Knowing And Known

Audite verbum, quod locutus est Dominus super vos, filii Israel; super omni cognatione, quam eduxi de terra Aegypti dicens: tantummodo vos cognovi ex omnibus cognationibus terrae, idcirco visitabo super vos omnes iniquitates vestras. LXX: Audite, verbum hoc quod locutus est Dominus super vos, domus israel, et contra omnem tribum quam eduxi de terra Aegypti, dicens: Verumtamen vos cognovi de universis tribubus terrae, idcirco ulciscar super vos omnes malitias vestras. Ad filios Israel prophetalis sermo dirigitur, et qui sint isti filii Israel sequens versus ostendit: super omni, inquit, cognatione, quam eduxi de terra Aegypti, quod non solum in decem tribubus, sed in omnibus duodecim, addentes Iudam et Beniamin, debemus accipere. Omnes enim de terra Aegypti eduxit, et ait: tantummodo, sive, ut Symmachus interpretatus est: solos, vos cognovi ex omnibus cognationibus terrae. Et quia solos vos cognovi, qui Creator sum omnium, et vos habui peculiarem populum meum, idcirco super solos vos omnia vestra peccata restituam: potentes enim potenter tormenta patientur; qui autem minimus est, dignus est misericordia. Et in Ezechiele legimus: A sanctis meis incipite. Et iudicium Dei de domo eius dicitur habere principium. Hoc interim iuxta historiam dictum sit. Ceterum quia auditus in Scripturis Sanctis, non solum iste accipitur quem auribus carnis excipimus, sed etiam ille, de quo Dominus ait: qui habet aures audiendi audiat. Unde et omnis populus videbat vocem Dei, proprie ad eos sermo fit Domini, qui sensu vident Dominum, quos eduxit de terra Aegypti; et de potestate Pharaonis, ut nequaquam luto et paleis deservirent exstruentes Aegyptias civitates, et quos ex omnibus tribubus terrae cognovit, dicente Apostolo: nunc autem cognoscentes Deum, magis autem cogniti ab eo. et in alio loco: qui ignorat, ignorabitur. Non ergo omnes cognoscit Dominus, sed eos, qui eius cognitione sunt digni, loquens in Evangelio: recedite a me, operarii iniquitatis, nescio vos. In eo enim quod operarii iniquitatis sunt, ignorantur a Domino. Idcirco inquit quia solos vos cognovi, et meos habui, visitabo super vos omnes iniquitates vestras. Quem diligit Dominus, corripit, et castigat omnem filium quem recipit. Et pulchre dixit: visitabo, et non percutiam, quia plaga Dei visitatio est, atque curatio. Et omnes, inquit, iniquitates sive peccata vestra visitabo, ne quid impercussum remaneat, ne quid non recipiat sanitatem. Hieronymous, Commentariorum In Amos Prophetam, Liber I, Cap III Source: Migne PL 25.1013d-1014c

Hear the word the Lord speaks over you, sons of Israel, over all the people whom I led from the land of Egypt, saying: Only you I have known from all the peoples of the earth, therefore I will visit upon you all your iniquities. The Septuagint has: 'Hear the word the Lord has spoken over you, house of Israel, and against every tribe which I led up from the land of Egypt, saying: Only you I have known from all the tribes of the earth, therefore I will have vengeance on you for all your wickedness.' 1 The prophetic word is directed to the sons of Israel, and who the sons of Israel are the following verse makes clear: 'Over all the people,' He says, 'which I led from the land of Egypt,' which means that we should understand not only the ten tribes here, but all the twelve, adding Judah and Benjamin. For He led them all from the land of Egypt, and He says, 'Only', or according to Symmachus 'Alone', 'you I have known from all the peoples of the earth.' And because I have known you alone, I who am the Creator of all things, I have you as my special people, therefore against you alone I shall return all your sins. 'The stronger shall suffer stronger torments.' 2 He who is least shall be worthy of mercy. And in Ezekiel we read: 'Begin with my holy ones.' 3 And the judgement of God is said to begin with His house. 4 This, then, was said in the historical sense. But there is another hearing in the Holy Scriptures, not only a receiving which is the taking up with the ears of flesh, but indeed that concerning which the Lord says: 'He who has ears let him hear.' 5 Whence all the people saw the voice of God, 6 but especially those to whom the word of the Lord comes, who see God with understanding, those whom He led from the land of Egypt, and from the power of the Pharaoh, that they no more slave with mud and straw to raise the cities of Egypt, and He knew them from all the tribes of the earth, as the Apostle says: 'Now even knowing God, or rather known by God.' 7 And in another place, 'He who does not know, shall not be known.' 8 Therefore not all know God, but those who are worthy of knowing Him, as it is said in the Gospel: 'Begone from me, you workers of iniquity, I do not know you.' 9 For in that they are workers of iniquity, they do not know God. Therefore He says: 'Because I have known you alone, and I have you as mine, I shall visit on you all your iniquities.' He whom the Lord loves He corrects, and He reproves every son whom he receives. 10 And well it is said, 'I shall visit upon you,' and not 'I shall strike', because the visitation of God is a blow and also a cure. And all your iniquities or sins, He says, I shall visit upon you, lest you remain unpunished, lest you lack all health. Saint Jerome, Commentary on Amos, Book 1, Chap 3 1 Amos 6.1 2 Wisdom 6.7 3 Ezek 9.6 4 1 Pet 4.17 5 Lk 8.8 6 Exod 20.18 7 Galat 4.9 8 1 Cor 14.38 9 Lk 13.27 10 Hebr 12.7-11

The Interior Heaven

Ἰδοὺ λοιπὸν καὶ ἡμεῖς οἱ τεθέντες ἐν λάκκῳ ἀγνωσίας βαθυτάτῳ καὶ σκοτεινοῖς πάθεσι, καὶ σκιᾷ θανάτου τούτου τοῦ σώματος, περὶ τοῦ ἐπιγείου οὐρανοῦ ἐκ θρασύτητος φιλοσοφεῖν ἀρχόμεθα. Ἔχει μὲν γὰρ τὸ στερέωμα τοὺς ἀστέρας κάλλος, ἡ δὲ ἀπάθεια τὰς ἀρετὰς κόσμον· οὐδὲν γὰρ ἕτερόν τι ἔγωγε ἀπάθειαν ὑπείληφα εἶναι· ἀλλ᾿ ἢ ἐγκάρδιον νοὸς οὐρανόν, τὰς τῶν δαιμόνων πανουργίας, ἀθύρματα λοιπὸν λογιζόμενον. Ἅγιος Ἰωάννης τῆς Κλίμακος, ἡ Κλίμαξ, Λογος ΚΘ' Source: Migne PG 88.1148b

Behold, here are we who are laying in the deepest pit of ignorance, in the dark passions and in the shadow of death of this body, having the temerity to begin to philosophize about heaven on earth. For the firmament has the stars for its beauty, and dispassion has the virtues for its adornment; and by dispassion I mean nothing else but the interior heaven of the mind, which considers the snares of demons to be mere toys. Saint John Climacus, The Ladder, from Step 29

The Leper And The Mountain

Et descendente eo de monte, sequutae sunt eum turbae multae, et ecce leprosus... Ecce leprosus, quasi jam praeparatus, descendenti illi occurrit. Et forte et ideo descendit, ut leprosum mundaret. Lepra enim est peccatum animarum nostrum. Ideo ergo Dominus de altitudine caeli, quasi de excelso monte, descendit, ut lepram peccatorum nostrorum mundaret. Quare, putas, iste inter caeteros non ascendit in montem, ut audiret sermones divinos? Quia lepra erat gravatus, et peccatorum bajulans pondus, sursum ascendere non valebat. Aut non audisti prophetam dicentem, quomodo leves esse debeant, qui ad ecclesiasticum montem ascendunt? Quis, inquit, ascendet in montem Domini, aut quis stabit in loco sancto ejus? Innocens manibus, et mundo corde... Sic quicumque in malis ambulat, non potest in ecclesiam ascendere, quae mons Domini appellatur, nec audire spiritualem doctrinam. Et si venit, corpore quidem venit, animo autem non ascendit. Qui autem cum puro corde non venit, nihil illi prodest, quia corpore venit. Et si audit spiritualem doctrinam, non intelligit, quia sensus ejus carnalium vitiorum lepra corruptus est. Nemo enim bonarum rerum potest sentire saporem, quamdiu delectatur in malis. Quamdiu enim delectat eum malum, non potest eum delectare bonum. Tunc autem incipit ei placere bonum, cum coeperit ei displicere malum. Opus Imperfectum in Matthaeum, Homilia XXI Source: Migne PG 56.835c-836a

And coming down from the mountain, a great crowd followed him, and behold a leper... 1 Behold, a leper, as if now prepared to meet Him who was coming down. And perhaps for this He descended, that He might cleanse the leper. The leper is the sin of our souls. Therefore the Lord came down from the height of heaven, as from the high mountain, that He cleanse the leprosy of our souls. But why, you may think, did this fellow not go up the mountain with the rest that he might hear the divine words? Because the leprosy burdened him and he bore the weight of sins, he was not able to ascend on high. Or have you not heard the Prophet saying, that they should be light, who would go up the ecclesiastical mountain? He says: 'Who shall ascend to the mountain of God, or who shall stand in His holy place? He who is innocent of hand and has a pure heart...' 2 So whoever walks in evil, he is not able to go up into the Church, which is named the mountain of the Lord, nor does he hear spiritual teaching. And if he does come, he comes in the body alone, in the soul does not ascend. He who does not come with a pure heart, profits not at all, because in the body he comes. And if he hears spiritual teaching, he does not understand, because his mind is corrupted by the leprosy of his carnal vices. For no one is able to appreciate the fragrance of good things while he has pleasure in evil. While he delights in evil, he is not able to delight in the good. The good begins to please when evil begins to displease. Opus Imperfectum on Matthew, from Homily 21 1 Mt 8.1-2 2 Ps 23.3-4

