The Wealth Of Heretics

Πεπαλαίωνται δὲ καὶ ἐν πλούτῳ Οὐκ εἰσὶ νεόπλουτοι, ἀλλὰ πολλὰ ἔτι πεποιήκασι πλουτοῦντες καὶ ἀεὶ τὸν πλοῦτον αὔξοντες. Ὁ σπόπος αὐτῶν κατὰ ψυχήν Τοῦ μὲν δικαίου ὁ σπόρος κατὰ πνεῦμα ἐστι· Σπείρει γὰρ εἰς τὸ πνεῦμα, καὶ ἐκ τοῦ πνεύματος θερίζει ζωὴν αἰώνιον· τῶν δὲ τοιούτων, ἐπεὶ ψυχικὸς ἄνθρωπος οὐ δέχεται τὰ τοῦ τοῦ πνεύματος· μωρία γὰρ αὐτῷ ἐστιν· ὁ σπόρος οὐ κατὰ πνεῦμα, ἀλλὰ κατὰ ψυχὴν, τὸ ὑποδεέστερον. Τὰ δὲ τέκνα αὐτῶν ἐν ὀφθαλμοῖς Πάνατα ὅσα ποιοῦσιν, πρὸς τὸ θεαθῆναι ὑπὸ τῶν ἀνθρώπων ποιοῦσιν. Τέκνα γὰρ τὰ ἔργα ἐκάστου. Οὐκ ἔστι τέκνα τῶν ἑτεροδόξων ἐν καρδίᾳ, ἐν λογισμοῖς ἀγαθοῖς, ἀλλ' ἐν ὀφθαλμοῖς, πρὸς τὸ θεαθῆναι ὑπὸ τῶν ἀνθρώπων. Οἱ οἶκοι αὐτῶν εὐθηνοῦσιν. Ὁτ' ἂν εἰσέλθῇς εἰς συναγωγὴν αἱρετικῶν, καὶ ἴδῆς ἐκεῖ πλῆθος συναγομένων, βλέπε, ὅτι οἱ οἶκοι αὐτῶν εὐθηνοῦσιν. Φόβος δὲ οὐδραμοῦ. Ἀφοβοί εἰσιν. Οὐ φοβοῦνται τὸν Θεὸν, καταφρονοῦσι τῆς θεότητος· τοιαῦτα λέγοντες περὶ Θεοῦ, οὐ φοβοῦνται, ὅτι περὶ Θεοῦ λαλοῦσιν. Ὠριγένης, Ἐξηγητικα Εἰς Τὸν Ιὠβ, Κεφ. ΚΑ' Source: Migne PG17.75d-77b

They have grown old in their wealth..1 They are not newly enriched, but they have been making their wealth for a long time and their wealth is always growing. Their seed is as their souls...2 Indeed the seed of the righteous man is as his spirit, 'For he sows in the spirit and according to the spirit he reaps eternal life.' 3 These however, because they are 'animal men who do not receive the things of the spirit' 4 have seed that is not according to the spirit, but according to their own souls, certainly inferior. Their children are before their eyes... 2 Everything they do they do to be seen by men. 5 For their children are their works. The children of heresy are not in the heart, or good thoughts, but in the eyes, that they may be seen by men. Their houses flourish....6 If you enter into a gathering of heretics, and you look upon the many gathered there, so see that their houses flourish. They have no fear...6 Fearless they are. Despising the Divine, they do not fear God. The things they say about God they do not fear that they speak about God. Origen, On Job, Chap 21, Fragment 1 Job 21.7 2 Job 21.8 3 Galat 6.8 4 1 Cor 2.14 5 Mt 23.5 6 Job 21.9

A Woman Against Heretics

Haeretica in his provinciis exorta tempestas, cuncta turbavit; et in tantam rabiem concitata est, ut nec sibi, nec ullu bonorum parceret. Et quasi  parum esset, hic universa movisse, navem plenam blasphemiarum Romano intulit portui. Invenitque protinus patella operculum, et Romanae fidei purissimum fontem, lutosam coeno permiscuere vestigia. Nec mirum si in plateis, et in foro rerum venalium, fictus ariolus stultorum verberet nates, et obtorio fuste dentes mordentium quatiat: cum venenata spuracque doctrina Romae invenerit quos induceret. Tunc librorum περὶ ἄρχώ infamis interpretatio: tunc discipulus ὄλβιος, vere nominis sui, si in talem magistrum non impegisset. Tunc nostrorum διάλυτες contradictio, et Pharisaeorum turbata est schola. Tunc sancta Marcella, quae diu se cohibuerat, ne per aemulationem quippiam facere videretur, postquam sensit fidem apostolico ore laudatem in plerisque violari, ita ut sacerdotes quoque, et nonnullos monacharum, maximque saeculi homines, in assensum sui traheret; ac simplicitati illuderet Episcopi, qui de suo ingenio caeteros aestimabat, publice restitit: malens Deo placere, quam hominibus. Laudat Salvator in Evangelio villicum iniquitatis, quod contra dominum quidem fraudelenter, attamen pro se prudenter fecerit. Cernentes haeretici de parva scintilla maxima incendia concitari; et suppositam dudum flammam jam ad culmina pervenisse; nec posse latere, quod multos deceperat, petunt, et impetrant ecclesiasticas  epistolas: ut communicantes Ecclesiae discessisse viderentur. Non multum tempus in medio, succedit in pontificatum vir insignis Anastasius qui dum Roma habere non meruit, ne orbis caput sub tali episcopo truncaretur. Imo idcirco raptus atque translatus est, ne semel latam sententiam, precibus suis flectere conaretur: dicente Domine ad Jeremiam: Ne oraveris pro populo isto, neque depreceris in bonum. Quia si jejunaverint, non exaudiam preces eorum. Et si holocausta et victimas obtulerint, non siscipiam eos. In gladio enim et fame, et pestilentia ego consumam eos. Dicas, quid haec ad laudem Marcellae? damnationis haereticorum haec fuit principium: dum adducit testes, qui prius ab eis eruditi, et postea ab haeretico fuerant errore correpti: dum ostendit multitudinem deceptorum, dum impia περὶ ἀρχῶν ingerit volumina, quae emendata manu scorpii monstrabantur: dum acciti frequentibus litteris haeretici, ut se defenderent, venire non sunt ausi: tantaque vis conscientiae fuit, ut magis absentes damnari, quam praesentes coragui maluerint. Hujus tam gloriosae victoriae origo Marcella est, tuque caput horum et causa bonorum, scis me vera narrare Sanctus Hieronymus, Epistula CXXVII, Ad Principiam Virginem Source: Migne PL 22 1092-3

There arose in these provinces a storm of heresy which threw everything into confusion, 1 and so great was the fury whipped up that it spared neither itself nor any good. And as if it were too little to have troubled everything here, it brought into the port of Rome a ship full of blasphemies. The dish soon found itself a cover, and the pure fount of the Roman faith was mixed with the mud of filthy feet 2. No wonder if in the streets and market places a lying soothsayer can strike fools from behind, or, taking up his staff, shatter the teeth of those who mock him, when such venomous and foul teaching found in Rome those whom it could persuade. Then came the infamous translation of Origen's 'On First Principles,' then that 'fortunate' disciple, 3 who would have been true to his name had he not dashed himself against such a teacher. Then our destructive refutation which confounded the school of the Pharisees. Then the blessed Marcella, who had restrained herself for a long while lest she should appear to act out of envy, after she understood that the faith of Rome, once praised by the mouth of an Apostle, 4 was likely to be violated, that the heresy was not only drawing in many priests and monks and a great number of men of the world to give assent, but it even tricked the bishop who judged others by his own guilelessness, 5 publicly resisted it, preferring to please God rather than men. In the Gospel the Saviour praises the unjust steward because, although indeed he defrauded his master, he acted prudently for himself. 6 The heretics seeing how a little spark had kindled such a conflagration, 7 and that the flames lit secretly by them a little while ago had already reached the rooves, and they were no longer able to hide that they deceived many, asked for and indeed demanded letters from the Church, so that it appear they had been in communion with the Church. Not long after that celebrated man Anastasius succeeded to the pontificate, who Rome was not worthy to have for long, lest the head of the world be struck off under such a bishop. So he was quickly seized and taken away, lest the sentence once passed he try to avert with prayers, with the Lord saying to Jeremiah: 'Pray not for this people, nor implore their good. Because if they fast I will not hear their prayers. And if they offer holocausts and victims, I will not accept them. For I will consume them by the sword and by famine and by pestilence.' 8 You will say, what has this to do with the praise of Marcella? She was the origin of the condemnation of the heretics. She introduced the witnesses first taught by them and then dragged off into their heretical teaching. She revealed the multitude of deceivers, bringing forward the impious books of 'On First Principles', which had been 'improved' by the hand of the scorpion. Finally she it was who summoned the heretics in frequent letters to defend themselves, but they did not dare come, for they were so troubled in their conscience that they prefered to be condemned by absence than face their accusers. The fount of this glorious victory was Marcella and you know that I speak the truth about the source of these goods. St Jerome, from Letter 127, To The Nun Principia 1 Origenism 2 Ezek 34.18 3 Rufinus Tyrannus translator of Origen 4 Rom 1.8 5 Pope Siricius 6 Lk 16.8 7 James 3.5 8 Jerem 14.11-12

