Judith And The Watchmen

Et dixit Judith a longe custodibus murorum: Aperite portas, quoniam nobiscum est Deus, qui fecit virtutem in Israel. Custodes murorum, hoc est, tutores castrorum Ecclesiae, sunt doctores sancti qui verbo et exemplo, atque etiam oratione assidua muniunt vitam credentium, et ad aeternam beatitudinem illis praeparant introitum; de quibus per prophetam dicitur: Super muros tuos, Jerusalem, constitui custodes, tota die, et tota nocte non tacebunt laudare nomen Domini. Possunt angelicae virtutes custodes murorum intelligi spiritualium, quae nobis deputatae sunt, ut nos suis solatiis contra malignos spiritus defendant. Clamat ergo Judith a longe custodibus, postulans sibi aperiri portas, eo quod secum sit Deus. Sic et Ecclesia in peregrinatione istius mundi, et via praesentis vitae constituta totis medullis cordis clamans postulat, ut per suffragia sanctorum sibi supernae patriae pandatur introitus, ut ibi nominis sui expleat officium, dicens cum propheta: Aperite portas justitiae, et ingressus in eas confitebor Domino, haec porta Domini, justi intrabunt per eam. Et unde hoc deposcat addit dicens: quia nobiscum est, qui fecit virtutem in Israel. Valde enim justum est ut qui se unitum cum capite suo agnoscit, de quo scriptum est, Dominus virtutem populo suo dabit, et benedicet populum suum in pace, cum eo ad coelestis regni apicem ascendat, quia sine eo nullo modo illuc pervenire potest. Unde ipsa Veritas in Evangelio ait: Nemo ascendit in coelum, nisi qui descendit de coelo filius hominis, qui est in coelo. Potest et hoc quod dicit Judith custodibus murorum, Aperite portas, devotio cordis auditorum suorum ab ea postulata intelligi, hoc est, ut praeparet intentionem cordis ad accipienda ea quae sibi dicuntur; sicut Salvator in Evangelio per parabolas docens dixit: Qui habet aures audiendi audiat. Et Joannes apostolus in Apocalypsi sua eamdem sententiam saepius repetit dicens: Qui habet aures audiendi audiat quid spiritus dicat ecclesiis. Merito ergo illa, quae virtutes Domini, quas fecit, expromere vult, auditores devotos quaerit, quia scriptum est: Beatus qui causam suam loquitur in aurem audientis. Rabanus Maurus, Expositio in Librum Judith, Caput XIII Source: Migne PL 109.574a-d

And from afar Judith said to the watchman on the walls: 'Open your gates, because God is with us, He who has power in Israel.' 1 The watchman on the walls, that is, the teachers of the fortresses of the Church, who with their words and example, and even with their prayers, diligently fortify the lives of the faithful, and prepare entry into eternal blessedness, concerning which it is said by the prophet: 'Upon your walls, Jerusalem, I have set watchmen, all day and all night, and they shall not cease to praise the name of the Lord.' 2 It is also possible to understand the angelic powers to be the guards of the spiritual walls, who are given to us so that with their support we might defend ourselves against malignant spirits. Therefore Judith cries out from afar to the guards, asking them to open the gates, because God is with them. So even the Church in its journey in this world, set in the way of this present life, with all the strength of its heart cries out and asks that by the assistance of the saints entry be opened to the heavenly fatherland, so that there may be fulfilled the office of the name, saying with the prophet, 'Open the gates of righteousness, and entering in, I shall confess to the Lord. These are the gates of the Lord, the righteous shall enter through them.' 3 And whence earnestly entreating this, she adds to it, saying: 'Because He is with us, He who has power in Israel.' Certainly it is right that he who knows himself united to the head, concerning whom it is written: 'The Lord shall give strength to his people, and He shall bless His people with peace,' 4 ascends with Him to the height of the heavenly kingdom, because without Him there is no way he can come there. Whence the truth says in the Gospel: 'No one has ascended to heaven, unless He who has descended from heaven, the son of man, who is in heaven.' 5 It is possible that this which Judith says to the the watchmen on the wall, 'Open the gates' is to be understood as touching on the attention of the hearts of her hearers to her requests, that is, she is preparing the intention of the heart for the reception of the things that are said, as the Saviour in the Gospel says, 'He who has ears, let him hear.' And John the Apostle in his Apocalypse often repeats the same meaning, saying, 'He who has ears to hear let him hear what the spirit says to the churches.' Rightly, then, this woman, who is the virtue of the Lord, wishing to show what she has done, seeks devout hearers, because it is written: 'Blessed he who speaks his cause in the ear of one who will hear.' 6 Rabanus Maurus, Commentary On Judith, Chap 13 1 Judith 13.13 2 Isaiah 62.6 3 Ps 117.19-20 4 Ps 28.11 5 Jn 3.13 6 Sirach 25.12