Two Masters

Nemo potest duobus dominis servire, etc Duum dominorum infidele servitium est, nec par ejusdem potest esse ad saeculum atque ad Deum cura. In alterum enim necesse est odium sit, in alterum amor: quia idem opus diversae dominorum non conveniat voluntati, nec pauperes spiritu Deo placentes ambitiosae saeculi hujus possint apti esse jactatiae. Sanctus Hilarius Pictaviensis, In Evangelium Matthaei Commentarius, Cap V Source: Migne PL 9.944b

No one is able to serve two masters... 1 Servitude to two masters is unfaithfulness; one cannot have equal care for the world and God. It is necessary that one must hate one and love the other, because the same work does not suit the differing wishes of the masters. It is not possible that the poor in spirit, 2 who are pleasing to God, are suitable for the pleasing of this vain world. Saint Hilary of Poitiers, Commentary on the Gospel of Saint Matthew, Chapter 5 1 Mt 6.24 2 Mt 5.3

Repulsing Pride

Εἰ δὲ ὑπὸ τοῦ δαιμονιώδους πάθους τῆς κακίστης ὑπερηφανίας σεαυτὸν ὀρᾷς πολεμοὺμενον, ὀφείλεις μηδένα λοιδορῆσαι, ἢ κρῖνα, ἢ ἐξουδενῶσαι τὸ σύνολον, ἀλλ' ἑαυτὸν περίψημα πάντων λογίζεσθαι, καὶ ἐννοεῖν συνεχῶς, ὅτι ἐὰν μὴ Κύριος οἰκοδομήσῃ οἶκον, εἰς μάτην ἐκοπίασσαν οἱ οἰκοδομοῦντες· καὶ πάντοτε χρεωφειλέτην λογίζεσθαι ἑαυτὸν, καὶ ἐξουθενεῖν ἐνώπιον τοῦ Θεοῦ καὶ πάντων ἀνθρώπων. Καὶ μὴ θάρσει, ἕως οὗ τὴν ἀπόφασιν δέξῃ· ὀρῶν εκεῖνον, τὸν καὶ μετὰ τὴν ἐν νυμφώνι κατάκλισιν, χεῖρας καὶ πόδας δεσμούμενον, καὶ εἰς τὸ σκότος αἰώνιον ἐξοριζόμενον· ἀλλὰ κᾶν νηστεύῃς, κἂν ἀγρυπνῇς, κἂν χαμαικοιτῇς, κἂν ψάλλῃς, κἂν διαμονῇς, κἂν μετανοίας πολλὰς ποιῇς, κἂν ἄλλο τι καλὸν ποιῇς, μὴ λέγου, ὅτι ἐξ ἰδίου μου κόπου, ἤ ἀπὸ ἰδίας προθυμίας γεγένηται, ἀλλ' ἐκ τῆς Θεοῦ βοηθείας καὶ ἀντιλήψεως γίνεται, καὶ οὐχὶ ἐκ τῆς ἐμῆς σπουδῆς. Σπούδασον πάντοτε, ἀδελφὲ, ἵνα ὑπάρχῇς ἀεὶ ἁπλοῦς καὶ ἄμωμος· καὶ μὴ ἔχε ἄλλα ἐν τῇ καρδίᾳ, ἄλλα ἐν τῷ στόματί σου· τοῦτο γὰρ δόλιόν ἐστι· καὶ συνεχῶς μετὰ δακρύων προσεύχου· καὶ οὕτω ποιῶν ἀπαλλαγήσῃ τοῦ ὀλεθρίου καὶ πονηποῦ παραπτώματος. Άγιος Ιωάννης ο Δαμασκηνός, Περι Των Ὀκτώ Τῆς Πονηρίας Πνευμάτων Source: Migne PG 95.81d-84b

If you sense that you are being assaulted by that demonic passion of wicked pride, instantly resolve not to scorn anyone, or condemn them, nor disregard them, but rather reckon yourself to be the foulest of all, and think always: 'Unless the Lord builds the house, in vain they labour who build it.' 1 You must judge yourself to be a debtor to all, and humble yourself before God and every man. Do not be confident in yourself until you hear the sentence, when you shall see him, who even if he reclined at the wedding feast, bound hand and foot and cast out into the eternal darkness. 2 But even if you fast, or keep vigils, or sleep on the bare earth, or sing Psalms, or cultivate patience, or frequently repent, doing whatever good you do, do not say to yourself: 'This is my own labour!' or 'This is a work of my own eager will!' But ascribe it all to the aid and help of God, not to your own effort. Have care always, brother, to live simply and blamelessly, not having one thing in your heart and another in your mouth. For that is deceit. Pray always with tears. If you do this, you shall escape the fatal and worst evil. Saint John of Damascus, On The Eight Wicked Spirits 1 Ps 126.1 2 Mt 22.1-14

The Whore's Damnation

Veni, ostendam tibi damnationem meretricis magnae... Perditorum multitudo, quae, relicto Creatore, daemonibus se prostravit constuprandam, in fluctibus, id est, in discordia populorum sedere memoratur. E contrario autem multitudinis credentium erat cor unum et anima una. Quos despondit Apostolus uni viro virginem castam exhibere Christo. Cum qua fornicati sunt reges terrae, etc. Universitas partibus praeeminet. Reges enim et inhabitatores terrae sunt singuli terrena superbe petentes, quos illecebra saeculi, vitiorum libidine constuprat, et insania mentis debriat. Et abstulit me in desertum in spiritu. Desertum ponit divinitatis absentiam, cujus praesentia paradisus est. Sanctus Beda, Explanatio Apocalyspsis, Caput XVII Source: Migne 93.182c-d

Come, I shall show to you the damnation of the great whore... 1 The multitude of the ruined, forsaking God, have prostrated themselves to be ravished by demons, and in the waters, he tells us, she sits, that is, amid the strife of the peoples. For on the contrary the multitude of the faithful are of one heart and soul, which the Apostle declares to be as a presenting of one chaste maiden before the one man Christ. 2 With her the kings of the earth have fornicated... He speaks of a part for all. For 'the kings' are the inhabitants of the earth, each one of whom proudly seek worldly things, who are ravished by the allurements of the world and the lust of the vices, and drunk with maddened minds. And he took me off in the spirit into the desert... The waste he gives for the absence of the Divine, whose presence is paradise. St Bede, Commentary On The Apocalypse, Chapter 17 1 Apoc 17.1 2 2 Cor 11.12

Giving And Receiving Goods

Μεγαλύνει ψυχή μου τὸν Κύριον Ὥσπερ γὰρ τὸ δοξάζειν τὸν Θεὸν οὐκ ἔξωθεν εὔκλειαν αὐτῷ φέρειν παρίστησιν, οὐδὲ τὸ ἁγιάζειν τὸν Κύριον προστιθέναι αὐτῷ ἁγιότητα σημαίνει, οὕτω καὶ τὸ μεγαλύνειν τὸν Θεὸν οὐκ ἐπίδοσιν μεγέθους προσάγειν αὐτῷ δηλοῖ· ἀλλ’ ὁ μεγαλύνων αὐτὸν τσῦ μεγέθους αὐτοῦ μετοχὴν εἰς ἑαυτὸν δέχεται. Ὅθεν εἴρηται· Μεγαλύνει ἡ ψυχή μου τὸν Κύριον. Ταῦτα δὲ οὐ δοκεῖ παράδοξα τῷ ἀκριβῶς ἐπισταμένῳ, ὡς ὁ Θεὸς οὐ δέχεται, ἀλλὰ χορηγεῖ τὰ ἀγαθά. Ἅγιος Ἀθανάσιος ο Μέγας, Εἰς Τὸ Κατὰ Λούκαν Εὐάγγελιον, Ἐκλογή Source: Migne PG 27.1392c-1393a

My soul magnifies the Lord. 1 For as to glorify God is not to give some exterior renown to Him, nor does blessing the Lord mean that there is an addition to His holiness, so to magnify God does not indicate a bringing to Him of some increase of greatness, but the one who magnifies Him, magnifies the reception of the participation in His magnificence. Whence she said: 'May soul magnifies the Lord.' Which things do not seem strange to him who thinks carefully about them, as God does not receive goods but gives them. Saint Athanasius, Fragment on Luke 1 Lk 1.46

Women And The Beginning

Τὸ ὑπερβατὸν οὕτως ἔχει· Ἀπεστάλη ὁ ἄγγελος πρὸς παρθένον ἐξ οἴκου Δαυϊδ, καὶ τὸ ὄνομα τῆς παρθένου Μαριὰμ, μεμνηστευμένην ἀνδρὶ, ᾧ ὄνομα Ἰωσήφ. Οὐκ ἀπεστάλη δὲ πρὸς Ἰωσὴφ ὁ ἄγγελος· ἐπειδὴ οὐδὲν ἡν κοινὸν τῷ Ἰωσὴφ πρὸς τὴν τοῦ Κυρίου γέννησιν. Ὡς δὴ ἀρξαμένης τῆς ἁμαρτίας ἀπὸ γυναικὸς, οὕτω καὶ τὰ ἀγαθὰ ἀπὸ γυναικὸς ἔδει ἄρξασθαι. Ὠριγένης, Εἰς Τὸ Κατὰ Λουκαν Ἐπαγγελιον Source : Migne PG 17.320b

This contains hyperbaton: An angel was sent to a virgin of the house of David, and the name of the virgin was Mary, who was betrothed to a man by the name of Joseph. 1 For the angel was not sent to Joseph, since He had no share in the conception of the Lord. For as sin's beginning was from a woman, so it was necessary that good things begin from a woman. Origen, On the Gospel of St Luke, Fragment 1 Lk 1.26-27