Stones And Bread

Καὶ προσελθὼν ὁ πειράζων εἶπεν αὐτῷ, Εἰ υἱὸς εἶ τοῦ θεοῦ, εἰπὲ ἵνα οἱ λίθοι οὗτοι ἄρτοι γένωνται. Οὐχ ὑπήκουσεν ὁ Χριστὸς τοῦ διαβόλου ὥστε ποιῆσαι τοὺς λίθους ἄρτους· διότι οὐ πρὸς ὠφέλειαν αὐτοῦ ἧν· οὐ γὰρ ἵνά πιστεύσῃ καὶ γένηται ὡς πρότερον ἧν ἄγγελος, τοῦτο ᾐτεῖτο ἁμετανόητος γὰρ, ἀλλ' ἵνα εἰς κενοδοξίαν ἐλκύσῃ τὸν Χριστόν· ὅπερ εἰδὼς ὁ Σωτὴρ οὐχ ὑπήκουσεν αὐτοῦ. Ἅγιος Κύριλλος Ἀλεξανδρείας, Ἐξὴγησις Εἰς Τὸ Κατὰ Ματθαιον Εὐάγγελιον Source:  Migne PG 72.372b

And the tempter approached and said to Him, 'If you are the Son of God, tell these stones to become bread. 1   Christ did not comply with the devil that He make stones bread because it would have been of no profit to him, for it was not that he might believe and become that angel that he was before, since he was incapable of repentance, but he wished to lead Christ into vainglory, which understanding the Saviour did not do what he wished. Saint Cyril of Alexandria, Commentary On The Gospel Of Saint Matthew, Fragment 1 Mt 4.3

Eve And the Serpent

Τῷ οὖν ἀλόγῳ τούτῳ χρησάμενος πρὸς τὴν τῆς ἐπιβουλῆς κατασκευὴν, δι᾽ αὐτοῦ τῇ γυναικὶ διαλέγεται, καί φησι· Τί ὅτι εἶπεν ὁ Θεὸς, Οὐ μὴ φάγητε ἀπὸ παντὸς ξύλου τοῦ παραδείσου; Σκοπεῖτε ἐνταῦθα κακουργίας ὑπερβολὴν λεπτοτάτην.  Τὸ μὴ ῥηθὲν ὑπὸ τοῦ Θεοῦ ἐν τάξει συμβουλῆς καὶ ἐρωτήσεως εἰσάγει, καὶ ὡσανεὶ τὴν ὑπὲρ αὐτῶν κηδεμονίαν ποιούμενος· τοῦτο γάρ ἐστιν ἐνδεικνυμένου, τὸ λέγειν, Τί ὅτι εἶπεν ὁ Θεὸς, Οὐ μὴ φάγητε ἀπὸ παντὸς ξύλου τοῦ παραδείσου; μονονουχὶ λέγων ὁ πονηρὸς οὗτος δαίμων, Τίνος ἕνεκεν ἀπεστέρησεν ὑμᾶς τῆς τοσαύτης ἀπολαύσεως; διὰ τί οὐ συγχωρεῖ μετέχειν τῶν ἐν τῷ παραδείσῳ ἀγαθῶν, ἀλλὰ τῆς μὲν θέας τὴν ἀπόλαυσιν ἐδωρήσατο, οὐκ ἀφίησι δὲ μεταλαβεῖν, καὶ πλείονα καρπώσασθαι τὴν ἡδονήν; Τί ὅτι εἶπεν ὁ Θεός; Διὰ τί, φησὶ, τοῦτο; τί τὸ ὄφελος τῆς ἐν τῷ παραδείσῳ διαγωγῆς, ὅταν μὴ ἐξῇ τῶν ἐν αὐτῷ ἀπολαύειν, ἀλλὰ ταύτῃ μάλιστα πλείονα τὴν ὀδύνην ἔχειν, ὅταν θέα μὲν ᾖ, ἀπόλαυσις δὲ ἡ ἀπὸ τῆς μεταλήψεως μὴ γίνηται; Εἶδες πῶς, καθάπερ δέλεαρ, διὰ τῶν ῥημάτων ἐνίησιν αὑτοῦ τὸν ἰόν; Δέον τὴν γυναῖκα ἐξ αὐτῆς τῆς ἐπιχειρήσεως κατανοῆσαι τῆς μανίας τὴν ὑπερβολὴν, καὶ ὅτι τὰ μὴ ὄντα ἐπίτηδες λέγει, καὶ ἐν τάξει δῆθεν κηδεμονίας, ἵνα μαθεῖν δυνηθῇ τὰ παρὰ τοῦ Θεοῦ αὐτοῖς ἐνταλθέντα, καὶ οὕτω πρὸς τὴν παράβασιν αὐτοὺς ἑλκύσῃ. Δυναμένη τοί νυν εὐθέως συνιδεῖν αὐτοῦ τὴν ἀπάτην, καὶ ἀποστραφῆ ναι λοιπὸν τὴν πρὸς αὐτὸν διάλεξιν ὡς περιττὰ λέγοντα, καὶ μὴ ἑαυτὴν εἰς τοσαύτην ταπεινότητα καταγαγεῖν, οὐκ ἠθέλησεν. Ἔδει μὲν γὰρ μηδὲ ἐξ ἀρχῆς ἀνασχέσθαι τῆς πρὸς αὐτὸν διαλέξεως, ἀλλ᾽ ἐκείνῳ μόνῳ διαλέγεσθαι, δι᾽ ὂν παρήχθη, καὶ κοινωνὸς κατὰ τὴν ἀξίαν γέγονε, καὶ εἰς βοήθειαν ἐδημιουργήθη. Ἐπειδὴ δὲ οὐκ οἶδ᾽ ὅπως παρασυρεῖσα ἠνέσχετο τῆς ὁμιλίας τῆς πρὸς τὸν ὄφιν, καὶ ἐδέχετο τὰ ὀλέθρια ῥήματα τοῦ διαβόλου διὰ τούτου ὡς δι᾽ ὀργάνου, ἀκόλουθον ἦν εὐθέως μαθοῦσαν ἐκ τῶν παρ᾽ αὐτοῦ λεχθέντων τὴν ἐναντίωσιν τῶν ῥημάτων, καὶ ὅτι ἕτερα μὲν ὁ δημιουργήσας προσέταξεν, ἕτερα δὲ οὗτος καὶ ἀπεναντίας τῷ δημιουργῷ ἔλεγεν, ἀποστραφῆναι καὶ φυγεῖν λοιπὸν τὴν πρὸς αὐτὸν ὁμιλίαν, καὶ βδελύξασθαι τὸν τολμήσαντα τὴν οἰκείαν γλῶσσαν ἀκονῆσαι κατὰ τῆς δοθείσης αὐτοῖς ἐντολῆς. Ἀλλὰ διὰ τὴν πολλὴν ἀπροσεξίαν οὐ μόνον οὐκ ἀπεστράφη, ἀλλὰ καὶ τὴν ἐντολὴν ἅπασαν αὐτῷ ἐκκαλύπτει, καὶ τοὺς μαργαρίτας τῷ χοίρῳ προτίθησι, καὶ πληροῦται τὸ παρὰ τοῦ Χριστοῦ εἰρημένον· Μὴ βάλητε γὰρ, φησὶ, τοὺς μαργαρίτας ὑμῶν ἔμπροσθεν τῶν χοίρων, μήποτε καταπατήσωσιν αὐτοὺς ἐν τοῖς πο σὶν αὐτῶν, καὶ στραφέντες ῥήξωσιν ὑμᾶς· ὃ δὴ καὶ νῦν γέγονε. Παρέθηκε γὰρ τῷ χοίρῳ, τῷ πονηρῷ τούτῳ θηρίῳ, ἤτοι τῷ δαίμονι τῷ δι᾽ αὐτοῦ ἐνεργοῦντι, τοὺς θείους μαργαρίτας, καὶ οὐ μόνον αὐτοὺς κατεπάτησε, καὶ ἀντετάξατο τοῖς ῥηθεῖσιν, ἀλλὰ καὶ στραφεὶς οὐκ αὐτὴν μόνον, ἀλλὰ μετ᾽ αὐτῆς καὶ τὸν πρωτόπλαστον εἰς τὸ τῆς παρακοῆς ῥῆγμα κατήγαγε. Τοσοῦτόν ἐστι κα κὸν ἁπλῶς καὶ ὡς ἔτυχε πᾶσιν ἐκκαλύπτειν τὰ θεῖα μυστήρια. Ἀκουέτωσαν οἱ ἁπλῶς καὶ ἀδιαφόρως πρὸς ἅπαντας διαλεγόμενοι. Οὐδὲ γὰρ ἐκεῖ περὶ χοίρου αἰσθη τοῦ ὁ Χριστὸς λέγει, ἀλλὰ τοὺς χοιρώδεις τῶν ἀνθρώπων αἰνιττόμενος, καὶ ὁμοίως τοῖς ἀλόγοις ἐγκυλινδουμένους τῷ τῆς ἁμαρτίας βορβόρῳ, παιδεύων ἡμᾶς εἰδέναι καὶ προσώπων διαφορὰν, καὶ πολιτείας ἐπιζητεῖν ἀκρίβειαν, ἡνίκα ἂν δέῃ τι τῶν θείων λογίων ἐκκαλύπτειν, ἵνα μὴ κἀκείνους καὶ ἑαυτοὺς λυμαινώμεθα. Οἱ γὰρ τοιοῦτοι οὐ μόνον οὐδὲν κερδαίνουσιν ἀπὸ τῶν λεγομένων, ἀλλὰ καὶ τοὺς ἀνεξετάστως παραθέντας τοὺς καλοὺς τούτους μαργαρίτας, εἰς τὸ αὐτὸ αὐτοῖς βάρα θρον τῆς ἀπωλείας πολλάκις κατήγαγον. Διὸ χρὴ μετὰ ἀκριβείας ταῦτα παραφυλάττεσθαι, ἵνα μὴ τὰ αὐτὰ τοῖς νῦν ἀπατηθεῖσιν ὑπομένωμεν. Εἰ γὰρ καὶ νῦν ἡ γυνὴ ἐβουλήθη τοὺς θείους μαργαρίτας μὴ προθεῖναι τῷ χοίρῳ, οὐκ ἂν οὔτε αὐτὴ εἰς τὸν κρημνὸν τοῦτον κατηνέχθη, οὔτε τὸν ἄνδρα συγκατέσπασεν.   Ἅγιος Ἰωάννης ὁ Χρυσόστομος, Εἰς Την Γενεσιν, Ὁμιλια ΙϚ' Source: Migne PG 53.127-128