Resolving A Difficulty

Μὴ πειρῶ πρᾶγμα σκολιὸν ἐπιλῦσαι διὰ φιλονεικίας, ἀλλὰ δι' ὧν ὁ πνευματικὸς παρακελεύεται νόμος, δι' ὑπομονῆς, καὶ προσευχῆς, καὶ μονολογίστου ἐλπίδος. Ἅγιος Μάρκος ὁ Ἐρημίτης, Περὶ Νόμου Πνευματικοῦ Source: Migne PG 65.905c

Do not try to resolve some difficult matter by contention, but by means of what the spiritual law exhorts, which is patience and prayer and single minded hope. Saint Mark The Ascetic, On The Spiritual Law.

Finding Rest

Πάντα τὸν χρόνον οἱ ὀφθαλμοὶ τῶν κακῶν προσδέχονται κακά οἱ δὲ ἀγαθοὶ ἡσυχάζουσιν διὰ παντός Ἡσυχία ἐστιν ἀποχὴ κακίας ἐμπράκτου καὶ ὁράσεων, ἥν οἱ ἀγαθοὶ ἡσυχάζουσιν· οἱ δὲ τοῦ νοὸς καὶ σώματος ὀφθαλμοὶ τῶν κακῶν, πάντα τὸν χρόνον ἐπινοοῦνται κακά. Ὠριγένης, Ἐκλογαὶ Εἰς Παροιμίας, Κεφ ΙE´ Source: Migne PG 17.193c

The eyes of the wicked are always eagerly receiving evils, but the good are ever at rest. 1 Rest is to be rid of wicked deeds and sights, and by this the good have their rest. But the mind and the bodily eyes of the wicked are always contemplating evils. Origen, On Proverbs, Chapter 15 1 Prov 15.15

Weariness And The Good

Bonum autem facientes, non deficiamus: tempore enim suo metemus, non deficientes. Cohortatur eos ad studium perseverantiae, qui in hac vita mercedem boni operis exspectant, nescientes quia sicut in semine aliud sationis, aliud messis est tempus: sic et in praesenti vita, sementem esse opera, quae vel in spiritu, vel in carne metantur, messem vero futurum judicium, et pro qualitate vel diversitate sementis, diversas nos facere messuras, centesimum et sexagesimum, et tricesimum fructum, quam segetem nemo potest metere deficiens. Qui enim perseveraverit usque in finem, hic salvus erit. Sicut et in alio loco praecipitur: Esto non deficiens . Quale est autem, ut cum peccatores quotidie in malis operibus augeantur, nos in bono opere lassemur? Sanctus Hieronymus, Commentariorum in Epistolam ad Galatas, Liber III, Cap VI Source: Migne PL 26.432a

But in the doing of good, let us not become weary. We will reap in time if we do not become weary. 1 He exhorts them to have an eagerness for endurance, they who in this life hope for the reward of good works, not knowing that as there is one sort of satisfaction in sowing, there is another at the harvest, and so in this present life the works sown, whether reaped in the spirit or in the flesh, shall have the harvest of future judgement, and the type and difference of the sowing make different harvests for us, a hundred fold and sixty fold and thirty fold, 2 which crop no one is able to harvest if he wearies. 'He who endures until the end, he shall be saved.' 3 As in another place it is commanded: 'Do not become weary.' 4 Why is it that when every day sinners increase in wicked works, we should grow tired of good works? Saint Jerome, Commentary on the Letter to the Galatians, Book 3, Chapter 6 1 Galat 6.9 2 Mt 13.8 3 Mt 24.13 4 Isaiah 5.27

Suffering And Understanding

Propter quod non sustinentes amplius, placuit nobis remanere Athenis, solis: et misimus Timotheum fratrem nostrum, et ministrum Dei in Evangelio Christi, ad confirmandos vos, et exhortandos pro fide vestra: ut nemo moveatur in tribulationibus istis : ipsi enim scitis quod in hoc positi sumus. Nam et cum apud vos essemus, praedicebamus vobis passuros nos tribulationes, sicut et factum est, et scitis. Desiderii supra memorati causas expressit. Idcirco enim praesentes esse apud eos volebant, ita animas eorum firmarent; ne quis ex his scandalum pateretur de pressuris apostolorum, ut qui tanta signa facerent, aliquando infirmarentur; ita humiliati, ut verberibus et vinculis subjicerentur. Ad quam rem excusandam Timotheum missum testatur idoneum doctorem, qui ostenderet hinc merita crescere christianis, si pro nomine Domini passi gratias agant, a quo hujus rei mercedem exspectant, simulque preces Deo funderunt, ut stabiles essent. Quam persecutionem idcirco se passuos praedicaverant; ut per id quod praescientiam hujus rei habere se protestarentur, posses se effuere et declinare has injurias approbarent: sed quia spes magna in his est, ideo dicit illatas sufferre quidem libenter Ambrosiaster, In Epistolam ad Thessalonicenses Primam Caput III Source: Migne PL 17.447a-b