Asking For A Miracle

Quaest IV Quaeritur de responsione Domini ad Matrem: Quid mihi et tibi est, mulier? Nondum venit hora mea. Aut enim divina Virgo petebat petendum, aut non petendum. Si petebat petendum: ergo non debuit ei ita acriter respondere. Si petebat non petendum: ergo petentem non debuit exaudire. 2 Item, quid est quod dicit: Nondum venit hora? Aut enim venit, et ita falsum dicit; aut non venit, et ita male facit, quod ante horam facit. 3 Item, ex hoc arguunt haeretici, quod Dominus fuit subiectus fato et astris. Respondeo: Dicendum, quod Domini responsio non fuit insultatoria, sed instructoria. Ostendit enim, qua ratione Matri petenti satisfaciat. Unde in petitione tria considerantur: petens, et haec est Mater Domini; pro quibus petit, quia pro consanguineis pauperibus; quid petit, quia miraculum. Dominus ostendit in responsione, quod hoc non debebat petere ut mater; quia non ex natura ab ipsa tracta hoc poterat, ideo dicit ei mulier, non dicit mater. Non debebat petere pro consanguineis, tanquam curam habens parentum carnalium; ideo dicit: Quid mihi ei tibi est? Ostendit, quod miraculum non est faciendum propter indigentiam, sed ad manifestandam suam gloriam, cuius manifestandae nondum erat necessitas; ideo dicit: Nondum venit hora mea. Quia tamen petens mulier sancta erat; quia illi, pro quibus petebat, pauperes erant; quia discipulis gloria manifestanda erat: ideo exaudit eam. Quod obiicitur de hora, intelligendum, nondum venerat hora perfectae manifestationis, qualis fuit circa mortem: de hora dicit Augustinus, non qua cogeretur mori, sed qua dignaretur occidi; unde infra decimo: Potestatem habeo ponendi animam meam, et nemo eam tollit a me. Sanctus Bonaventura, Commentarius In Evangelium Ioannem, Caput II Source: Here, p513

Question 4. A query concerning the reply of the Lord to His mother: 'What is it to me or you, woman? My hour has not yet come.' 1 Either the holy Virgin asked for what should be asked or for what should not be asked. If she asked for what should be asked, then He should not have answered her so sharply. If she asked for what should not be asked, then He should not have listened to her request. 2 Likewise, why is it said: 'My hour has not yet come?' For either it came and He speaks falsely, or it had not come and thus He acts wrongly because He did so before the hour. 3 Likewise, because of this heretics argue that the Lord was subject to Fate and the stars. Response: It must be said that the reply of the Lord was not offensive but instructive. For He shows how His mother's request might be rationally satisfied. Whence in this petition three things must be considered: she who asks, who is the Mother of the Lord; for whom she asks, who are poor relations; what she asks for, which is a miracle. The Lord shows in His answer, that this should not have been asked as a mother, because not on account of that nature was she able to acquire this, therefore he says to her, 'Woman', not 'Mother.' Nor should it have been asked for relations, as if it were a care due to parental flesh, and therefore He says: 'What is it to me and to you?' He shows that a miracle is not made on account of poverty, but to manifest His glory, which it was not yet necessary to manifest, so He says: 'My hour has not yet come.' However, because the woman who asked was holy, because those for whom she asked were poor, because His glory would be manifested to His disciples, therefore He listened to her. Concerning the objection about the hour, it must be understood that the hour had not yet come for His perfect manifestation, as it was around His death. Concerning which hour Augustine says: 'Not that He was forced to die, but because He considered it right to die.' 2 Whence it says in the tenth chapter: 'I have the power to place down my soul and no one takes it from me.' 3 Saint Bonaventura, Commentary On The Gospel Of Saint John, Chapter 2 1 Jn 2.4 2 Aug Tractates Gosp John 8.10-12, 37 3 Jn 10.17

Care And Prayer

Καλὸν μὲν τὴν κεφαλαιωδεστέραν κρατεῖν ἐντολὴν, καὶ μηδὲν κατ' εἰδος μετιμνᾷν, μηδὲ κατ' εἶδος προσεύχεσθαι, ἀλλὰ μόνον ζητεῖν τὴν βασιλείαν, κατὰ τὸν λόγον Κυρίου. Εἰ δὲ περὶ ἐκάστης χρείας φροντίζομεν, ὀφείλομεν περὶ ἐκάστης προσεύχεσθαι. Ὁ γὰρ ἐκτὸς προσευχῆς τι ποιῶν ἤ φροντίζων οὐκ εὐoδοῦται ἐπὶ τῷ τέλει τοῦ πράγματος. Καὶ τοῦτο ἔστιν ὅ εἶπεν ὁ Κύριος· Οὐ δύνασθαε χωρὶς ἐμοῦ ποιεῖν οὐδεν. Ἅγιος Μάρκος ὁ Ἐρημίτης, Περὶ Τῶν Οἰομένων Ἐξ Ἔργων Δικαιοῦσθαι Source: MignePG 65.953c-d

Beautiful it is to cleave to that sublime commandment and care for no appearance here, nor pray for any, but seek only the kingdom, according to the word of the Lord. 1 But if one must think of some needful thing, prayer is an aid for each such thing. For without prayer what one does and what one cares about has no good end. And this is what the Lord says: 'Without me you can do nothing.' 2 Saint Mark The Ascetic, On Those Who Think Themselves Justified By Works 1 Mt 6.33 2 Jn 15.5

Hope In Troubles

Ὅτε ἐπέλιπε τὰ ἀναγκαῖα ἐν τῇ Σαμαρίᾳ, Βασιλεύοντος Ἰωρὰμ τοῦ υἱοῦ Ἀχαὰβ, δια τὸ ἐπιστρατεῦσαι τὸν Βασιλέα τῶν Ἀσσυρίων, καὶ ἐπράθη κεφαλὴ ὄνου πεντήκοντα σίκλων, καὶ τέταρτον κάβου κόπρου θανάτου οἰκτίστου, τοααύτη παρ' ἐλπίδας γέγονεν εὐθυνία, ὡς μέτρον σεμιδάλεως πραθῆναι σίκλου, καὶ διάμετρον κριθῆς ὁμοίως σίκλου· Κύριος γὰρ διασκεδάζει βουλὰς ἐθνῶν, καὶ ἀρχόντων· ἡ δὲ βουλὴ τοῠ Κυρίου εἰς τὸν αἰῶνα μένει. Μὴ τοίνυν ἀθυμήσωμεν, ἀλλὰ προσδοκήσωμεν ἐξ ἐνδείας εὐπορίαν, καὶ ἐκ θλίψεως ἄνεσιν. Ἅγιος Νειλος, Βιβλιον Πρῶτον, Ἐπιστολὴ Ζ' Μαρκελλινῳ Μονακῳ Source: Migne PG 79.85b

When under pressure of necessity in the reign of Joram the son of Ahab, the king of the Assyrians bringing war upon him, the head of an ass sold for fifty shekels and a quarter of a kab of dove's dung for five shekels of silver, with the terrifying fear of death hanging over all, so that there was no hope of abundance, yet then it came to be that a measure of grain cost a shekel, and two measures of barley a shekel, 1 'For the Lord scatters the counsels of the Gentiles and of princes, and the will of the Lord remains in eternity.' 2 Let not then the soul despond, but hope for abundance from poverty and rest from tribulation. Saint Nilus of Sinai, Book 1, Letter 7, to Marcellinus the Monk 1 4 Kings 6.24 -7.20 2 Ps 32.10

Hoping In The Lord

Εἰς μνημόσυνον αἰώνιον ἔσται δίκαιος, ἀπὸ ἀκοῆς πονηρᾶς οὐ φοβηθήσεται. Οὐδ' ἐκ λόγων ψευδῶν, ἐπαγγελλομένων μὲν ἀλήθειαν, ἐπηρμένων δὲ κατὰ τῆς γνώσεως τοῦ Θεοῦ, πείσεταί τι δεινὸν, ἄτε δὴ τεθεμελιωμένος ἐπὶ τὴν πέτραν, καὶ μηδενὸς αὐτὸν χωρίζοντος ἀπὸ τῆς ἀγάπης τοῦ Θεοῦ τῆς ἐν Χριστῷ Ἰησοῦ. Ἐτοίμη ἡ καρδία αὐτοῦ ἐλπίζειν ἐπὶ Κύριον, ἐστήρικται ἡ καρδία αὐτοῦ· οὐ μὴ φοβηθῇ, ἕως οὖ ἐπιδῃ ἐπὶ τοὺς ἐχθροὺς αὐτοῦ. Διὰ ταῦτα, φησὶν, οὐ σαλευθήσεται, ἀλλ' οὐδὲ ἀπὸ ἀκοῆς πονηρᾶς φοβηθήσεται, ἐπειδὴ ἐτοίμη ἡ καρδία αὐτοῦ ἐλπίζειν ἐπὶ Κυριον. Ἀνθ' οὖ ὁ Σύμμαχος ἐποίησεν· Ἐδραία ἡ καρδία αὐτοῦ ἀμέριμνος ἑν Κυρίῳ. Διὰ τοῦτο τῶν τοιούτων θορύβων καταφρονεῖ· καὶ οὐ μόνον οὐ δέδιε τοὺς δυσμενεῖς, ἀλλὰ καὶ τὴν ἐκείνων ἦτταν διὰ τὴν εἰς Θεὸν ἐλπίδα παραμένει. Εὐσέβιος ὁ Καισάρειος, Ὑπομνηματα Ἐις Τους ψαλμους, ψαλμος ΡΙΑ' Source: Migne PG 23.1348b-c