So by use of this irrational creature the devil arranged his snare and by it made conversation with the woman, saying: 'Why did God say to you: You are not to eat from every tree in paradise?' 1 Consider here the subtle cleverness of the wickedness. He introduces by arrangement of thought and question that which was not said by God, 2 as if he had care for such things, which is evident when he says, 'Why did God say you are not to eat of every tree of paradise?' As if the wicked demon had said: 'For what reason does He deny you the pleasure of such things? Why does He not allow you to partake of the goods which are in paradise, but He has given sight of enjoyment and yet you are not allowed to enjoy it, even the greatest pleasure.' 'Why did God say it? What is this?' he says. 'What advantage is it to dwell in paradise when you do not have enjoyment of the things that are in it, but rather you have the greatest grief, that what you see you are not allowed to enjoy?' Do you see how by words, as a bait, the venom found entry? The woman should have been able to guess at the cunning of his raving, for he had spoken in his cleverness of what was not, and as if he had care for such, that he might know what was the command of God to them, and so draw them into transgression against it. But even though she was immediately able to perceive the imposture, and to repulse the foolish words, and not be drawn into his vileness, she did not choose to. For she should have not, I say, from the beginning tolerated his conversation, but she should have spoken to him alone whose helper she was fashioned to be and made to be a sharer in his dignity. But indeed, I know not what enticed her, she did allow the speech of the serpent and through that which was his instrument received the wicked words of the devil, which as soon as they had been said should have been understood as hostile words , being opposed to what the Creator had commanded and in contradiction to  what He had said, which counsel, then, she should have not allowed and fled, cursing him who with sharp tongue had dared speak against the commandments given to them. But in truth, on account of great negligence, she was not attendant, so that she was not only not hostile to him, but she disclosed the whole commandment to him, and in doing so cast her pearls before the swine, doing what had been said by Christ: 'Do not cast your pearls before swine, lest they trample on them with their feet and they turn and tear you.' 3 This indeed is what happened. For she placed before the swine, that evil beast, that demon, who was working through the serpent, the divine pearls, and he not only trampled on them, opposing them with his own words, but he turned on her, and not only her, but the man also, and cast them down headlong into transgression. So evil it is to reveal by choice and without prudence the Divine mysteries. And let them hear who without discrimination openly speak with all. For Christ did not teach about material pigs in that passage, but he indicated men who have the morals of swine, who like beasts wallow in the filth of sin, teaching us that we should consider the difference in persons and inquire into the way of their lives when we would take to the work of expounding the Divine words, lest we do harm to others and to ourselves. For those who are pigs do not only fail to profit from such words, but along with themselves they drag into the abyss of ruin those who without any discretion cast before before them the good pearls. Therefore, let us be diligent in our observation of these things, that we do not suffer the same thing which here seduced. For if the woman had thought not to cast her pearls before the swine, she would not have fallen into ruin, nor would she have dragged the man down with her. Saint John Chrysostom, On Genesis, from the Sixteenth Homily 1 Gen 3.1 2 Gen 2.16-17 3 Mt 7.6

The Serpent And The Horse

Ὁ δόλους συμπλέκων,καὶ κεκρυμμένως καποποιῶν, ὄφις ἐστι, κατὰ τὴν Γραφὴν, ὁ καθήμενος ἐν ὁδῷ, καὶ δάκνων πτέρναν ἵππου.. Ἅγιος Μάρκος ὁ Ἐρημίτης, Περὶ Νόμου Πνευματικοῦ  Source: Migne PG 65.919d

He who weaves wickedness and strikes while hidden is a serpent, one who, according to Scripture, bites the heel of the horse on the way. 1 Saint Mark The Ascetic, On The Spiritual Law. 1 Gen 49.17

Wisdom And The Serpent

Τοῦ γνῶναι σοφίαν καὶ παιδείαν.  Σοφία ἐστὶν ἐπιστήμη θείων καὶ ἀνθρωπίνων πραγμάτων κατάληψις· κατὰ δέ τινας, ἀτμίς ἐστι τῆς τοῦ Θεοῦ δυνάμεως, καὶ ἀπόῤῥοια τῆς τοῦ Παντοκράτορος δόξης εἰλικρινής· οὐδὲν γὰρ εἰς αὐτὴν σκοτεινὸν ἐμπίπτει· ἀπαύγασμα γάρ ἐστι φωτὸς ἀϊδίου, καὶ ἔσοπτρον ἀκηλίδωτον τῆς τοῦ Θεοῦ ἐνεργείας, καὶ εἰκὼν τῆς ἀγαθότητος αὐτοῦ. Ὁ γινώσκων ἔργα σοφίας, ταῦτα γινώσκει, τουτέστι, τὸ ἀπαύγασμα τοῦ ἀϊδίου, καὶ τὸ ἀκηλίδωτον ἔσοπτρον τῆς τοῦ Θεοῦ ἐνεργείας, καὶ τὴν εἰκόνα τῆς ἀγαθότητος αὐτοῦ. Ταῦτα δὲ οὐδὲν ἕτερόν ἐστιν ἢ γνῶναι τὸν Υἱὸν τῆς τοῦ Θεοῦ ἀγάπης, καὶ τὴν σοφίαν τὸν Χριστόν. Χριστὸς γὰρ Θεοῦ δύναμις καὶ Θεοῦ σοφία. Τοῦτο δὲ οὐκ ἀπὸ σαρκὸς καὶ αἵματος, ἀλλ' ἀπὸ τοῦ οὐρανίου Πατρὸς ἀποκαλύπτεται. Γινώσκει δὲ σοφίαν, καὶ ὁ τὴν ἐπιστήμην εἰδὼς τῶν θείων, νομικῶν καὶ προφητικῶν, εὐαγγελικῶν τε καὶ ἀποστολικῶν λο γίων. Ἐπὶ τὴν πέτραν τίθησι τὸν θεμέλιον, τουτέ στιν ἐπὶ τῇ πίστει Χριστοῦ, ὡς ἀντέχειν πρὸς βροχὰς, καὶ ἀνέμους, καὶ πνεύματα, δηλαδὴ τοὺς ὁθεν οῦν γινομένους πειρασμούς. Εἰ δέ φησιν ὁ Λουκᾶς ὡς ἐπῄνεσε τὸν οἰκονόμον τῆς ἀδικίας, κατεχρήσατο, τὸν ἔπαινον ἐπὶ τῆς ἐντρεχείας λαβὼν, διά τε τῆς δια νοίας ὀξύ· ὅπερ ἔοικε δηλοῦσθαι κἀν τῷ, Ὁ δὲ ὄφις φρονιμώτατος πάντων τῶν θηρίων, καθ' ὃ λέλεκται καὶ τὸ, Γίνεσθε φρόνιμοι ὡς ὁ ὄφις· οἱονεὶ μὴ ἄπειροι τῶν τοῦ ὄφεως πανουργημάτων. Ὠριγένης, Ἐκλογαὶ Εἰς Παροιμίας Source: Migne PG 13.17b-19b