For which reason, when we could bear it no longer, we thought it good to remain at Athens alone, and we sent Timothy, our brother and servant of God in the Gospel of Christ, to strengthen you and exhort you concerning your faith, that no one should be moved by these tribulations, for yourselves know that this is our lot, for even when we were with you we preached that we would suffer afflictions, just as it has come to pass, and you know. 1 He speaks of the reasons for the desire mentioned. For they wished to be present with them that they might strengthen their souls, lest some scandal be suffered because of the affliction of the Apostles, that they who made such great signs, at another time were weak, and humiliated, so that they were subject to blows and chains. To which he bears witness he sent the capable teacher Timothy to explain the matter, he who was to show how merit increases for Christians if suffering for the name of the Lord they give thanks, by which they may hope for a reward for these things, and at the same time pour forth prayers, that they might remain firm. And this perseuction which they were to suffer they had preached about, so that because of this prescience of the things which they had declared they would have, it were possible they might have approved flight and refusal of these injuries, but because there is great hope in these things, therefore he says that they willingly suffered what came upon them. Ambrosiaster, Commentary On The First Letter of Saint Paul To The Thessalonians, Chapter 3 1 1 Thes 3.1-4

Help And Teaching

Διὰ τί ἔφης, μετὰ τῶν τριῶν ὁσίων παίδων τὴν πυρκαῖὰν οὐ κατεδικάσθη ὁ μέγας Δανιὴλ παρὰ τοῦ Βαβυλωνίου, σύμφρων αὐτοῖς τυγχάνων καὶ συμφυλέτης, καὶ ὁμοδίαιτος, καὶ μᾶλλον τῆς εὐσεβείας διδάσκαλος; Ἐπειδὴ, φημὶ, κατὰ θείαν τοῦτο ᾠκονομήθη προμήθειαν, ἵνα μὴ τῷ ὀνόματι τοῦ Βαβυλωνίου Θεοῦ, τὴν κατάκαυσιν τῆς φλοψὸς οἱ ἀσεβεῖς ἐπιγράφωσι· Βαλτάσαρ γὰρ αὐτὸν, εἰς τιμὴν τῆς τῶν ἀποῥῥητων σαφηνείας, ὠνόμαζον. Καὶ δόγμα τοιοῦτο παρ' ἐκείνοις κρατεῖ, ὠς καὶ μόνον ὀνομαζόμενον, θαυματουργεῖν τὸν Θεὸν αὐτῶν. Ἵνα ταύτην τοίνυν καταργησῃ τὴν δόξαν, ἐν τῇ κρίσει ταύτῃ τὸν Δανιὴλ ἐχώρισε, καὶ εὑρέθη γυμνὴ καθ' ἑαυτὴν ἡ τῶν νέων εγκράτεια, καὶ τοῦ Θεοῦ ἡ βοήθεια, τὴν βροντῶσαν μαράνασα κάμινον. Ἅγιος Ἰσίδωρος Του Πηλουσιώτου, Βιβλιον Πρῶτον, Ἐπιστολή ΙΘ´ Ἡρακλειδῃ Ἐπισκοπῳ Source: Migne PG 78.193c-d

Concerning your enquiry about why the great Daniel was not condemned to the flames by the king of Babylon along with the three pious youths, the same sentence being given to all three who shared the same way of life, 1 it was that he might be a teacher of piety. And this, I say, was a matter of Divine providence, lest impious men should attribute the suppression of the flames to the name of a Babylonian God, the one who they called Baltazarus, and they proclaim it a mystery in his honour, and so with this teaching prevailing among them, in name only, their god be the wonder worker. Whence to suppress and abolish this opinion, Daniel was separated from the judgement of the others, and it was found that the roaring furnace was suppressed by the continence of the youths and the help of God. Saint Isidore of Pelusium, Book 1, Letter 19, To The Bishop Heracleides 1 Dan 3

Old Age And Help

Μὴ θαρσήσῃς τῷ γήρα· καὶ γὰρ καὶ γέροντες πίπτουσιν· ἐπικαλοῦ δὲ τὸν Χριστὸν ἀεὶ πρὸς βοήθειαν, ἵν αὐτός σου φρουρὸς καὶ ἄσειστος ἀσφάλεια γένηται. Ἅγιος Νειλος, Βιβλιον Δεύτερον, Ἐπιστολὴ ΚΓ´ Ἀφροσισιῳ Διακονῳ Source: Migne PG 79.209c