In eternal remembrance shall the righteous man be, and from the hearing of evil he shall not fear. 1 He shall not be grieved by deceitful words, which purport to be the truth but strive against the knowledge of God, enduring any evil, seeing that he who is founded on the rock is one whom nothing is able to separate from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus. 2 'His heart is prepared to hope in the Lord, his heart has been strengthened, he shall not be cast down until he has looked down on his enemies.' 3 Therefore he says that he shall not be moved, and neither shall he fear from the hearing of evil since 'his heart is prepared to hope in the Lord.' Which Symmachus translates as: 'his strong heart is without anxiety in the Lord.' Therefore he looks down on such tumult, nor does he in any way fear his enemies, but indeed he awaits their ruin, on account of his hope in the Lord. Eusebius of Caesarea, Commentary on the Psalms, Psalm 111 1 Ps 111.7 2 cf Rom 8.38-39 3 Ps 111.7-8

Little Faith

Et dixit eis Iesus: Quid timidi estis, modicae fidei? Hic ponitur efficax auxilium Domini Salvatoris. Dicuntur in eo tria, quorum primum est discipulorum increpatio, secundum ventorum et maris sedatio, tertium autem transquillitatis perfectio. De primo dicit. Primo increpat discipulos propter pravitatem fidei, quam parvam habebant, credendo loco propinquiori melius salvari, et vigilantem maioris potentiae esse Dominum, quam corporaliter dormientem, et hoc est, quod dicit, Quid timidi estis? Q.d. Salvatorem et salutem vobiscum habentes quid timetis? non est causa in hoc: nisi quia estis. Noli timere: quia non confunderis, neque erubesces. Non turbetur cor vestrum, neque formidet. Quid timidi estis: nondum habetis fidem? Ubi est fides vestra? Modicae fidei, quare dubitasti? Sanctus Albertus Magnus, Commentarium in Mattheum, Caput VIII Source: Here

Jesus said to them: 'Why do you fear, men of little faith?' 1 Here the efficious help of the Lord our Saviour is given. Three things are said about it, of which the first is the crying out of the disciples, second the calming of the winds and sea, third the achievement of tranquillity. Of the first He speaks. He first chides the disciples for the poor state of their faith, that they had little of it, to believe that they were in a place nearer salvation and that the Lord's vigilance was a power surpassing corporeal sleep, and this is why He said, 'Why do you fear?' Having the Saviour and salvation, why do you fear? There is no cause for it, unless you are. 'Do not fear, because you shall not be confounded, nor shall you blush.' 2 'Let your hearts not be troubled, nor fear.' 3 'Why do you fear, not yet having faith?' 4 'Where is your faith?' 5 'Men of little faith, why do you doubt?' 6 Saint Albert The Great, Commentary On The Gospel of St Matthew, Chapter 8 1 Mt 8.26 2 Isaiah 54.4 3 Jn 14.1 4 Mk 4.40 5 Lk 8.25 6 Mt 14.31

Thinking Of Nobility

Πᾶσι μία τοῖς ὑψηλοῖς πατρὶς, ὦ οὗτος, ἡ ἄνω Ἱερουσαλὴμ, εἰς ἣν ἀποτιθέμεθα τὸ πολίτευμα. Πᾶσι γένος ἑν, εἰ μὲν τὰ κάτω βούλει σκοπεῖν, ὁ χοῦς· εἰ δὲ τὰ ὑψηλότερα, τὸ ἐμφύσημα, οὗ μετειλήφαμεν, καὶ ὃ τηρεῖν ἐκελεύσθημεν, καὶ μεθ᾿ οὗ παραστῆναί με δεῖ λόγον ὑφέξοντα τῆς ἄνωθεν εὐγενείας καὶ τῆς εἰκόνος. Πᾶς μὲν οὖν εὐγενὴς, ὁ τοῦτο φυλάξας ἐξ ἀρετῆς, καὶ τῆς πρὸς τὸ ἀρχέτυπον νεύσεως· δυσγενὴς δὲ ἅπας, ὁ τῇ κακίᾳ συγχέας, καὶ μορφὴν ἑτέραν ἐπιβαλὼν ἑαυτῷ, τὴν τοῦ ὄφεως. Αἱ δὲ κάτω πατρίδες αὗται, καὶ τὰ γένη ταῦτα, τῆς προσκαίρου ζωῆς καὶ σκηνῆς ἡμῶν γέγονε παίγνια. Πατρίς τε γὰρ, ἣν προκατέλαβεν ἕκαστος, ἢ τυραννήσας, ἢ δυστυχήσας, ἧς πάντες ὁμοίως ξένοι καὶ πάροικοι, κἂν ἐπὶ πολὺ τὰ ὀνόματα παίξωμεν. Καὶ γένος εὐγενὲς μὲν, ἢ τὸ πάλαι πλούσιον, ἢ τὸ νῦν φυσώμενον· δυσγενὲς δὲ, τὸ πενήτων πατέρων, ἢ διὰ συμφορὰν, ἢ δι᾿ ἐπιείκειαν. Ἐπεὶ πῶς ἄνωθεν εὐγενὲς, οὗ τὸ μὲν ἄρχεται νῦν, τὸ δὲ καταλύεται· καὶ τοῖς μὲν οὐ δίδοται, τοῖς δὲ γράφεται; Οὕτως ἐγὼ περὶ τούτων ἔχω. Καὶ διὰ τοῦτο, σὲ μὲν ἀφίημι τοῖς τάφοις μεγαλοφρονεῖν, ἢ τοῖς μύθοις. Ἐγὼ δὲ πειρῶμαι, ὡς οἷόν τε, ἀνακαθαίρειν ἐμαυτὸν τῆς ἀπάτης, ἵν᾿ ἢ φυλάξω τὴν εὐγένειαν, ἢ ἀνακαλέσωμαι. Ἅγιος Γρηγόριος ὁ Ναζιανζηνός, ΛΟΓΟΣ ΛΓ' Source: Migne PG 36.229a-b

Every one with a high mind, friend, has one country, the heavenly Jerusalem, in which we lay up our citizenship. All have one family, if you look at things below, the dust, or if you look higher, that inspiration of which we partake and which we were called to keep, and with which I must stand to give an account of my heavenly nobility and image. Everyone then is noble who has guarded this through virtue and harmony with his archetype. On the other hand, everyone is ignoble who has mixed with evil and put on himself another form, that of the serpent. The countries below and families are playthings of our temporary life and stage. For our country is whatever each may have first occupied, either as tyrant, or in misfortune, and in this we are all alike strangers and pilgrims, however much we may play about with names. And there the family is accounted noble which is either rich from old, or recently sprung up; and ignoble which has poor parents, by misfortune or moderation. For how can there be a nobility given from above which is at one time has a beginning and then comes to an end, and which is not given to some but is given to others by letters? So I think regarding these things. Because of which I leave it to you to pride yourself on tombs or tales. But I endeavour, as I can, to purify myself from deceit, that I may keep my nobility, or recover it. Saint Gregory Nazianzus, from Oration 33

Commending The Soul

Ecce nunc commendo animam meam fidelissimo Deo meo, pro quo legatione fungor in ignobilitate mea. Sed quia personam non accipt, et elegit me ad hoc officium, ut unus essem de suis minimus minister: Unde autem retribuam illi pro omnibus quae retribuit mihi. Seu quid dicam, vel quid promittam Domino meo? Quia nihil valeo, nisi ipse mihi dederit; sed scrutatur corda et renes, quia satis et nimis cupio, et paratus eram ut donaret mihi bibere calicem ejus, sicut indulsit caeteris amantibus se. Quapropter non contingat mihi a Deo meo, ut unquam amittam plebem suam quam acquisivi in ultimis terrae. Oro Deum ut det mihi perserverantiam, et dignetur ut reddam illi testem fidelem usque ad transitum meum propter Deum meum. Et si aliquid boni unquam imitatus sum propter Deum meum quem diligo, peto illum det mihi ut cum illis proselytis et captivis pro nomine suo effundam sanguinem meum, etsi ipse etiam caream sepultura aut miserrime cadaver per singula membra dividatur canibus aut bestiis asperis, aut volucres coeli comederint illud. Certissime reor, si mihi hoc incurrisset, lucratus sum animam cum corpore meo: quia sine ulla dubitatione in die lilla resurgemus in claritate solis, hoc est, in gloria Christi Jesu redemptoris nostri, Filii Dei vivi, et cohaeredes Christi, et conformes futurae imaginis ipsius: quoniam ex ipso, et per ipsum, et in ipso, regnaturi sumus. Sanctus Patricius Hibernorum Apostolus, Confessio, Cap XXIV Source: Migne PL 53.813b-814a

Behold, now I commend my soul to my most faithful God, for whom I act as a representative in my ignobility. But because He does not stand in awe of persons, 1 He even chose me for this office, that I might be the least of his servants: 'What shall I return for all the things He has given to me?' 2 Or what shall I say, or what promise to my Lord? Because I can do nothing, unless He shall give it to me, 3 but as He searches the heart and the soul 4 so I desired enough and indeed excessively, being prepared that He give to me to drink from His cup, as He granted to others who loved Him. Whence it does not grieve me that by my God I may lose any of His people whom I have gathered at the ends of the earth. I pray to God that He gives me perserverance and that I may give the return of being a faithful witness to Him, even at my passing, because of my God. And if I have imitated some good because of the God whom I love, I entreat that He give to me that I pour out my blood for those converts and captives, in His name, even if I should lack a tomb, or be a wretched corpse with each limb torn asunder by the dogs and wild beasts, or that the birds of the air devour it. Most certainly I think, if this should happen to me, that I will have enriched my soul, because without any doubt on that day we shall rise in the light of the sun, that is, in the glory of Jesus Christ our Redeemer, Son of the Living God, even coheirs of Christ and conformed to His future image, 5 because from Him, and through Him, and in Him, we shall reign. Saint Patrick Apostle of the Irish, The Confession, Chap 24 1 Rom 2.11 2 Ps 115.12 3 Jn 15.5 4 Ps 7.10 5 Rom 8.17, 8.29