To know wisdom and instruction. 1   Wisdom is the knowledge of Divine things and the understanding of human deeds, and according to which: 'She is a breath of the power of God and a pure emanation of the glory of the Almighty, therefore nothing defiled enters into her, for she is a reflection of eternal light, a spotless mirror of the workings of God, and an image of His goodness.' 2 He who knows the works of God, knows these things, that is, the reflection of the eternal, a spotless mirror of the power of God and an image of His goodness. And this is nothing else than to know the the beloved Son of God and the wisdom that is Christ, for Christ is the wisdom of God and the power of God. And this is revealed here not in flesh and blood but in the revelation of the Divine Father. For indeed he knows wisdom, who knows the wisdom of the Divine words of the Law and the Prophets and the Evangelists and the Apostles. Upon this stone he has set his foundation, certainly on the faith of Christ, that He resist the waters and winds and spirits and trials, whenever they should burst forth. So Luke says that 'He praised the steward's cunning.' 3 speaking obliquely in this praise of cunning, touching on the acuity of the mind, which seems to be made clearer with: 'The serpent was the most cunning of all the animals;' 4 for He said: 'Be as wise as the serpent,' 5 as if He said:'Do not be ignorant of the cleverness of the serpent.' Origen, On Proverbs, Fragment 1 Proverbs 1.2 2 Wisdom 7.25-26 3 Lk 16.8 4 Gen 3.1 5 Mt 10.16

Reason And The Serpent

Ερώτησις ΛΒ' Ἄλογος ὤν ὄφις πῶς διελέχθη τῇ Εὔα; Ὄργανον ἦν αὐτὸς τοῦ τῆς ἀληθείας ἐχθροῦ. Καὶ τοῦτο δεδήλωκεν ὁ Κύριος ἐν τοῖς θείοις Εὐαγγελίοις. Εἰρηκὼς γὰρ τοῖς Ἰουδαίοις· Ὑμεῖς ἐκ τοῦ πατρὸς ὑμῶν τοῦ διαβόλου ἐστε, ἐπήγαγεν· Ἐκεῖνος ἀνθρωποκτόνος ἦν ἀπ' ἀρχῆς. Οὕτος τοίνυν διὰ τοῦ ὄφεως διελέχθη τῇ Εὔ. Ἐπειδὴ γὰρ τῶν ἀλόγων ἀπάντων παρὰ τοῦ Θεοῦ τῶν ὅλων τὴν ἡγεμονίαν εἰλήφεισαν, δι' ἑνὸς αὐτῇ τῶν ὑπηκόων τὴν παγίδα προσήνεγκε, πιθανωτέραν οὕτω τὴν ἀπάτην κατασκευάζων. Ὅτι δὲ καὶ αὐτὸν τὸν διὰ τοῦ ὄφεως ἐνεργήσαντα, ὄφιν ἡ θεία προσαγορεύει Γραφὴ, μάρτυς Ἠσαῗας ὁ προφήτης βοῶν, τῇ ἡμέρᾳ ἐκείνῃ ἐπάξει ὁ θεὸς τὴν μάχαιραν αὐτοῦ τὴν ἁγίαν, τὴν μεγάλην, καὶ τὴν ἰσχυρόν, ἐπὶ τὸν δράκοντα τὸν ὄφιν τὸν φεύγοντα, τὸν ἐν τῇ θαλάσσῃ. Καὶ ὁ Κύριος δὲ τοῖς ἱεροῖς εἴρηκε μαθηταῖς· Ιδοὺ δέδωκα ὑμῖν τὴν ἐξουσίαν τοῦ πατεῖν ἐπάνω ὄφεων, καὶ σκορπίων, καὶ ἐπὶ πᾶσαν τὴν δύναμιν τοῦ ἐχθροῦ. Θεοδώρητος Ἐπίσκοπος Κύρρος, Εἰς Την Γένεσιν Source: Migne PG 80.129a-b

Question 32 A serpent is irrational, so how did it speak to Eve? The serpent was an instrument of the enemy of truth. The Lord declares this in the holy Gospel when He says to the Jews: 'You are of your father the devil.' and after: 'He was a murderer from the beginning.' 1 Therefore the devil spoke to Eve through the serpent. For when from God they received rule over all irrational things, 2 the devil by use of one of these prepared his trap and by way of persuasion arranged his beguiling plots. And because of this use of the serpent for his minister Divine Scripture names him a serpent, with the Prophet Isaiah bearing witness, saying: 'On that day the Lord shall draw His holy, great and strong sword against the dragon serpent, coiled and mighty, against the the dragon serpent fleeing, who is in the sea. ' 3 And the Lord says to His blessed disciples: 'Behold I shall give you power to trample on serpents and scorpions, and on every power of the enemy.' 4 Theodoret of Cyrrhus, Questions On Genesis 1 Jn 8.42 2 Gen 1.26 3 Isaiah 27.1 4 Lk 10.19

A State Of Exile

Fidentes igitur semper, et scienties quia inhabitantes in hoc corpore, peregrinamus a Domino; per fidem enim ambulamus, non per speciem. Manifestum est quia per fidem cum Domino sumus, non per praesentiam: ac per hoc peregrinamur non fide, sed specie. Et quare, cum idem dicat in Actibus Apostolorum: In ipso enim vivimus, et movemur, et sumus, hoc loco peregrinari nos a Domino dicit? Si ubique est, quomodo hic positi, peregrinamur a Domino? Sine dubio ubique, immo omnia in Deo sunt: sed quia sedes Dei in coelis est, et illic semper videtur; ideo hic positi, ideo hic positi, ubi non videtur, peregrinari ab eo dicimur. Quando enim non eum videmus, licet praesens sit, absentes ab eo. Ambrosiaster, In Epistolam Beati Pauli Ad Corinthios Secundum, Caput V Source: Migne PL 17.294b-c

Therefore being faithful always and knowing that dwelling in the body we are in exile from the Lord, indeed we walk by faith in Him not by sight.' 1 It is manifest that we are with the Lord by faith, but not by presence, and because of this we are exiled not as regards faith, but from sight. And why, when the same man says in the Acts of the Apostles, 'In Him we live and move and have our being' 2 does he say here that we are exiles from the Lord? If God is everywhere, how being placed here are we exiles from the Lord? Without doubt God is everywhere, and all things are in God, but since the throne of God is heaven and He is always seen there, therefore placed here, where He is not seen, we are said to be exiled from Him. For when we do not see Him, He is indeed present, but we are absent from Him. Ambrosiaster, Commentary On The Second Letter of Saint Paul To The Corinthians, Chapter 5 1 2 Cor 5.6-7 2 Acts 17.28

The Fall And Time

In sudore vultus tui vesceris pane tuo, donec revertaris in terram, de qua sumptus es, quia pulvis est, et in pulverem reverteris. Illum hic panem intellige qui ait: Ego sum panis vitae qui de coelo descendi. Quo in sudore vultus nostri vescimur, quia ad conspectum divinae celsitudinis non nisi per laborem necessariae afflictionis ascendimus. Primus homo ita conditus fuit, ut manente illo decederent tempora, nec cum temporibus ipse transiret. Stabat enim momentis decurrentibus, quia nequauam ad extremum vitae per dierum incrementa tendebat. Stabat tanto robustior, quanto semper stani arctius inhaerebat. At ubi vetitum contigit, mox offenso creatore, coepit ire cum tempore. Unde et ei dictum est: Terra es, et in terram ibis; statum videlicet immortalitatis amisso, cursus eum mortalitatis absorbuit, et dum juventute ad senium, senio traheretur ad mortem, transeundo didicit stando quid fuit. Cujus nos quia de propagine nascimur, radicis amaritudinem, quasi in virgulto retinemus. Nam quia ex illo originem ducimus, ejus cursum nascendo sortimur, ut eo ipso quotidiano momento qui vivimus, incessanter a vita transeamus, et vivendi nobis spatium unde crescere creditur, inde decrescat, quia dum infantia ad pueritiam, adolescentia ad juventutem, juventus ad senectutem, senectus transit ad mortem, et in cursu vitae praesentis, ipsis suis augmentiis ad detrimenta impellitur: et inde semper deficit, under proficere se in spatium vitae credit. Fixum etenim statum hic habere non possumus, ubi transitorie vivimus, atque hoc ipsum nostrum vivere, quotidie a vita transire est. Quem videlicet lapsum primus homo ante culpam habere non potuit, quia tempora eo stante transibant. Sed postquam deliquit, in quodam se quasi lubrico temporalitatis posuit; et quia cibum comedit vetitum, staus sui protinus invenit defectum. Rabanus Maurus, Commentariorum In Genesim, Liber I Source: Migne PL 107.498c-499b