Do not be over confident in old age, for even old men have fallen. But always call on Christ as your help, that he may be your guard and unshakeable security. Saint Nilus of Sinai, Book 2, Letter 23 to Aphrodisius the Deacon

Help And Fear

Kύριος ἐμοὶ βοηθός οὐ φοβηθήσομαι τί ποιήσει μοι ἄνθρωπος... Ἔτι διδάσκεται ὁ Χρσιτοῠ λαὸς προσδοκᾷν μὲν ἐπιβουλὰς ἀνθρώπων, μὴ πτήσσειν δὲ αὐτὰς, μηδ' ἀγωνιᾷν, ἀλλὰ λέγειν· Κύριος ἐμοὶ βοηθὸς, καὶ τὰ ἐξῆς. Τοὺς δι' οὐδὲν ἕτερον ἐχθροὺς γενομένους τῷ λαῷ τοῦ Θεοῦ, ἤ διὰ τὴν εὐσεβῆ γνῶσιν, καὶ τὴν κατὰ Θεὸν πολιτείαν. Ἐχροὺς δὲ λεκτέον ἀνθρώπους αἰσθητούς τε καὶ νοητοὺς, ἀσεβεῖς τε καὶ δαίμονας πονηρούς. Δίδυμος Αλεξανδρεύς, Εἰς Ψαλμούς, Ψαλμος ΡΙΖ´ Source: Migne PG 39.1157a

The Lord is my helper, I shall not fear what a man may do to me. 1 The people of Christ are taught to expect the plots of men, and that they should not be frightened of them, or incline to despair, but say, 'The Lord is my helper,' and the rest. For no other reason is there hostility to the people of God but because of their pious knowledge and fellowship with God. And one should call men enemies who in their senses and in their thoughts are impious and wicked demons. Didymus the Blind, Commentary on The Psalms, from Psalm 117 1 Ps 117.6

Help Requested

Adjutor et susceptor meus es tu, et in verbum tuum supersperavi... Adjutor in praesenti, susceptor in futuro. Et in verbo tuo sperabo, hoc est, in Christo, quia Verbum Patris Filius est. Declinate a me maligni, et scrutabor mandata Dei mei. Maligini hic sunt daemones, vitia et peccata, vel adversariae potestates: Quia dum ipsi tibi tendiculas praeparant, et suggestiones pessimas, non potes scrutari mandata Dei tui, ut illa bene intelligas. Sed si volueris poentitentiam agere, segregare te habes ab illorum consortio. Suscipe me, secundum eloquium tuum, et vivam, et non confundas me ab exspectatione mea. Vox Ecclesiae optantis ut veniat sponsus et suscipiat eam sponsam sibi, sicut promisit in eloquio prophetarum. Et vivam, in justitia, quia modo mortus sum in peccatis. Et non confundas me, si ille quem exspecto et promisisti veniat mihi. Adjuva me. Auxilium rogat; et salvus ero in anima, si veneris et me adjuves, et meditabor in tuis justificationibus semper, sine fine. Alcuinus, Expositio In Psalmum CXVIII Source: Migne PL 100.612a-b

You are my helper and He who lifts me up... 1 A helper in the present, and one who lifts up in the future. 'And in your word I hope,' that is, in Christ, because the Word is the Son of the Father. Begone from me, wicked ones, and I shall study the commandments of God. The wicked ones are demons, and vices and sins, and hostile powers. Because while they prepare snares, and the worst sort of allurements, you cannot study the commandments of your God, that you might understand them well. But if you choose to become penitent, you shall remove yourself from their presence. Take me up, according to your word, and I shall live, and you shall not confound me in my hope. The voice of the Church desiring that her groom come and take her as His spouse, as promised in the words of the prophets. 'And I shall live,' in righteousness, because now I am dead in my sins. And you shall not confound me, if that which I hope for and you promised comes to me. Help me. A plea for help. 'And I shall be saved.' In soul, if you shall come to me and help me. 'And I shall meditate on your justifications always.' Without end. Alcuin of York, from the Commentary on Psalm 118 1. Ps 118. 114

Aid And Salvation

Adjuva me, et salvus ero, et meditabor in justificationibus tuis semper... Superius dixerat, Adjutor et susceptor meus, nunc autem nominum commemoratorum rem precatur, ut quo susceptor est, suscipiat; et qui adjutor, adjuvet. Non abesse a se adjutorium adjuvantis precatur. Non orat ne malignantes non habeat, qui per passionum patientiam fides probatur: sed ut adversus eos adjuvetur orat, quia auxilium a Domino semper orandum est. Sed quemadmodum in superiore susceptus vivet: ita et in hoc adjutus slavabitur. Adhuc enim sibi obeunda mors est, adhunc inferi sustinendi. Tunc salvabitur, cum ex corporea terrenaque natura in spiritalem gloriam transformatus, nullum adversantis inimici periculum metuat, vivat inter electos angelos, sit paradisi incola, et absorpta corruptione ex mortalis immortalis exsistat. Sanctus Hilarius Pictaviensis,Tractatus super Psalmos, Tractatus in Psalmum CXVIII Source: Migne PL 9.603b