Good Days And Speech

Quis est homo qui vult vitam, et cupit videre dies bonos? Talis interrogatio proposita est quam omnium sequatur assensus. Quis est enim qui possit dicere, aut vitam nolo, aut dies bonos videre non cupio. Sed utinam sic vitam perpetuam quaereremus, sicut in ista temporali corda defigimus. Bonos autem dies, non istos dicit in quibus caducis delectationibus occupamur, sed illos qui vere boni sunt, et summa sanctitate versantur. Cohibe linguam tuam a malo, et labia tua ne loquantur dolum. Hoc est velle videre dies bonos, si lingua nostra aliquid non loquatur incompetens. Malum est enim omne prohibitum; et quidquid veritati repugnat, tali appellatione discernitur. Intende vero subtilius, qui prius cohiberi dicit linguam, quam, cum loqui volumus, anterius commovemus. Addidit, labia ne loquantur dolum, quae linguae motum protinus consequuntur, et quasi quadam harmonia sociata amborum modulamine humanus sermo peragitur. Dolus est autem, quando fallimus audientem, ut quod creditur ad auxilium, inferre videatur incommodum. Quod meriot prohibetur, quia purae conscientiae constat semper adversum. Cassiodorus, Expositio In Psalterium, Psalmus XXXIII Source: Migne PG 70.237b-c

Who is the man who wishes to live, and desires good days? 1 Such a question proposed is that to which everyone will give assent. For who is able to say that he does not want life, or that he does not desire good days? But that we sought eternal life as much as we fix the heart on this temporal state. For the good days he speaks of are not like those in which we are occupied in fallen pleasures, but those which are true goods, even care for the height of sanctity. Guard your tongue from evil, and let not your lips speak wickedness. 2 This is to wish to see good days, if our tongue does not speak something inane. For everything prohibited is evil, and whatever opposes the truth is understood by such a name. Yet attend more carefully, for first he says 'guard your tongue', which is the earlier motion of wishing to speak. He then adds, 'lest your lips speak wickedness,' which follows the prior motion of the tongue, and as a certain harmony both associate for the working of human speech. For it is wicked, when we lie to one who is listening to us, so that what is thought to help, may be found to bring forth trouble. Which rightly, then, is prohibited, because it is the pure conscience that always stands against the enemy. Cassiodorus, Commentary On The Psalms, Psalm 33 1 Ps 33.12 2 Ps 33.13

High And Humble Speech

Ἀμὴν ἀμὴν λέγω ὑμῖν ὅτι ὁ τὸν λόγον μου ἀκούων καὶ πιστεύων τῷ πέμψαντί με ἔχει ζωὴν αἰώνιον Τίνος οὖν τὰ πάθη; Τῆς σαρκός. Οὐκοῦν εἰ δίδως σαρκὶ τὰ πάθη, δὸς αὐτῇ καὶ τοὺς ταπεινοὺς λόγους. Καὶ ᾧ τὰ θαύματα ἐπιγράφεις, τοὺς ἀνηγμένους ἀνάθες λόγους· ὁ γὰρ θαυματουργῶν Θεὸς εἰκότως ὑψηλὰ λελεῖ, καὶ τῶν ἔργων ἐπάξια· ὁ δὲ πάσχθν ἄνθρωπος καλῶς ταπεινὰ φθέγγεται, καὶ τῶν παθῶν κατάλληλα. Ἀμφιλοχίος Ἐπισκόπος Ἰκονίου, Ἐκλογή Source: Migne 39.108d

Truly I say to you that he who listens to my words, and believes in Him who sent me, he has eternal life. 1 Where are the passions? In the flesh. Therefore if you assign passions to the flesh, assign to the same humble words; but to Him whom you ascribe miracles, give sublime speech. For God, who brings forth miracles, rightly speaks of high things, as befits His works. But man who suffers the passions, rightly speaks humbly, as befits the passions. Amphilocius of Iconium, Fragment 1 Jn 5.24

Speaking And Hearing

Et quidem in omnes sermones, quos loquentur, ne dederis cor tuum, quia non audies servum tuum maledicentem tibi. Etenim frequenter scit cor tuum, quia et tu maledixisti aliis. Fac quae praecepta sunt et sapientiae auxilio confortatus, vel ad mala, vel ad bona praepara cor tuum et non cures, quid de te loquantur inimici, qualis foris opinio sit. Quomodo enim prudentis uiri est, murmurantem famulum non audire, nec curiosam aurem apponere, quid de se loquatur absente; si enim hoc fecerit semper in tribulatione erit, et ad mussitationem servi iracundia commovebitur. Sic et sapientis hominis est, sapientiam praeviam sequi et vanos non considerare rumores. Sed et alio exemplo docet penitus non curandum iusto homini, quid homines loquantur, dicens: quomodo novit conscientia tua, quod tu de multis locutus es, et saepe aliis detraxisti; sic et aliis debes ignoscere detrahentibus. Et simul docet, non facile iudicandum et habenti trabem in oculo, de festuca alterius non loquendum. Sanctus Hieronymous, Commentarius Ecclesiasten, Cap VII Source: Migne PL 23.1069c-1070a

Do not give your heart to all words that are spoken, lest you hear your servant speaking ill of you. Your own heart knows that even you have often spoken ill of others. 1 Do only those things commanded and strengthened by the help of wisdom, prepare your heart for things good or bad, and care not what your enemies may say about you, or what report may be abroad. For as it is of the prudent man not to hear his servant murmur, so he should not turn a curious ear to what is said about him when he is not present; for if he did this he would always be troubled and incensed to anger by a servant's muttering. Therefore it is of the wise man to follow the lead of wisdom and not to ponder empty rumours. And again he teaches by another example, that the righteous man should have no great care about what men say about him, saying, 'As your conscience knows what you have often said about many others, and that you have often maligned them, so forgive others when they speak ill of you.' And at the same time he teaches that judgement is not easy for one who has a plank in his eye, that he should not speak about the straw of another. 2 Saint Jerome, Commentary on Ecclesiastes, Chap 7 1 Eccles 7.22-23 2 Mt 7.3-5

Controlling The Tongue

Τινές σε γλῶσσαν ἔχειν ἀκρατῆ κωμῳδοῦσι, καὶ τῶν πηγῶν τῆς λοιδορίας ὑπάρχειν ποταμὸν, τὰ ἐκείνης δαψιλῶς καὶ δεχόμενον καὶ ἐρευγόμενον ῥεύματα, ἄπερ εἰς θάλασσαν ἐμβάλλει τιμωρίας. Ἤν εἰ θέλεις ἐκφυγεῖν, τῶν ζώντων μᾶλλον ναμάτων τὸ φρέαρ ἐξερεύνησον, ὅπερ χαρίζεται καὶ τὸ μηκέτι διψᾷν, καὶ τῇ γλώσσῃ ὀρέγει φυλακὴν, μὴ εἰς λόγους ἐκκλίνειν πονηρίας. Ἅγιος Ἰσίδωρος Του Πηλουσιώτου, Βιβλίον Πρῶτον, Ἐπιστολὴ ΤΚΘ' Ἀνατολιῳ Source: Migne PG 78.372c

Some ridicule you for your unbridled tongue, and from the fonts of abuse comes a river, which things profusely receiving, so it bursts forth in flow, as a casting into the sea for punishment. Which if you desire to flee, seek out rather the well of living waters, which satisfy and do not allow later thirst, 1 and supplying a guard for the tongue, do not incline to wicked speech. Saint Isidore of Pelusium, Book 1, Letter 328, To Anatolius 1 Jn 4.14

The Tongue's Flame

Et inflammat rotam nativitatis nostrae inflammata a gehenna. A gehenna dicit a diabolo et angelis ejus, propter quos gehenna facta est, et qui ubicunque vel in aere volitant, vel in terris aut sub terris vagantur, sive detinentur, suarum secum ferunt semper tormenta flammarum, instar febricitantis, qui et si in lectis eburneis, et si in locis ponatur apricis, fervorem tamen vel frigus insiti sibi languoris evitare non potest. Sic ergo daemones et si in templis colantur auratis, et si per aerea discurrant, igne semper ardent gehennali, et ex ipsa sua poena commoniti , deceptis quoque hominibus fomitem vitiorum, unde ipsi pereant, invidendo suggerunt. Cui contra sancta Dei civitas nova Jerusalem de coelo a Deo descendere dicitur, quia nimirum quidquid coeleste in terris agimus, hoc profecto ut ageremus coelesti munere accepimus. Rotam autem dicit nativitatis nostrae incessabilem vitae temporalis procursum, quo a die nativitatis usque ad mortem velut semper currente rota curriculi incessanter agimur. Unde bene Salomon cum diceret: Memento Creatoris tui in diebus juventituis tuae, antequem veniat dies afflictionis, paulo post addidit: Et confringatur rota super cisternam et reveratur pulvis in terram suam unde erat. Inflammat ergo lingua rotam nativitatis nostrae, cum statum omnem nostrae conversationis prava loquendo contaminat. Item rotam nativitatis nostrae dicit, quia merito primae praevaricationis ab interna stabilitate projecti, huc atque illuc mente vaga raptamur, et incertis per cuncta discursibus, ubi periculum, ubi salus, ignoramus. Inflammatur autem haec rota nostrae nativitatis igne linguae maculantis, cum vitium nativae perturbationis ineptis etiam ac noxiis sermonibus accumulatur. Sanctus Beda, Super Divi Jacobi Epistolam, Caput III Source: Migne PL 93 35b-c