'In the sweat of your face you shall eat your bread until you return to the earth from which you were taken, because you are dust and to dust you shall return.' 1 Understand the bread as He who said: 'I am the bread of life which comes down from heaven.' 2 That which we eat in the sweat of our faces because we are not able to ascend to the presence of the Divine heavens unless by the labour of needful affliction. The first man was so established that he persisted while time passed, not passing away with time. For he stood while the moments flowed past and did not at all move to the end of life with the increase of days. He stood more strongly as much as always he adhered more strictly to his standing. But when he turned to fault, instantly offending the Creator, he began to flow with time. Thus it was said to him: 'Earth you are and to earth you shall go.' Certainly because of the loss of the state of immortality the way of mortality seized him, and being dragged from youth to old age, and from old to death, he learnt what was the passing of his stability. From which we by proceation are born, retaining as in the shoot the bitterness of the root. For because from that beginning we come, we are destined from birth for his course, that with him, every moment we live, we are relentlessly passing from life, and our span of life which is thought to grow so by that deceases; for going from infancy to childhood, childhood to adulthood, adulthood to old age, old age passes into death, and in the course of this present life as it increases so it is driven to diminish; and so it always falling way as it is thought to be advancing. We are not able to have a fixed state here, where we live in transience, but as him it is ours to live every day passing away from life. Which fault certainly the first man was not able to have before his error, because with time passing he stood firm. But after he erred he placed himself, as it were, on the slippy slope of time, and because he ate the forbidden food he swiftly discovered his own state defective. Rabanus Maurus, Commentary On Genesis, Book I 1 Gen 3.19 2 Jn 6.35

The Curses

In initio transgressionis Adae, sicut enarrat Sciptura, non ipsum maledixit Adam, sed terram in operibus ejus, quemadmodum ex veteribus quidam ait: quoniam quidem transtulit Deus maledictum in terram, ut non perseveraret in homine. Condemnationem autem transgressionis accepit homo taedia et terrenum laborem, et manducare panem in sudore vultus sui, et converti in terram, ex qua assumptus est; similiter autem mulier taedia, et labores, et gemitus, et tristitias partus, et servitium, id est ut serviret viro suo: ut neque maledicti a Deo in totum perirent, neque sine increpatione perseverantes Deum contemnerent. Omnis autem maledictio decurrit in serpentem, qui seduxerat eos. Et dixit, inquit, Deus serpenti: Quoniam fecisti hoc, maledictus tu ab omnibus pecoribus, et ob omnibus bestiis terrae. Hoc idem autem et Dominus in Evangelio his qui a sinistris inveniuntur, ait: Abite, maledicti, in ignem aeternum, quem praeparavit Pater meus diabolo et angelis ejus; significans quoniam non homini principaliter praeparatus est aeternus ignis, sed ei qui seduxit, et offendere fecit hominem, et, inquam, qui princeps apostasiae est, principi abscessionis, et his angeis qui apostatae facti sunt cum eo: quem quidem juste percipient etiam hi, qui similiter ut illi, sine poenitentia et sine regressu in malitiae perseverant operibus. Sanctus Ireneaus Lugdunensis, Adversus Haereses, Liber III Cap XXXIII Source: Migne PG 7.961c-b

Immediately after Adam transgressed, as the Scripture relates, God did not curse Adam himself, but the ground in relation to his works, as a certain one of the ancients says: 'God transferred the curse to the earth, that it might not remain in man.' 1 But man received as the punishment of his transgression the wearisome task of working the earth, and to eat bread in the sweat of his face, and to return to the dust from which he was taken. Similarly the woman also received toil, and labour, and groans, and the pangs of birth, and subjection, that is, that she should serve her husband, so that they should neither perish utterly when cursed by God, nor, lacking chastisement, persist in scorning God. But the complete curse fell upon the serpent which had seduced them. 'And God said to the serpent: Because you have done this, cursed are you above all cattle, and above all the beasts of the earth.' 2 And this same thing the Lord says in the Gospel, to those who are found on the left: 'Depart from me, you accursed ones, into everlasting fire, which my Father has prepared for the devil and his angels,' 3 indicating that the eternal fire was not originally prepared for man, but for the one who seduced man, and caused him to sin, for the one, I say, who is the prince of apostasy, who is the prince of division, and for those angels who became apostates along with him; which indeed they shall also justly feel, who, like him, without repentance and without turning back, persevere in works of wickedness Saint Ireneaus of Lyons, Against Heresies, Book 3, Chapter 33 1 Gen 3.16 2 Gen 3.14 3 Mt 25.41

The Fall And Labour

Nolumus vos, charissimi, conversationis vestrae formulam et vitae auctoritatem prorsus ignorare. Multi namque alienae vitae curiosi, et suae mortis securi, simpliciores quos reperiunt, inanibus quaestiunculis fatigant, et serpentina voca ad primam parentem assumpta. Quare, inquiunt, praeceptunt est vobis sic laborare, sic abstinere, sic hominibus obedire, sic ab hominibus silere, sic seorsum conventicula cogere, sic communem vitam hominum spernere? O! aut otiosa, aut maliciosa curiositas! Quare, inquit, diabolus ad Evam, praecepit vobis Deus, ne comderetis ex ligno scientiae boni et mali? Simplicem mulierculae sensum astuta malignitas tali cavillatione pertusum irrepsit; et eum nesciret tenera simplicitas divinae jussionis rationem reddere, non valuit callidae persuasionis allegationem refellere. Ideo, dilectissimi, sicut beatus ait apostolus Petrus, paratos vos cupimus, et edoctos omni poscenti vos rationem reddere, de ea quae in vobis est conversatione et obedientia. Olim vero, nisi vobis excidit, de re ista verbum vobis fecimus, sed quia in hoc apostolorum natali, unique fratrum numerus solito copiosior affluxit, repetere nobis haud erit pigrum, quod vobis credimus necessarium. Itaque quod manibus laborantes terram operamur, forma est protoparentis Adae, non quidem in paradiso peccantis, sed extra poenitentis, In paradisi namque otio, et rerum omnium opulentia, oborta est culpa, quae Dominum irritavit. Extra paradisum suscepta est poena, quae servum juste mulctavit. Melior igitur poena in exsilio, quam culpa in paradiso. Ideo ergo quia peccatores et filii peccatoris secundum carnem ad huc sumus, in carne sententiam damnatae carnis non respuimus: et sudore vultus nostri pane nostro vescimur. Ne autem totus labour hominis sit in ore ejus, manibus nostris operosius laboramus, ut sit, unde tribuamus necessitatem patienti. Isaac, Cisterciensis Abbas, Sermo L, In Natali Apostolorum Petri et Pauli II Source: Migne PL 194.1858b-1859a

We do not wish, bothers, that you be utterly ignorant of the reason and authority for the conduct of your life. For many are curious about different lives, and yet unconcerned about their own deaths, and the more simple whom they question are worn down by vacuous little questions, even by that serpentine voice that seized our first parent. Why, they say, do they command you to work so and abstain and obey men and be silent among men and force you to your gatherings, so that you spurn the common life of men? O, how worthless, how wicked is curiosity. The devil said to Eve: Why does God command you this, that you do not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil? 1 By the piercing of such an astute cavil wickedness crept into the simple sense of the woman and her tender simplicity did not how to return a reason for the Divine decree, being unable to repulse the questioning of clever persuasion. Therefore, beloved, as the blessed Apostle Peter said, we desire you to be prepared and educated to return reason to all who ask of you concerning your way of life and obedience. 2 Once before, however, lest we lose you, we have spoken about this, but because of this feast day of the Apostles, for which reason a greater number of the brothers have gathered together, we must repeat to you what shall seem almost needless. That with labouring hands we work the earth is in the manner of our forefather Adam, certainly not in sin in paradise, but outside penitent. For in paradise is rest, and a richness of all things, and fault springing up there angers the Lord. Outside paradise punishment is taken up which rightly roughly treats the servant. Better therefore is punishment in exile than fault in paradise. And because we are sinners and sons of sinners according to the flesh, in the flesh we may not spurn here the sentence of damnation of the flesh, and so in the sweat of our face we eat our bread. Lest all the labour of a man be in his mouth, with our labouring hands we work, that it might be that from this we acquire the necessity of patience. Isaac of Stella, from Sermon 50, On the Feast of Peter and Paul 1 Gen 3.1 2 1 Pet 3.15