Help me, and I will be saved, and I shall meditate on your justifications always... 1 Previously he had said, 'My helper and protector,' 2 now he prays for what the names refer to, that he be protected by Him who is the protector, and helped by Him who is the helper. He prays that the help of the helper has not been withdrawn from him. He does not pray that he has no tribulations, for faith is proved by the endurance of suffering, but he prays that he be assisted against such things, since one must always pray for help from the Lord. But as previously he lived by being protected, so he is saved by this help. For while death must yet come to him, he must yet endure what comes upon him. Then he shall be saved, when he has been transformed from a corporeal and earthly nature into spiritual glory, when he shall not fear any threats from a hostile enemy, but live among the elect angels, an inhabitant of paradise, immortal with the corruption of mortality absorbed. 3 Saint Hilary of Poitiers, Homilies on the Psalms, from Psalm 118 1 Ps 118.117 2 Ps 118.1114 3 2 Cor 5.4

Trials And Endurance

Εἴτε οὖν βαρὺς ὁ πειρασμός, ἀδελφοί, ὑπομείνωμεν τὰ ἐπίπονα: οὐδεὶς γὰρ μὴ πληγεὶς ἐν ἀγῶσι, μηδὲ κονισάμενος, στεφανοῦται. Eἴτε κοῦφα ταῦτα τοῦ διαβόλου τὰ παίγνια, καὶ οἱ ἐπιπεμφθέντες ἡμῖν, ὀχληροὶ μέν, διότι τούτου εἰσὶν ὑπηρέται, εὐκαταφρόνητοι δέ, ὅτι τῇ πονηρίᾳ αὐτῶν ὁ Θεὸς ἀδυναμίαν συνῆψε, φυλαξώμεθα τὴν κατάγνωσιν, ὡς ἐπὶ μικροῖς παθήμασι μεγάλα ὀδυρόμενοι. Ἓν γάρ ἐστιν ὀδύνης ἄξιον, ἡ αὐτοῦ ἐκείνου ἀπώλεια, τοῦ τῆς προσκαίρου ἕνεκεν δόξης, ῾εἴπερ οὖν δόξαν χρὴ λέγειν τὸ δημοσίᾳ ἀσχημονεῖν̓ τῆς αἰωνίας τῶν δικαίων τιμῆς ἑαυτὸν ἀποστερήσαντος. Tέκνα ὁμολογητῶν, καὶ τέκνα μαρτύρων ἐστέ, τῶν μέχρις αἵματος ἀντικαταστάντων πρὸς τὴν ἁμαρτίαν. Tοῖς οἰκείοις ἕκαστος χρησάσθω ὑποδείγμασι πρὸς τὴν ὑπὲρ τῆς εὐσεβείας ἔνστασιν. Oὐδεὶς ἡμῶν πληγαῖς κατεξάνθη, οὐδενὸς οἶκος ἐδημεύθη, οὐ τὴν ὑπερορίαν ᾠκήσαμεν, οὐ δεσμωτήριον ἐγνωρίσαμεν. τί πεπόνθαμεν δεινόν; εἰ μὴ τάχα τοῦτο λυπηρόν, ὅτι μηδὲν πεπόνθαμεν, μηδὲ ἐνομίσθημεν ἄξιοι τῶν ὑπὲρ Χριστοῦ παθημάτων. Eἰ δὲ ὅτι ὁ δεῖνα τὸν οἶκον κατέχει τῆς προσευχῆς, ὑμεῖς δὲ ἐν τῷ ὑπαίθρῳ προσκυνεῖτε τὸν οὐρανοῦ καὶ γῆς Δεσπότην, τοῦτο ὑμᾶς ἀνιᾷ, ἐνθυμήθητε, ὅτι οἱ μὲν ἕνδεκα μαθηταὶ ἐν τῷ ὑπερῴῳ ἦσαν ἀποκεκλεισμένοι, οἱ δὲ σταυρώσαντες τὸν Κύριον ἐν τῷ περιβοήτῳ ναῷ τὴν Ἰουδαϊκὴν λατρείαν ἐπλήρουν. Ἰούδας γὰρ τὸν δἰ ἀγχόνης θάνατον τοῦ μετ̓ αἰσχύνης ζῇν προτιμήσας, ἔδειξε τάχα τῶν νῦν ἀπερυθριασάντων πρὸς πᾶσαν ἀνθρώπων κατάγνωσιν, καὶ διὰ τοῦτο ἀναιδῶς πρὸς τὰ αἰσχρὰ διακειμένων, ἑαυτὸν αἱρετώτερον. Ἅγιος Βασίλειος ὁ Μέγας, Ἐπιστολή ΣΜ’, Νικοπολίταις πρεσβυτέροις Source: Migne PG 32.896b-897a

