migne PL 14. 377a-b

For that end and the criminal conviction of Cain we may discern some fault of offering. He offered offerings to God, it is said, from the fruit of the land, but not from the first fruits. 1Yet this is the offering that first vindicates one, he however brought to God the things that come after. Thus it truly is that the soul to the body, as that which rules to that which serves, must be preferred, and so his offering should have been an offering of the soul not of the body. The great offering of the soul are the goods of discipline. And the things after are the offerings sacrifices of the body, which are food, growth, sight, hearing, touch, smell, voice, all parts of the body, for mind and reason are parts of the soul, however by the former the things of the body are disciplined, of which the greatest are the pure heart and the simple word for offering to God the deed of thanks. And these gifts Abel offered and therefore God looked on his gifts, because from the first of them he offered. It happened so because it was from the first of the sheep, and from the fat of them. And consider that he offered not from insensible things but from animate creatures. For greater indeed is the animal than the earth, as nearer is the animal to the spiritual. For what is spiritual does not come before but what is animal, and then what is spiritual. Since the animal breathes it has the vital spirit, which is not so concerning the fruit of the earth. Thus he offered not what comes second but what comes first, not poor things, but rich things. Saint Ambrose, Cain and Abel, Book 1, Chap 10 1 Gen 4.3