Expulsion And Excommunication

Et nunc, inquit Deus, ne aliquando extendat manum, et sumat de ligno vitae, et edat, et vivat in aeternum. Et dimisit illum Dominus Deus de paradiso voluptatis operari terram, ex qua sumptus est. Superiora verba Dei sunt; hoc autem factum propter ipsa verba secutum est. Alienatus enim a vita, non solum quam fuerat, si praeceptum servasset, cum Angelis accepturus, sed ab illa etiam quam ducebat in paradiso, felici quondam corporis statu, separari utique debuit a ligno vitae: sive quod ex ipso illi subsisteret felix ille ipse status corporis, ex re visibili, virtute invisibili, sive quod in eo esset et sacramentum visibile invisibilis sapientiae; alienandus inde utique fuerat, vel iam moriturus, vel etiam tamquam excommunicatus: sicut etiam in hoc paradiso, id est Ecclesia, solent a Sacramentis altaris visibilibus homines disciplina ecclesiastica removeri. Sanctus Augustinus Hipponensi, De Genesi Ad Litteram, Liber XI, Caput XL Source: Migne PL 34.451

And now said God: 'Lest at some time he reach out his hand and take from the tree of life and eat and live forever. And God sent him from the paradise of delight to work the earth from which he came.' 1 The words of God above are that this was done on account of what had happened. For he was estranged from life, not only from what he would be, if he had kept the commandment, that he would be received with angels, but even from how he was in paradise, that once happy state of body, and thus he was separated from the tree of life, whether because he subsisted on it for his happy state of body, from a thing visible, virtue invisible, or that by it was the visible sacrament of invisible wisdom; thus he was estranged, as now already dead, or as one excommunicated, as even in this paradise which is the Church, they are accustomed by ecclesiastical discipline to remove men from the visible sacraments of the altar.   Saint Augustine of Hippo, On Genesis To The Letter, Book 11, Chap 40 1 Gen 3.22

The State And Place Of Paradise

Plantaverat autem Dominus Deus paradisum voluptatis a principio, in quo posuit hominem quem formaverit..   Ab illo utique principio Deus plantasse paradisum credendus est, ex quo irrigans terram omnem, remotis quae operuerunt aquis, herbas et ligna fructifera producere jussit; in quo tamen hominem die sexto, quo et ipsum formaverat, posuit. Neque ullatenus dubitandum est paradisum in quo positus est homo primus, et si Ecclesiae praesentis, vel futurae patriae typum tenet, ad proprietatem litterae intelligendum esse, locum scilicet amoenissimum, fructuosis nemoribus opacatum, eumdemque magnum, et magno fonte fecundum. Pro eo autem quod nostra editio, quae de Hebraica veritate translata est, habet a principio, in antiqua translatione positum est, ad orientem. Ex quo nonnulli volunt intelligi quod in orientali parte orbis terrarum sit locus paradisi, quamvis longissimo interjacente spatio, vel Oceani, vel terrarum, a cunctis regionibus, quas nunc humanum genus incolit secretum. Unde nec aquae diuvii, quae totam nostri orbis superficiem altissime cooperuerunt, ad eum pervenire potuerunt. Verum seu ibi, seu alibi sit, Deus noverit, nos tamen locum hunc fuisse, et esse terrenum, dubitare non licet. Sanctus Beda, Hexameron Liber I Source: Migne PL 91.43c-44a

For God planted the paradise of delights in the beginning, in which he placed man whom He had made. 1 In that beginning that God planted paradise should be believed, by whom for the watering of its whole earth it was supplied from deep waters, and He commanded it to produce grasses and fruit bearing trees, in which He then placed man whom He had made on the sixth day. Nor let there be any doubt that the paradise in which he placed the first man is even the present Church, or a type of the future fatherland, which must be understood by the meaning of the words to be a place most pleasant, shaded with fruitful groves, most broad, and made fecund with a great spring. And then, that which our text, which is translated from the original Hebrew, has 'in the beginning', in the old translation, gives as 'in the east.' Because of which not a few wish to understand that the place named paradise is to be found in the eastern part of this earthly orb, although at a very great remove, either beyond the ocean, or many lands, and now hidden from every region where the race of man presently dwells. And thus to which the waters of the flood, which covered to great depth the whole face of our world, was not able to come. But in truth, whether it is there or somewhere else, God knows; we, however, are not permitted to doubt that this place was, and that it was somewhere in the world. Saint Bede, Hexameron, Book 1   1 Gen 2.8

The Garden And The Waters

Plantaverat autem Dominus Deus paradisum voluptatis a principio.   Paradisus Ecclesia est; sic enim de illa legitur in Canticis Canticorum: Hortus conclusus soror mea. A principio autem paradisus plantatur, quia Ecclesia catholica a Christo, qui est principium omnium, condita esse cognoscitur. Fluvius de paradiso exiens imaginem portat Christi, de paterno fonte fluentis, qui irrigat Ecclesiam suam verbo praedicationis, et dono baptismi. De quo bene per Prophetam dicitur: Dominus Deus noster fluvius gloriosus exsiliens in terram sitientem. Quator autem paradisi flumina quator sunt Evangelia ad praedictionem cunctis gentibus. Sanctus Isidorus Hispalensis,Mysticorum Expositiones Sacramentorum Seu Quaestiones In Vetus Testamentum, In Genesin, Caput III Source: Migne PL 83.216b-c

The Lord God planted a paradise of pleasure in the beginning. 1 Paradise is the Church, so indeed we read about it in the Song of Songs: 'An enclosed garden is my sister.' 2 And in the beginning paradise was planted because the Catholic Church is from Christ, who is the beginning of all things, being known as the foundation. 3 The river going out from paradise bears the image of Christ, flowing from the paternal spring, which waters His Church with the word of preaching and the gift of Baptism. Concerning which it is said by the Prophet: 'The Lord our God is a glorious river flowing out into a thirsty land'. 4 And the four rivers of paradise are the four Gospels given for the preaching to all the peoples. Saint Isidore of Seville, Expositions of Sacred Mysteries or Questions on the Old Testament, On Genesis, Chap 3 1 Gen 2.8 2 Song 4.12 3 1 Cor 3.11 4 Isai 44.3

Water And Souls

Ἐπηραν οἱ ποταμοὶ φωνὰς αὐτῶν, κ.τ.ἑ. Φύσεις λογικὰς ἁγίας ποταμοὺς ὀνομάζει, διὰ τὸ ῥεῖν ἐκ τῆς καρδίας αὐτῶν ποταμοὺς ὕδατος Θαυμαστοὶ οἱ μετεωρισμοι τῆς θαλάσσης, κ.τ.ἑ Θαυμαστὴ γίνεται ψυχὴ ἀρθεῖσα μετάρσιος καὶ χωρισθεῖσα τῶν τοῦ βίου τούτου κυάτων. Ὠριγένης, Εἰς Ψαλμους, Ψαλμος ϟΒ' Source: Migne PG 12.1553a-b

The rivers lifted up their voices...1 He gives the names of rivers to holy and rational natures because from their hearts flow the waters of eternal life. 2 Wonderous the elations of the sea...3 Wonderous is the soul lifted up into the heights and separated from the waves of this life. Origen, Selecta On the Psalms 92 1 Ps 92.3 2 cf Jn 4.14 3 Ps 92.4

Days And Virtues

Expressa igitur congruae collationis imagine, sicut sex diebus, ita sex virtutibus circa piae intentionis opera exercemur, ut post sanctarum vicissitudines actionum in tranquillo caritatis, quasi in vero mentis Sabbato respiremus. Quocirca fidem ponamus diem primum, quo fideles ab infidelibus quasi lux ex tenebris separantur. Spes etiam vicem secundae diei obtineat, per quam hi, quorum conversatio est in coelis, discernuntur ab aliis, qui terrena sapiunt, et liquescentes in seipsis delabuntur et effluunt. Temperantia quasi dies tertius illucescat, in qui membra nostra mortificantes super terram, carnalis concupiscentiae fluxum, quasi aquas amarissimas certis continentiae limitibus coarctamus, ut terra nostri cordis appareat, et sitiens fontem vitae virtutum flores fructusque producat. Prudentia quasi dies quartus faciat scientiae lumen erumpere, ut inter facienda et non facienda discernens dividat inter diem et noctem, quatenus sapientiae lumen, velut solis splendor, effulgeat. Lex vero scientiae spiritualis in quibusdam crescit, et in quibusdam deficit, quasi lunae lux minor appareat. Exemplo etiam praecedentium patrum quasi stellae inter dies et annos mensesque distinguunt: quid videlicet distet inter eos, qui ante legem, et eos qui sub lege, vel qui sub gratia profecerunt: quae cerinomiae, quae praecepta, quae judicia, quae promissa sub quo intellectu nostra salutis conveniant. Fortitudo autem sit dies quintus, per quem in hoc mari magno et spatioso quasi pisces spirituales procellosa fluctuum volumina toleremus, cohibeamus linguae lubricum sub censura silentii, et quasi volatilia pennata, nunc ad coelestia erigamur, nunc autem condescendentes operibus misericordiae, fructus operum  bonorum sub Dei benedictione reddamus. Constituatur denique justitia dies sextus, per quem ad divinam imaginem reformati bestialibus desideriis vitiisque reptilibus imperantes, corpus spiritui, spiritum Deo subjiciamus, et sic utrique quod suum est, tribuatur. Et notandum quod Dominus non bestiis, non jumentis, non reptilibus, sed hominibus et avibus atque piscibus benedicit: homini autem jumenta et bestiae subjiciuntur. His enim qui in se Dei praesentant imaginem, jumenta, id est, corpora nostra, subjiciuntur, et bestiae, id est, nequitiae spirituales, de quibus Propheta precatur: Ne tradas bestiis animas confitentium tibi. Et Dominus alium Prophetam: Auferam, inquit, malas bestias de terra vestra, et dormies vos faciam fiducialiter. Haec est dormitio septimae diei tranquillissima dies. Dies enim septimus est caritas, dies Sabbati, dies requietionis, jucunditatis, et pacis, per quam homo securissime dicit: in pace in idipsum dormiam et requiescam. Ipsa est omnium virtutum consummatio, sanctarum animarum suavis refectio, tranquillissima mentis feriatio. Petrus Blenensis, De Caritate Dei et Proximi Source:  Migne PL 207.908a-909a