If, then, the trial is heavy, brethren, let us endure the toil. No one is crowned who is untouched by blows and dust in battle. Are these mockeries of the devil and those sent against us insignificant? They are troublesome because they are his servants, but easy to despise because in them God has mixed wickedness with infirmity, so let us beware of condemnation because of grave laments over a little pain. For one thing alone is worthy of lamentation, the loss of one's self, for the sake of the credit of the moment, if one one may call becoming a public disgrace credit, for there one defrauds one's self of the everlasting reward of the righteous. You are children of confessors, you are children of martyrs, you have stood fast against sin unto blood. Let each one make use of the examples of his own household to gain strength for piety. Not one of us has been cut by lashes. Not one of us has been deprived of property. We have not been driven into exile. We have not endured imprisonment. What great suffering have we undergone? Unless perhaps this grieves, that we have not suffered, that we have not been thought worthy of the sufferings of Christ. But if you are distressed because a wretch occupies the house of prayer and you worship the Lord of heaven and earth in the open air, recall that the eleven disciples were shut up in the upper room and those who had crucified the Lord were worshipping in the far famed temple of the Jews. Perhaps Judas, who preferred death by hanging to a shameful life, showed himself a better man than those who now meet universal condemnation and disgracefully preferring themselves wallow in shame. Saint Basil of Caesarea, from Letter 240, To The Church Of Nicopolis

Trap And Scandal

Custodi me a laqueo quem statuerunt mihi, et ab scandalis operantibus iniquitatem. Per laqueos et scandala, totius mundi mala breviter propheta complexus est, a quibus se supplicat custodiri, ne per insidias eorum possit intercipi. Laquei sunt diversa carnis desideria, quibus mentes humanae blandis nexibus illigantur. Scandala, quae per fratres proveniunt inquietos, qui lite, superbia sanctam refugiunt charitatem. Quid habituri sunt simile, si eos tam praecipuum munus contigat amittere? Et respice quia post laqueos scandala: quoniam inveterator ille pessimus, quando per laqueos non potuerit decipere, scandalis nititur gratiam nobis Divinitatis auferre. Cassiodorus, Expositio In Psalterium, Psalmus CXL Source: Migne PL 70.1003c-d

Protect me from the trap that they have laid for me, and from the scandals of those who act wickedly. 1 With traps and scandals the prophet briefly encompasses the evils of the whole world, from which he entreats that he might be protected, lest he be seized by their plots. The traps are the various desires of the flesh, by which human minds are embroiled in pleasing servitude. Scandals are brought forth from disconsolate brothers, who with quarrels flee holy charity in pride. In what way shall they live, if so preeminent a gift is lost to them? And observe that scandals are placed after the traps, because that worst one of old, when he is not able to deceive with traps, strives to strip us of Divine grace with scandals. Cassiodorus, Commentary On The Psalms, from Psalm 140 1 Ps 140.9

The Church And The Devil

Inimicitias ponam inter te et mulierem et semen tuum. Mulierem, hic Ecclesiam dicit, cui diabolus contrarius est. Semen vero mulieris bona opera sunt Ecclesiae, semen serpentis, opera omnis iniquitatis. Haec est enim mulier illa, de qua Joannes in Apocalipsi dicit, quod eam draco perseqeretur, volens eam devorare, postquam etiam fluvium ex ore euo emisit, quia persecutionem gentium contra Ecclesiam suscitavit. Ipsa conteret caput tuum. Id est, Ecclesia conteret caput tuum, id est, initium malae voluntatis, antequam ad opus prorumpat. Unde et in psalmo beatus dicitur qui parvulus Babylonis tenuerit, et ad petram alliserit. Parvuli Babylonis est initium peccati et orgio malae voluntatis. Hi sunt parvuli confusionis qui, antequam proficient, allidendi sunt ad petram, id est Christum. Remigius Antissiodorensis, Commentarius In Genesim, Caput III Source: Migne PL 131.66b-c