And the tongue inflames the wheel of our birth, set aflame by hell. 1 By hell he means by the devil and his angels, on account of whom hell was made, and who fly about everywhere in the air, or wander on the earth, or beneath the earth, or are bound, carrying with themselves their own torment of flame, just like a fever, they who even if placed on an ivory couch or in a sunny place, yet by fever or chill within would not be able to be free of sickness. Therefore, even if demons dwell in golden temples, even if they race through the air, the fire of hell always burns them, and impressed by this same punishment, by envy they counsel deluded men to kindle vice, by which they perish. Against which the holy city of God, the new Jerusalem, is said to descend from heaven by the will of God, because whatever we do on earth that is heavenly, certainly for what we have done, we receive the heavenly reward. And he speaks of the wheel of our birth as the unceasing rush of temporal life, by which, from the day of birth until death, we are as a wheel rolling down its track without pause. Whence well Solomon says: 'Be mindful of your Creator in the days of your youth, before the day of affliction comes,' and after a little he adds: 'the wheel broken on the cistern and dust returns to the earth from whence it came.' 2 Thus the tongue inflames the wheel of our birth when it pollutes our conduct with depraved speech. And again he speaks of the wheel of our birth, because rightly by the first trespass we were cast down from internal stability and struck with a mind that wanders here and there, and is uncertain in every way, not knowing where danger is and where is safety. The wheel of our birth is set on fire by the flame of the defiling tongue, when it has been heaped up with foolish and noxious words for the stirring up of vice within. Saint Bede, Commentary on the Letter of Saint James, Chapter 3 1 Jam 3.6 2 Eccle 12.1, 6-7

The Shepherd And The Hireling

Mercenarius autem, et qui non est pastor, cujus non sunt oves propria... Quia eos non amat, sed lucrum, pro quo servit. De hoc Gregorius: Mercenarius est, qui locum quidem pastoris tenet, sed lucra anmarum non quaerit, terrenis commodis inhiat, honore praelationis gaudet, temporalibus lucris pascitur, impensa sibi ab hominibus reverentia laetatur, de qui potest dici illud Matth sexto: Amen dico vobis, receperunt mercedem suam. Hic scilicet vides lupum venientem, et dimittit oves, et fugit, quia lupum timet, et oves non amat. 4 Lupus, ut dicit Gregrious, super oves venit, cum quilibet injustus et raptor fideles et humilies opprimit. De talibus lupis Acts vigesimo: Scio, inquit Paulus, quoniam intrabunt post discenssionem meam lupi rapaces in vos, non parcentes gregi. Ad adventum talis lupi mercenarius dimittit oves. Zachar undecimo: O pastor, et idolum, derelinquens gregem. Ad hujus mercenarii fugam sequitur ovium dispersio, et ideo dicitur: Et lupus rapit, et dispergit oves. Ezechiel trigesimo quarto: Super omnem faciem terrae dispersi sunt greges mei, et non erat qui requireret. Sanctus Bonaventura, Commentarius In Evangelium Ioannem, Caput X Source: Here, p839

For the hireling is not the shepherd, the sheep are not his... 1 Because he does not love them but he serves for money. Concerning which Gregory says: 'He is a hireling who holds the place of the shepherd but does not seek the profit of souls. He coverts the rewards of the world, he rejoices in the honour of office, he feasts on temporal wealth, he delights to exert himself for the reverence of men.' 2 Of whom Matthew says: 'Truly I say to you, they have received their reward.' 3 He sees the wolf approaching and he abandons the flock, and he flees, because he fears the wolf and he does not love the sheep. The wolf, as Gregory says, 'comes upon the sheep, when any unjust robber oppresses the faithful and the humble.' 2 Concerning such wolves it says in Acts: 'I know,' says Paul, 'that ravening wolves will come among you after my departure, not sparing the flock.' 4 At the coming of the wolf the hireling abandons the sheep. Zachariah: 'O shepherd, O idol, forsaking the flock' 5 And with the flight of the hireling the scattering of the sheep follows, and therefore it is said: 'And the wolf seizes and the sheep are scattered.' 1 Ezekiel: 'Over all the face of the earth my flocks were scattered, and there was no one to seek them.' 6 Saint Bonaventura, Commentary On The Gospel Of Saint John, Chapter 10 1 Jn 10.12 2 Greg Evang Hom 14 3 Mt 6.2 4 Acts 20.29 5 Zach 11.17 6 Ezek 34.6

Wealth And Fruits

Si ergo, frater, quisquis es, sumptus te delectat acquirere, unde futurae possis occurrere paupertati, veras providus divitias appete, verae etiam paupertatis inopiam pertimesce. Illius namque paupertatis intuitu, facillime paupertas ista contemnitur; illarum comparatione divitiarum omnis terrenae substantiae copia, tanquem littorea alga despicitur, quae pedibus conculcatur. Igitur si vere contendis inopiam taediosissimae illius paupertatis evadere, stude in agro cordis tui optimarum frugum sationibus insudare. Teste enim Apostolo: Qui seminat in spiritu, de spiritu metet vitam aeternam. Et iterum: Bonum autem facientes non deficiamus; tempore enim suo metemus non deficientes. Illud summum et unicum granum in novalibus tuae mentis occulta: quod videlicet cadens in terra mortuum fuirt, et multum attulit fructum. Hoc tibi thesaurus, hoc tibi sit omnigenarum ubertas fugum. In illo acquirendi finem constitue, in illo omnem utriusque vitae fiduciam pone. Dominus enim omnium est, et dives in omnes qui invocant illum. Sanctus Peter Damianus, De Contemptu Saeculi, Caput VIII Source: Migne PL 145.258c-d

If therefore, brother, whoever you are, it is delight to you to acquire luxury, whence you are made fit to come to future poverty, with forethought desire true wealth, and fear the neediness of its true poverty. For by understanding that poverty, you shall easily scorn the other, by a comparison of that wealth to all the wealth of the earth's substance, you shall look down on it as seaweed on the shore, which is trodden under the feet. Therefore, if you truly strive to avoid the penury of that most wearisome poverty, attend to the planting of the best fruits in the field of your heart. The Apostle gives witness: 'He who sows in the spirit, reaps eternal life in the spirit.' And again: 'Not wearying in the doing of good, for unwearying we shall reap in our own time.' 1 That greatest and unique seed is hidden in the fallow land of your mind, which certainly falling into the earth dead, yet brought forth much fruit. 2 This is your treasure, this is your flourishing of every kind of crop. In that established gain your end, in that place every confidence of both lives. 'For He is the Lord of all, and rich to all those who call on Him.' 3 Saint Peter Damian, On Contempt For The World, Chapter 8 1 Galat 6.8-9 2 Jn 12.24 3 Rom 10.12

Wealth And Contentment

Nihil enim intulimus in mundum, verum quia nec auferre possumus quidquam; habentes autem alimentum, et quibus tegamur, his contenti simus. Frustra mortales homines copiae studere, et locupletes fieri velle aperta voce declarat, cum sciant nihil se proprium habere in mundo. Cui rei proficit humana cupiditas, nisi quia ipsa sibi inimica exsistit? Nihil enim intulit mundo, nihil auferre poterit. Quid sibi incutit sollicitudinem, et quaerit congregare? Talis hinc exiet, qualis venit. Quod etiam scribit Job, et in sua passione fatetur, dicens: Nudus exivi de utero matris meae, nudus revertar in terram...sit nomen Domini benedictum. Quod si avari non retinerent in perniciem suam, pauci conderent quod pluribus posset proficere cum eorum ipsorum emolumento. Ambrosiaster, Commentaria in Epistolam ad Timotheum Primam, Caput VI Source: Migne PL 17.482a-b

'Nothing we brought into the world, and nothing are we able to take from it; having, then, food and with what we are covered, with these things we shall be content.' 1 Vainly mortal men desire wealth, and openly declare their wish to be rich, when they should know that they have nothing of their own in the world. To whom is human cupidity a benefit, but to him who is the enemy? Nothing indeed a man brings into the world, nothing he is able to take out of it. Why does he trouble himself with care for it and seek to gather it? As he came in, so he goes out. So indeed Job writes in the confession of his suffering, saying: 'Naked I came from the womb of my mother, naked I return to the earth ... may the name of the Lord be blessed.' 2 If by avarice they did not wallow in their wickedness, a little would establish them, so that with the same riches they would be a benefit to many. Ambrosiaster, Commentary On The First Letter of Saint Paul To Timothy, Chapter 6 1 1 Tim 6.7-8 2 Job 1.21