Therefore as a clear image of things which fittingly come together, so are the six days like the six virtues, those works in which we exert ourselves with pious intent that after the vicissitudes of holy deeds we come to rest in the tranquillity of love, as in the true Sabbath of the soul. Wherefore let us place faith with the first day, where the faithful are separated from the faithful as light from darkness. Hope shall hold place with the second day, by which those whose way is in heaven, 1 are discerned from others, they who know the things of the earth, and wasting away in themselves, slip down and flow away. Temperance reveals itself to be like the third day, in which mortifying our members on the earth, we confine the rush of carnal passions, like the bitter waters, in the certain limits of continence, that the land of our heart appear and drinking from the fount of life it produce the flowers and fruits of virtues. Prudence as the fourth day makes the light of knowledge burst forth, which discerning between the things we should do and we should not do, divides night from day, as much as the light of wisdom, as the radiance of the sun shines forth. The law of spiritual knowledge, however, in whoever it grows and declines is as the lesser light of the moon. And the example of the fathers that came before are as the stars distinguishing between the days and the months and the years, as indeed there is difference between them, those who were before the law, and those who were under the law, and those who by grace advanced, and let them be gathered together with rite, precept, judgement, and promise, in which is the understanding of our salvation. Fortitude is the fifth day, by which in this great expanse of sea we are spiritual fish bearing the mass of tumultuous waves, binding the slipperiness of our tongues beneath the censure of silence, and as winged birds now we are lifted up to heaven, and now we swoop down for works of mercy, the fruit of which good works we are given by the blessing of God. Next justice is established as the sixth day through which we are reformed to the Divine image, by command of the bestial desires and reptilian vices, subjecting the body to the spirit, the spirit to God, and so both of which are his let them be arranged. For let it noted that the Lord did not bless beasts nor cattle, nor reptiles, but men and birds and fish, 2 and cattle and beast should be subject to man. For by these things they present the image of God in themselves who subject the cattle, that is, our bodies, and the beasts, that is, wicked spirits; concerning which the Prophet prays: 'Do not hand over to the beasts the souls of those who confess you.' 3 And the Lord by another Prophet says: 'I shall take away the wicked beasts from your land, and I shall make you sleep in security.' 4 And this is the rest of seventh day, the most peaceful day. And the seventh day is love, it is the Sabbath day, the day of quiet, of joy, of peace, by which a man most secure says: 'In peace I shall sleep and rest.' 5 This is the perfection of all the virtues, the sweet refreshment of holy souls, the most tranquil leisure of the soul. Peter of Blois, On Love Of God And One's Neighbour 1 Philip 3.20 2 Gen 1.22,28 3 Ps 73.19 4 Lev 26.6 5 Ps 4.9

Treating Creation

Expergiscere, O homo, et dignitatem tuae cognosce naturae. Recordare te factum ad imaginem Dei; quae, etsi in Adam corrupta, in Christo tamen est reformata. Utere quomodo utendum est visibilibus creaturis, sicut uteris terra, mari, coelo, aere, fontibus atque fluminibus; et quidquid in eis pulchrum atque mirabile est, refer ad laudem et gloriam Conditoris. Noli esse deditus illi lumini quo volucres et serpentes, quo bestiae et pecudes, quo muscae delectantur et vermes. Lucem corpoream sensu tange corporea, et toto mentis affectu illud verum lumen amplectere quod illuminat omnem hominem venitentem in hunc mundum, et de quo dicit Propheta: Accedite ad eum, et illuminamini, et vultus vestri non erubescent. Si enim templum Dei sumus, et Spiritus Dei habitat in nobis, plus est quod fidelis quisque in suo habet animo, quam miratur in coelo. Non itaque vobis, dilectissimi, hoc aut indicimus, aut suademus, et despiciatis opera Dei, aut contrarium aliquid fidei vestrae, in iis quae Deus bonus bona condidit, aestimetis; sed ut omni creaturarum specie, et universo hujus mundi ornatu rationabiliter et temperanter utamini: Quae enim videntur, sicut ait Apostulus, temporalia sunt; quae autem non videntur aeterna sunt. Unde quia ad praesentia sumus nati, ad futura autem renati, non temporalibus bonis dediti, sed aeternis simus intenti. Sanctus Leo Magnus, Sermo XXVII, In Nativitate Domini VII, Cap VI Source: Migne PL 54.220b-221b

Awake, O man, and know the dignity of your nature. Remember that you were made in the image of God, 1 which although it was corrupted in Adam, yet was restored in Christ. Use visible creatures as they should be used, as you use earth, sea, sky, air, springs and rivers; and whatever in them is fair and wondrous, ascribe to the praise and glory of the Creator. Do not be subject to that light in which birds and serpents, beasts and cattle, flies and worms delight. Confine the material light to your bodily senses and with all the sense of your mind embrace that true light, which coming into this world enlightens every man, 2 and of which the Prophet says, 'Come to Him and be enlightened, and your faces shall not blush.' 3 For if we 'are a temple of God, and the Spirit of God dwells in us,'4 that which every one of the faithful has in his own soul is more than what he admires in heaven. Thus we do not, dearly beloved, exhort or counsel you to despise the works of God, or to think there is anything contrary to your faith in what the good God has made good, but that you use every kind of creature and all the ornaments of this world reasonably and moderately; for as the Apostle says: 'the things which are seen are transient, but the things which are not seen are eternal.' 5 So because we are born for the present and reborn for the future, let us not hand ourselves over to temporal goods but be eager for eternal ones. Pope Leo the Great, from Sermon 27, Chap 6 1 Gen 1.26 2 John 1.9 3 Ps 33.6 4 1 Cor 3.16 5 2 Cor 4:18

Grace And Creation

Ipsius enim sumus factura, creati in Christo Jesu in operibus bonis, quae praeparavit Deus, ut in illis ambulemus. Reddidit causas, quare gratia salvati sumus per fidem, et hoc ipsum non ex nobis, sed ex munere Dei, dicens: Ipsius enim factura sumus, hoc est, quod vivimus, quod spiramus, quod intelligimus, et credere possumus, ipsius est, quia ipse conditor noster est. Et diligenter observa, quia non dixerit, ipsius figuratio sumus atque plasmatio: sed, ipsius factura sumus. Plasmatio quippe originem de terrae limo trahit: factura vero juxta similitudinem et imaginem Dei sumpsit exordium. Quod in centesimo quoque octavo decimo psalmo simul positum diversa significat: Manus tuae fecerunt me, et plasmaverunt me. Factura primum locum tenet: deinde plasmatio. Et quia creationis, et conditionis nomen ad magna semper solet opera copulari, verbi causa: illa urbs condita est, et ab initio creatus est mundus, et unusquisque sanctorum per varia dogmata atque virtutes, in semetipso mundus est totus: propterea nunc creati in Christo dicimur, et creati in operibus bonis sive quae ipsi fecimus, vel facturi sumus, sive in aliis creaturis, ad quae nostra conversatio transferenda est, ut quae praeparavit Deus, in illis ambulemus, spe magna jam nobis data, dum in his ambulaturi sumus, quae Deus magnopere praeparavit. Et quia semel ad nomen creaturae venimus, et Sapientia in Proverbiis Salomonis dicit se creatam initium viarum Dei, multique timore, ne Christum creaturam dicere compellantur, totum Christi mysterium negant, ut dicant, non Christum in hac sapientia, sed mundi sapientiam significari: nos libere proclamamus, non esse periculum eum dicere creaturam, quem vermem, et hominem, et crucifixum, et maledictionem, tota spei nostrae fiducia profitemur: maxime cum ex duobus versiculis quae praecedunt, ipsa sapientia promittat se esse dicturam quae post saecula sunt. Cum autem saecula Christus fecerit, et quae deinceps loquitur, ea sint quae post saecula dicturum se esse promiserit, ad incarnationis mysterium, non ad naturam Dei referenda sunt quae sequuntur: licet in Hebraeis codicibus non habeatur: Dominus creavit me initium viarum suarum: sed, Dominus possedit me. Inter possessionem autem, et creationem multa distantia est: quia qui possidetur, is utique est atque subsistit, et est proprius, qui possidetur. Creator vero ille qui non erat antequam fieret: aut certe de eo quod erat, transfertur in aliud, sicut et nos nunc creati dicimur in Christo Jesu. Creati utique, non quia ante non fuimus, sed creati in operibus bonis. Quod David quoque in psalmo quinquagesimo deprecatur, dicens: Cor mundum crea in me, Deus. Et certe mundum cor ante peccatum habuerat, quando de eo Dominus loquebatur: Inveni David filium Jesse secundum cor meum: sed ut ibi creatio instaurationem sonat: ita et in nobis et in Christo per singula opera et profectus, creatura atque conditio accipi potest: ut quotidie in credentibus, quia varie secundum merita diversa montes dicuntur, et valles, et colles, atque campestria, Christus creatus, natus et conditus sit. Sanctus Hieronymus, In Epistolam Pauli ad Ephesios, Liber II, Cap IV Source: Migne PL 26.470b-471c