I shall set hostility between you and the woman and your seed. 1 'The woman,' he speaks of the Church, against which the devil is hostile. But the seed of the woman is the good works of the Church, and the seed of the serpent is every work of wickedness. Indeed this is the woman of whom John speaks in the Apocalypse, that the dragon shall persecute her, wishing to devour her, and later he pours forth a river from his mouth, because he stirs up the persecution of the Gentiles against the Church. 2 'She shall crush your head.' 1 That is, the Church 'shall crush your head,' that is, the beginning of evil desires, before they burst forth into deeds. Whence it is said in the Psalm: 'Blessed is he who takes hold of one of the little ones of Babylon, and smashes it against a rock.' 3 The little ones of Babylon are the beginning of sin and the source of evil desire. These are the little ones of confusion who before they come forth should be smashed against the rock which is Christ. Remigius of Auxerre, Commentary On Genesis, Chapter 3 1 Gen 3.15 2 Apoc 12.13 3 Ps 136.9

The Way Of The Gentiles

Τὸ εἰς ὁδὸν ἐθνῶν μὴ ἀπελθεῖν, μὴ συνελθεῖν αὐτοῖς εἰς τὸ φρόνημα, ὡσαύτως καὶ εἰς πόλιν Σαμαρειτῶν μὴ εἰσελθεῖν, οὐχὶ τῆς συνοικήσεως ἀπεχόμενον, ἀλλὰ τῆς δυσσεβείας καὶ πονηρίας μὴ ἐφαπτόμενον. Ἅγιος Ἰσίδωρος Του Πηλουσιώτου, Βιβλιον Πρῶτον, Ἐπιστολή ΡΝΓ', Ἡρακλειδῃ Πρεσβυτερῳ Source: Migne PG 78.285b

In the way of Gentiles do not go, 1 do not join your thoughts with theirs. And likewise do not go into a city of the Samaritans. Not that one should spurn their company, but lest one should be seized by impiety and wickedness. Saint Isidore of Pelusium, Book 1, Letter 153, To The Presbyter Heracleides 1 Mt 10.5

Two Ways

Duae sunt viae, una lata ad perditionem, altera arcta ad vitam. Illa quae lata est, multos habet incedentes per se. Illa qua arcta est, paucos capit. In omni enim genere quae pertiosa sunt, rara sunt; quae vilia sunt, numero abundant. Lata autem via est ire quo libet, et facere quod placet. Arcta via est praeceptis regi, et desideria fluxa stringere ad regulam aequitatis. Duae ergo viae sunt, una mortis, altera vitae; et duo populi, malorum et bonorum; et duo reges, diabolus et Christu. Et praecedit uterque exercitum suum, unus ad mortem, alter ad vitam. Christus humilitate, diabolus elatione; Christus puritate, diabolus impuritate: Christus obedientia, diabolus contumacia. Et quem quique ducem sequitur in via, habebit regem in patria. Hugo De Sancte Victore, Miscellanea, Liber I, Tit LVI De Duabis Viis in Evangelio Source: Migne PL 177.502c

There are two ways, one wide to ruin, the other narrow to life. 1 The one which is wide has many going along it. Few take the way which is narrow. In every type of thing that which is precious is rare, and that which is vile abounds. The wide way is to go where you will, and to do what pleases you. The narrow way is of the commands of the king, and the binding of fluxing desire to the rule of righteousness. Therefore there are two ways, one of death and the other of life, and two people, the good and the wicked, and two kings, the devil and Christ. And each goes at the head of his army, one to death, the other to life. Christ in humility, the devil in exultation. Christ in purity, the devil in foulness. Christ in obedience, the devil in insolence. And whoever follows in the way of his leader, he shall have the kingdom in his fatherland. Hugh Of Saint Victor, Miscellanea, Book 1, Chapter 56, on The Two Ways In The Gospel 1 Mt 7.13-14

Work Superior And Inferior

Ὁ αὐτός ποτε παρέβαλε τῷ ἀββᾷ Ἰωάννῃ τῷ ἀπὸ γεννήσεως εὐνούχῳ· καὶ λαλούντων αὐτῶν, εἶπεν· Ὅταν ἤμην εἰς Σκῆτιν, τὰ ἔργα τῆς ψυχῆς ἦν τὸ ἔργον ἡμῶν, τὸ δὲ ἐργόχειρον ὡς πάρεργον εἴχομεν· νῦν δὲ γέγονε τὸ ἔργον τῆς ψυχῆς ὡς πάρεργον, καὶ τὸ πάρεργον ἔργον. Ἀποφθέγματα Των Ἁγίων Γερόντων, Παλλαδιος Source: Migne PG 65.189b

The same father Theodore came to father John who was a eunuch from birth, and in their talk he said: 'When I came to Scetis, our work was the work of the soul, and manual work we had as a subordinate activity, but now the work of the soul is subordinate and the subordinate is the work.' Sayings of the Desert Fathers, Palladius of Galatia