Church And Deeds

Sicut servus desiderat umbram, et sicut mercenarius praestolatur finem operis sui, sic et ego habui menses vacuos, et noctes laboriosas enumeravi mihi. Quae tamen sententia si ad vocem sanctae Ecclesiae ducitur, intellectus eius paulo subtilius indagatur. Ipsa quippe vacuos menses habet, quae in infirmis suis membris terrenas actiones absque vitae praemio defluentes sustinet. Ipsa noctes laboriosas enumerat, quae in membris fortibus multiplices tribulationes portat. In hac etenim vita quaedam laboriosa sunt, quaedam vacua, quaedam vero vacua simul et laboriosa. Amore quippe conditoris praesentis vitae tribulationibus exerceri laboriosum quidem est, sed vacuum non est. Amore autem saeculi voluptatibus solvi vacuum quidem est, sed non laboriosum. Amore vero eiusdem saeculi adversa aliqua perpeti et vacuum simul est et laboriosum, quia et ex adversitate mens afficitur, et remunerationis praemio non repletur. In his itaque sancta Ecclesia qui in ea iam positi adhuc voluptatibus defluunt, et proinde fructu boni operis non ditantur, menses vacuos ducit, quia vitae tempora sine retributionis munere expendit. In his vero qui, aeternis desideriis dediti mundi huius adversa patiuntur, laboriosas noctes enumerat, quia tribulationum tenebras quasi in caligine vitae praesentis portat. In his autem qui et transeuntem mundum diligunt, et tamen eius contrarietate fatigantur, simul menses vacuos et noctes laboriosas tolerat, quia eorum vitam et retributio subsequens nulla remunerat, et praesens tribulatio angustat. Recte autem nequaquam dies, sed in eis menses vacuos habere se perhibet. Mensium quippe nomine dierum collectio et summa signatur. Per diem ergo unaquaeque actio exprimitur, per menses autem actionum finis innuitur. Et saepe cum in hoc mundo aliquid agimus, intenta spei alacritate suspensi, hoc ipsum quod agimus vacuum non putamus; sed postquam ad actionum terminum pervenimus, non obtinentes quae appetimus, laborasse nos in vacuum dolemus. Non solum igitur dies, sed et menses vacuos ducimus, cum nos in terrenis actionibus sine fructu laborasse, non ex actionum principio, sed fine pensamus. Cum enim labores nostros adversitas sequitur, quasi vitae nostrae vacui menses arguuntur, quia ex completione actionum agnoscitur quam frustra in actionibus sudabatur. Sanctus Gregorius Magnus, Moralia, sive Expositio in Job, Liber VIII, Caput VIII Source: Migne PL 75.811a-d

As a servant desires the shade and as an hireling hopes for the end of his work, so I have had months of emptiness and I have numbered for myself wearisome nights. 1 Now if this sentence is understood as the voice of the Holy Church, its meaning may be pursued with a little more subtlety. For she herself has 'months of emptiness,' who in her weak members bears worldly actions which flow away to nothing, lacking the reward of life. She 'numbers to herself wearisome nights,' who in her strong members bears manifold afflictions. For in this life there are some things that are hard and some that are empty, and some that are both hard and empty at the same time. For from love of the Creator to undergo the afflictions of the present life is indeed hard, but not empty. To be undone in pleasures by the love of the world is indeed empty, but not hard. But to suffer any adversity amid the love of the world is at the same time both empty and hard, because the soul is afflicted by adversity and not refreshed with the compensation of reward. And so in those who are now placed in the Holy Church and undone amid pleasures, and who are thus not enriched with the fruit of good works, she passes 'months of emptiness,' because she passes periods of life without the gift of the reward. But in those who, being devoted to everlasting longings, endure the adversities of this world, 'she numbers herself wearisome nights,' because she, as it were in the gloom of the present life, undergoes the darkness of tribulation. But in those who love this transitory world and yet are wearied with its opposition, she bears at the same time 'days of emptiness,' and 'wearisome nights,' because no recompense comes after to reward their lives and present affliction oppresses them. But it is right she is presented as not having 'days' but 'months of emptiness' in these. For by the name of months the sum and total of days is signified. By 'day' therefore, each deed is expressed, but by 'months,' the end of the deeds is implied. And often when we act in this world, being swiftly lifted up by the intent of our hope, we do not think that that which we do is empty, but later when we come to the end of our deeds, not obtaining what we desired, we are aggrieved that we have laboured in vain. Thus we spend not only 'days', but even 'months of emptiness,' when in the beginning of our actions we do not think that we have been labouring in worldly deeds without fruit, but only at the end. For when trouble follows upon our deeds, it is as if the months of emptiness of our life condemn us, because it is only in the consummation of our actions that we understand how vainly we have exerted ourselves in our deeds. Saint Gregory the Great, Moralia, or Commentary on Job, Book 8, Chap 8 1 Job 7.2-3

Acts And Injuries

Οὐδε ὕδωρ διψῶντας ἐπότισας· ἀλλὰ πεινώνων ἐστρέρησας ψωμόν. Εἰς τὸ αὐτό. Οὐκοῦν οὐ μόνον τὸ ἀδικεῖν, ἀλλὰ καὶ τὸ μὴ εὐεργετεῖν ὑπεύθυνον. Ταῦτα πάντα κατηγορήματά εἰσι, καὶ ἀληθῶς ψεκτά. Ἀλλ' οὐκ ἀληθῆ περὶ τοῦ Ἰὼβ οὐδὲ καλῶς ἐλέγετο περὶ αὐτοῦ. Τοῦ αὐτοῦ. Τοιαῦτα γίνεται ἐν ταῖς πικραῖς ἀπαιτήσεσιν. Ἐνίοτε αὐτὸν τὸν ψωμὸν ἔχει τις ἕνα· κἂν μὴ ἔχῃ ἄρτον ὁλόκληρον, ἀφαιροῦμεν ἀπ' αὐτοῦ λέγοντες· Ἀλλ' ὀφείλεις. Χήρας δὲ ἐξαπέστειλας κενάς. Προσέχωμεν ἐὰν χήρα ἡμῶν εἰσέλθῃ εἰς τὴν οἰκίαν, μήποτε κενὴν αὐτὴν ἐξαποστείλωμεν. Κατὰ δύναμιν ἕκαστος πρὸς ὃ ἔχει πληρωσάτω τὸν κόλπον τῆς χήρας. Ὀρφανοὺς δὲ ἐκάκωσας. Οὐδένα μὲν δεῖ κακοῦν, ἐξαιρέτως δὲ Χρὴ φείδεσθαι τῶν ὀρφανῶν. Περὶ γὰρ τῶν ἀβοηθήτων ψυχῶν πολεμεῖν ὁ Θεὸς ἐνετείλατο. Μᾶλλον δὲ παρὰ τοὺς ἄλλους ἀνθρώπους, πτωχοὶ, χῆραι, ὀρφανοὶ δέονται βοηθείας. Τοιγαροῦν ἐκύκλωσάν σε παγίδες. Παγίδας λέγει τὰ συμβεβηκότα αὐτῷ, ἐν αἷς ἐμπέπτωκεν, εἰς ἂς καὶ παγιδεύεται αὐτοῦ ἡ ψυχὴ ἀπὸ τῶν συμβεβηκότων αὐτῷ Ὠριγένης, Εἰς Τον Ιὠβ Source: Migne PG 17.81d-84b

You gave no water to the thirsty, and you deprived the hungry of their morsels... 1 Therefore not only does an injury come from acting, but there is fault even in not acting to help. All these accusations are in truth blameable. But they neither tell the truth about Job, nor do they speak well of him. And this touches on the bitterness of exactions, when some man has but one morsel, not even possessing a full loaf, and we take from him, saying, 'Ah, but you are a debtor.' You sent away widows empty... Let us beware, that if a widow comes to our house, we do not send her away with nothing. According to his means, let each man fill the lap of the widow. You distressed orphans... One must not be a trouble to anyone, and it is especially necessary to spare orphans this. For God has commmanded that with help we fight for the souls of the destitute. And before any other man, one should help the poor, and widows, and orphans. Therefore the snares surrounded you... He calls snares the things that have befallen him, into which he has fallen, by which things that have befallen him his soul is ensnared. Origen, On Job, Fragment 1 Job 22.7

Giving Thanks

Dicit sanctus Job: Si bona excipimus de manu Domini, quare non mala tolerabimus? Hoc est si bonis supervenientibus jucundamur, quare non et adversis accidentibus confortemur? Adversa tolerare sapienti virtutis exercitium, insipienti praevaricationis est occasio. Dixi ego frequenter ut in hac vita brevi vitam vobis provideatis aeternam, quod doleo cur hoc facere contemnatis. Cum enim jejunandum dicimus, praeter paucos nemo jejunat; cum eleemosynae faciendae, major avaritia vos constringit. Orare autem et agere Deo gratias, quid sit, plerosque de vobis arbitror ignorare; qui surgentes primo diluculo nonnisi de prandio cogitent: cum pranderint, somno se tradant, nunquam Divinitati gratias referentes, quae illis et prandium ad refectionem, et somnum dederit ad quietem. Utique, tu Christiane, si es utilis, meminisse debes cujus panem comedis, et ei laudem dicere. Dic mihi eum, ut tibi gratias agat, ut benedicat demum de quo ei humanitas sit tributa? Cui si forte gratias non agit, quemadmodum a te denotatur ingratus? Ita ergo et a nobis exspectat qui nos pascit Deus, ut pro praestitis ab eo escis gratias referamus, et saturati donis ipsius laudes dicamus. Haec enim beneficiorum est retributio divinorum, ut cum refecti fuerimus, bene nos confiteamur acceptos. Caeterum, si accipientes divina munera, taciti et immemores fuerimus, tanquam ingrati et indigni eorum subministratione fraudabimur; ut Deum, quem beneficiis non cognovimus, malis ingruentibus requiramus, et adversis stimulemur ad rogandum, quod prosperis gratias non egimus ad fruendum, sicut nunc contingit, ut qui in pace pigri fuerimus ad laudes referendas, modo in tribulatione tredpidi existamus ad pericula deploranda. Sanctus Maximus Taurinensis, Homilia LXXXVIII, De non timendis hostibus carnalibus Source: Migne PL 57.455b-456b