For we are his work; God has created us in Christ Jesus, that we walk in the good works He has prepared beforehand. 1 He has given the reasons how we have been saved by grace through faith and that this is not from us but from the gift of God, saying: 'we are His work,' that is, that we live, that we breathe, that we understand, and that we are able to have faith is His doing, because He is our Creator. And carefully observe that he has not said we are a figure of Him and a thing shaped, but, 'we are His work.' Something shaped has its origin drawn from the mud of earth, but a work begins according to the likeness and image of God. Which difference is signified in the one hundredth and eighteenth Psalm: 'Your hands made me, and they shaped me.' 2 The work is placed first, then comes the shaping. And because it is a matter of creation, on account of that greatness, the name of Creator is always accustomed to be associated with it. For example: a city is founded but from the beginning the world is created. And so whoever among the holy by various teaching and virtues in himself is completely pure, on account of that we are spoken of as created in Christ and created in good works, by what we did, or what we shall do, or in other creatures, according to the influence of our conduct, as God has prepared it, that in which we should walk, with that great hope now given to us while we walk in these things which God has munificently prepared. And because we have touched on the name of creature and Wisdom in the Proverbs of Solomon speaks of itself as a thing created at the beginning of the ways of God, 3 there is great fear, lest there be need to call Christ a creature, denying the whole mystery of Christ, and so they say that Christ is not in this wisdom but it signifies the wisdom of this world, but we freely proclaim that it should not be perilous to speak of Him as a creature, which a worm and a man and the crucified, and curse, with all the confidence of our hope we profess, especially when in the preceding verses the same wisdom is promised to be spoken beyond the ages. 4 When indeed Christ made the ages, that which then is spoken, that which is promised to be spoken beyond the ages, concerns the mystery of the Incarnation and does not refer to the nature of God. And then it is not written in the Hebrew: 'The Lord created me in the beginning of the ways,' but 'the Lord possessed me.' There is a great difference between possession and creation, because he who possesses, that which is possessed depends on him, and is his own who possesses it. However the Creator is He who before whom there was nothing, and from Him came what was, passing into something, as even now we are said to be created in Jesus Christ. Thus we are created, not because we did not exist before, but because we have been created in good works. So that which David prays for in the fiftieth Psalm: 'A pure heart create in me, O God' 5 And certainly a heart is pure before it has sin, and concerning this the Lord said, 'I have found David, the son of Jesse, a man according to my heart.' 6 And here creation means a restoration, so even in us and in Christ, with each work and advance, it is possible to receive creation and founding, and that every day among the faithful, who because they vary according to their merits, are called mountains, and valleys and hills, and fields, so Christ is created, born and established. Saint Jerome, Commentary On The Epistle of Saint Paul to the Ephesians, Book 2, Chap 4 1 Ephes 2.10 2 Ps 118.73 3 Prov 8. 4 Prov 22. 5 Ps 50.11 6 Acts 13.22

The Perils Of The Baptised

Protexisti me a conventu malignantium, a multitudine operantium iniquitatem qui exacuerunt ut gladium linguas suas, intenderunt arcum rem amaram, ut sagittent in obscuro immaculatum. Non hic propheta arma bellica, nec enses, aut jacula, aut tormenta arcum pertimescit. Omnis enim ei in lingua timor est: hujus gladios, hujus spicula metuit. Ab his quidem fide sua tutus est; ait enim: Protexisti me a conventu malignantium: sed arcus homicidae linguae semper intentus est, et acumen gladii in lingua ejus praesto est. Volant autem letales ejus sagittae, et non ambiguum est, quid efficiant: scilicet ut sagittent in obscuro immaculatum. Et proprietas verbi intelligenda est. Non sanctum, non fidelem, non justum, sed immaculatum sagittant, eum cui per sacramentum Baptismi sordes et maculae veterum criminum recens ablutae sunt, nondum tamen firmatae fidei, nondum doctrinis spiritalibus eruditum, nondum contra haec pugnacis linguae arma certantem, sed simplicem, et ex novae nativitatis infantia tenerum. Hunc ergo sine metua contradictionis alicujus, intento jam pridem arcu, per rerum ignorantiam in obscuro positum vulnerabunt. Ait enim, Subito sagittabunt eum, et non timebunt: naturam simplicem, et immaculati novitate imperitam. Hanc enim fallunt, huic occultos laqueos praetendunt, insidiarum secretis latentibus gloriantes. Sequitur enim: Firmaverunt sibi verbum malum, disputaverunt ut absconderent laqueos: dixerunt: Quis videbit eos? Tempus discernitur, et inferendi vulneris, et consilii firmati. Nam eum dicitur: Subito sagittabunt, futuri temporis opus docetur: cum autem: Firmaverunt verbum malum, jam ex praeterito consilium firmatae pridem voluntatis ostenditur. Semper enim excidia adversus fidem praesto sunt, et occultis ac fallentibus insidiis pestiferae adhortationis doli adjacent, quos a raris quibusque conspici opinantur. Et ideo dictum: Absconderunt laqueos , et dixerunt: Quis videbit eos? Si enim haereticus pervertere fidem tentet, incredibile est quantis eam dolis subvertere contendat; si spem aeternitatis nostrae philosophus impugnet, mirum in modum omne bonum praesentis vitae ponet in corpore: omni ingenii sui alacritate ea, quibus doctrinae coelestis institutio subrui possit, uterque scrutantes. Sanctus Hilarius Pictaviensis,Tractatus Super Psalmos, Tractatus in Psalmum LXIII Source: Migne PL 9.410b-411b

'You have protected me from the gathering of the wicked, from the multitude of the workers of iniquity, they who sharpen their tongues like swords, and bend the bow to wound, that unseen they transfix the immaculate man.' 1 Here the Prophet does not fear arms of war, neither swords, nor spears, nor the wounds of the bow. All his fear is in the tongue: this is the sword and shaft he feared. And from these his faith has kept him secure, for he says: 'You have protected me from the gathering of the wicked,' but the bow of the murderous tongue is ever bent, and the tip of the sword on the tongue is ever prepared. For its arrows fly for death and it is not hidden how they work, for 'unseen they transfix the immaculate man.' And let this be understood properly. It is not the holy man, the faithful man, the righteous man, but the immaculate man they shoot, he who by the sacrament of Baptism has recently washed off the dirt and stains of old crimes but is not yet of firm faith, not yet instructed in spiritual teaching, not yet armed for the struggle against the blows of the tongue, but simple from his new birth is like a delicate infant. For this one, then, without fear of reprisal,they have bent the bow, and will wound him by his ignorance of things which are obscure. For it then says: 'Suddenly they will shoot him and they will not fear.' 2 Because of the simple nature and inexperience of the immaculate novice. This one they deceive and for him they have prepared hidden traps, glorying in their snares in secret places. So it follows: 'They have strengthened themselves with wicked speech, they have plotted how to set their traps, they have said: 'Who shall see us?' 3 Time is distinguished, both in the giving of wounds, and in the strengthing by counsel. For when it says, 'Suddenly they will shoot,' it teaches the deed is of a future time, and when it says, 'They have strengthened themselves with wicked speech,' it reveals that in the past they confirmed their wish for the present. For they are always prepared for the ruin of faith and have set nearby hidden and deceiving snares of vile and cunning exhortation, which they think will rarely be perceived. And so it is said: 'The have set their traps, they have said: 'Who shall see us?' For if a heretic is intent on overthrowing the faith, incredible is the amount of cunning with which he strives to subvert it, and if a philosopher impugns the hope of our eternity, wonderous it is how he places every good of the present life in the body, with all his ingenuity swiftly undermining the foundation of the heavenly teaching. One must watch out for both of these. Saint Hilary of Poitiers, Homilies on the Psalms, from Psalm 63 1 Ps 63.3-5 2 Ps 63.6 3 Ps 63.8