The blessed Job says, 'If we receive good things from the hand of the Lord, why will we not endure evil things?' 1 That is, if we delight in goods bestowed, why are we not strengthened against adversities? To suffer adversity is the exercise of one who is wise in virtue, it is the ruin of the foolish sinner. I have frequently said that in this brief life you should look to the eternal life, whence I grieve that you scorn to do this. For when we tell you that you should fast, no one fasts but a few, when we tell you to give alms, avarice constrains the majority of you. I think that most of you neglect to pray and to give thanks to God, so that you will rise at dawn but only to think of food, and when you have eaten you go back to sleep, never giving thanks to God, who has given food for refreshment and sleep for repose. Thus, you Christian, if you would be useful, remember whose bread you eat, and to whom to give praise. Tell me of one who should be thankful to you, one who has yet to bless you for some kindness given. If perhaps he does not give thanks, is he not named ungrateful to you? Therefore God expects this from us, He who pastures us, that for gifts of food given from Him we give thanks and replete with gifts we speak praise. This is indeed a reward of the Divine benefactions, that when refreshed, we confess what we have received. Otherwise, if having received Divine gifts we are silent and forgetful, we who are ungrateful and unworthy are deceived as to the source of their giving. And then that God, who we do not know by blessings, would we seek Him when evils burst upon us and entreat Him when struck by adversities, when in prosperity we did not give thanks joyfully? So now it happens that we who were sluggish in peace in the giving of praise, stand fearful in tribulation bewailing dangers. Saint Maximus of Turin, from Homily 88, That One Should Not Fear Carnal Enemies 1 Job 2.10

Job And The Potsherd

Qui testa saniem radebat... Testa saniem radere, est per poenitentiam et disciplinam suas iniquitates abstergere. Per testam enim, quae aspera est, significatur poenitentiae asperitas, et austeritas disciplinae. Testa quidem, quae terra sine humore est, figurat animam peccatricem, quae nec rore coelesti compluta est, nec humore caritatis imbuta, sicut Propheta dicit: Anima mea sicut terra sine aqua tibi. Item: Aruit tanquam testa virtus mea. Sedens itaque in sterquilinio testa saniem radit, qui recordatur miserae et immundae originis suae, recolit quia de immundo conceptus semine, de putredine genitus dabitur vermibus in cibum, et putredo in putredinem revertetur, sicut noster athleta commemorat de seipso, dicens: Qui quasi putredo consumendus sum, et sicut vestimentum, quod comeditur a tinea. Frequenti siquidem recordatione nostrae miserrimae conditionis raditur sanies interioris vulneris, et male operandi voluntas abscinditur. Petrus Blenensis, Compendium In Job: Ad Henericum II Illustrissimum Anglorum Regem, Caput I Source:  Migne PL 207.818c-d

He scraped his ulcer with a potsherd... 1 To scrape the ulcer with a potsherd is to scour off our iniquities through penance and discipline. For by the potsherd, which is rough, is signified the bitterness of penance, and the harshness of discipline. Certainly the potsherd, which is dry earth, is a figure of the sinful soul which is not watered by the celestial dew fall, and is not imbued with the moisture of love, as the Prophet says: 'My soul is like a land without water to you.' 2 Similarly: 'My strength has dried up like a potsherd.' 3 Thus he who while sitting in ashes scrapes himself with a potsherd, is who thinks of his wretchedness and the uncleanliness of his origin, and recalls that he was conceived from impure seed and that being born from filth he shall be given as food to the worms, from filth to filth returning. So our champion recalls himself, saying: 'As a rotten thing I am used up, and like a garment which the moth consumes.' 4 With frequent recollection of our miserable condition he scrapes the ulcer of the interior wound and cuts off his will from evil deeds. Peter of Blois, Compendium On Job, To Henry II Most Illustrious King Of The English, Chapter I 1 Job 2.8 2 Ps 142.6 3 Ps 21.16 4 Job 13.28

Ceaselessly Provoked

Ὁ ὤν ὑπὸ ἁμαρτίας οὐ δύναται μόνος περιγενέσθαι τοῦ σαρκικοῦ θελήματος. Δίοτι τὸν ἐρεθεσμὸν ἄπαυστον ἔχει καὶ ἑγκείμενον τοῖς πάθεσιν. Ἅγιος Μάρκος ὁ Ἐρημίτης, Περὶ Τῶν Οἰομένων Ἐξ Ἔργων Δικαιοῦσθαι Source: MignePG 65.953a

He who is in a state of sin is not able alone to prevail over the will of the flesh. Because of which he is ceaselessly provoked and driven by the passions. Saint Mark The Ascetic, On Those Who Think Themselves Justified By Works

Considering Rewards

Ἀδύνατον δέ τινα τῶν παθῶν τούτων περιγενέσθαι, μὴ παντελῶς βρωμάτων καὶ χρημάτων, καὶ δόξης ὑπεριδόντα, ἔτι δὲ καὶ τοῦ ἰδίου σώματος διὰ τοὺς ῥαπίζειν αὐτὸ πολλάκις ἐπιχειροῦντας· Πᾶσα οὖν ἀνάγκη μιμεῖσθαι τοὺς κινδυνεύοτας εν θαλάττη, καὶ τῶν σκευῶν ἐκβολὴν ποιουμένους διὰ τὴν βίαν τῶν ἀνεμων καὶ τῶν ἐπανισταμένων κυμάτων. Ἀλλ' ἐνταῦθα προσεκτέον ἀκριβῶς, μή πως ἐκβολὴν ποιούμενοι τῶν σκευῶν, πρὸς τὸ θεαθεῖναι τοῖς ἀνθρώποις ποίσωμεν· ἐπεὶ ἀπέχομεν τὸν μισθὸν ἡμῶν, καὶ ἄλλο τοῦ προτέρου χαλεπώτερον διδέξεται ἡμᾶς ναυάγιον, τοῦ τῆς κενοδοξίας ἡμῖν ἀντιπνεύσαντος δαίμονος. Διὸ καὶ ὁ Κύριος ἡμῶν ἐν τοῖς Εὐαγγελίοις, τὸν κυβερνήτην νοῦν παιδεύων, προσέχετε, φασὶν, τὴν ἐλημοσύνην ἡμῶν μὴ ποιεῖν ἔμπροσθεν τῶν ἀνθρώπων πρὸς τὸ θεαθεῖναι αὐτοῖς, εἰ δὲ μήγε μισθ̀ον οὐκ ἔχετε παρὰ τῷ Πατρὶ ὑμῶν τῷ ἐν τοὶς οὐρανοῖς. Καὶ πάλιν· Ὅταν προσεύχησθε, φησὶν, οὐκ ἔσεσθε ὥσπερ οἱ ὑποκριταὶ, ὅτι φιλοῦσιν ἐν ταῖς συναγωγαῖς, καὶ ἐν ταῖς γωνίαις τῶν πλατειῶν ἑστῶτες προσεύχεσθαι, ὅπως φανῶσι τοῖς ἀνθρώποις· ἀμὴν λέγω ὑμῖν, ὅτι ἀπέχουσι τὸν μισθὸν αὐτῶν. Καὶ πάλιν λέγει· Ὅταν νηστεύητε, μὴ γίνεσθε, ὥσπερ οἱ ὑποκριταὶ σκυθρωποὶ· ἀφανίζουσι γὰρ τὰ πρόσωπα αὐτῶν, ὅπως φανῶσι τοῖς ἀνθρώποις νηστεύοντες· ἀμὴν λέγω ὑμῖν, ἀπέχουσιν τὸν μισθὸν αὐτῶν. Ἀλλὰ προσεκτέον ἐνταῦθα τῷ ἰατρῷ τῶν ψυχῶν, πῶς διὰ μὲν τῆς ἐλεημοσύνης τὸν θυμὸν θεραπεύει, διὰ δὲ τῆς προσευχῆς τὸν νοῦν καθαρίζει, καὶ πάλιν διὰ τῆς νηστείας τὴν ἐπιθυμίαν καταμαραίνει, ἐξ ὧν συνίσταται ὁ νέος ἄνθρωπος, ὁ ἀνακαινούμενος κατ̓ εἰκόνα τοῦ κτίσαντος αὐτὸν, ἐν ᾧ οὐκ ἔστι διὰ τὴν ἀγίαν ἀπάθειαν ἄρσεν, καὶ θῆλυ, οὐδὲ διὰ τὴν μίαν πίστιν, καὶ ἀγάπην, Ἕλλην, καὶ Ἰουδαῖος, περιτομὴ, καὶ ἀκροβυστία, Βάρβαρος, Σκύθης, δοῦλος, καὶ ἐλεύθερος, ἀλλὰ τὰ πάντα ἐν πᾶσι Χριστός. Εὐάγριος ὁ Ποντικός, Περὶ διαφόρων πονηρῶν λογισμῶν, Κεφαλ Γ' Source: Migne PG 79 1224d-1225a

It is impossible to overcome the passions unless we can rise above attachment to food and possessions and honour, and even to our own body, by which the demons often assault us. There is every need, then, to imitate people who are in danger at sea and who throw things overboard because of the violence of the winds and the height of the waves. But here we must be very careful lest we throw things away that we may be seen to be doing so by men, since we shall receive our reward for that, but then we shall suffer another shipwreck, worse than the first, blown off our course by the demon of vainglory. That is why our Lord in the Gospels, teaching the helmsman's mind, says, 'Take care that you do not give alms in front of others that you be seen by them, lest you  have no reward from your Father in heaven.' Again He says: 'When you pray, you must not be as the hypocrites are: for they love to pray standing in synagogues and at street corners, so they be seen by men. Truly I say to you, they have their reward. Moreover when you fast, do not put on a gloomy face, like the hypocrites; for they disfigure their faces so that they may be seen by men to be  fasting. Truly I say to you, they receive their reward.' 1 But observe the physician of souls here, how by mercy He treats our irascibility; how by prayer He purges the mind, and again how by fasting He causes desire to wither, and by this the new man is fashioned, renewed according to the image of his Creator, in whom, on account of holy apatheia, there is neither male nor female, nor is there, by one faith and love, Greek or Jew, circumcision or uncircumcision, barbarian, Scythian, slave or free, but Christ is all in all. Evagrius Ponticus, On Various Wicked Thoughts, Chapter 3 1 Mt 6.1-5