Idle Speech

βλαβερὸν ἄγαν τὸ λόγον ἀργόν τε καὶ ἀκερδῆ, καὶ μὴ συμβαλλόμενον τῇ πνευματικῇ οἰκοδομῇ προφέρειν ἐκ στόματος, ὁμοίως καὶ τὸ τρέφειν ἐν τῇ καρδίᾳ τοὺς ὄφεις καὶ τοὺς σκορπίους τῶν πονηρῶν λογισμῶν. Ἅγιος Νειλος, Βιβλιον Πρῶτον, Ἐπιστολὴ ΠΘ', Ἀκακιῳ Μεμοριαλιῳ Source: Migne PG 79.121c

Idle speech is both very harmful and profitless, for when it comes forth from the mouth it contributes nothing to spiritual edification. So are serpents nurtured in the heart and the scorpions of wicked thoughts. Saint Nilus of Sinai, Book 1, Letter 89, to Acacius the Historian

Care And Speech

Ne temere quid loquaris, neque cor tuum sit velox ad proferendum sermonem coram Deo. Deus enim in cælo, et tu super terram; idcirco sint pauci sermones tui. Multas curas sequuntur somnia, et in multis sermonibus invenietur stultitia. Prohibet igitur praecipitationem; unde dicit: Ne temere quid loquaris, id est inconsiderate; Ecclesiastici nono: Temerarius in verbo suo odibilis erit; et rursus Ecclesiastici vigesimo octavo: Verbis tuis facito stateram et frenos ori tuo. Et quia non potest homo velox deliberare, ideo subdit: Neque cor tuum sit velox ad proferendum sermonem, immo diu deliberare oportet; unde Proverbiorum vigesimo nono: Vidisti hominem velocem ad loquendum? stultitia speranda est magis quam illius correptio. Unde distantia debet esse inter os et cor; quo contra Ecclesiastici vigesimo primo: In ore fatuorum cor illorum. Unde dicitur lacobi primo: Sit omnis homo velox ad audiendum et tardus ad loquendum; et Seneca: Tardiloquum te esse volo. Et subditur ratio divinum iudicium, quod omnia videt; ideo dicit: Deus enim in caelo, supple: omnia videns; unde in Psalmo: Dominus de caelo in terram aspexit; et tu super terram, in manifesto sibi positus, ita non lates eum; Ecclesiastici vigesimo tertio: Oculi Domini multo plus lucidiores sunt super solem, circumspicientes in omnes vias hominum. Idcirco sint pauci sermones tui, quia scilicet loqueris coram Deo, quia ipse exiget rationem de omnibus; Matthaei duodecimo: De omni verbo otioso, quod locuti fuerint homines, reddent rationem de eo in die iudicii. Et vix potest esse quod qui multa loquitur Deo non displiceat. Unde hoc manifestat exemplo et simili dicens: Multas curas sequuntur somnia, et ideo stultum est eis attendere; Ecclesiastici trigesimo quarto: Multos errare fecerunt somnia. Et in multis sermonibus invenitur stultitia; Ecclesiastici vigesimo: Qui multis utitur verbis laedit animam suam; et Proverbiorum decimo: In multiloquio non deerit peccatum; sed econtra infra decimo: Stultus verba multiplicat. Sanctus Bonaventura, Commentarius In Ecclesiasten, Cap V Source: Here, p 43

Do not be rash with your speech, and let not your heart be quick to offer a word before God. For God is in heaven, and you are on the earth, therefore let your words be few. Dreams follow many cares, and foolishness is found in many words. 1 Thus he forbids hastiness in speech, whence he says: 'Do not be rash with your speech,' that is, lacking consideration. In the ninth chapter of Ecclesiasticus: 'The man more reckless in his speech shall be hated.' And again in twenty eighth chapter: 'Make a balance for your words, a bridle for your mouth.' 2 And because no man can deliberate quickly, therefore here he adds: 'Let not your heart be quick to offer a word,' since one should deliberate for a time. Whence in the twenty ninth chapter of Proverbs: 'You see a man quick to speak? There is more hope in foolishness than for his correction.' 3 Whence there should be distance between the mouth and the heart, for which the twenty first chapter of Ecclesiasticus gives an opposing example: 'The fool's heart is in his mouth.' And in the first chapter of James: 'Let a man be quick to hear and slow to speak.' 4 And Seneca says: 'I wish you to be slow of speech.' 5 And he goes on to add the reason for the Divine judgement, because it sees everything, and therefore he says here, 'For God is in heaven,' that is, seeing everything, whence in the Psalm: 'From heaven the Lord looks on the earth.' 6 'And you are on the earth,' manifestly placed for Him, thus you cannot hide from Him. In the twenty third chapter of Ecclesiasticus: 'The eyes of the Lord are much brighter than the sun, looking on all the ways of men.' 7 'Therefore let your words be few,' because evidently you speak in the presence of God, and He will demand a reason for everything. In the twelfth chapter of Matthew: 'For every idle word that men have spoken, a reason will be required for it on the day of judgement.' 8 It is scarcely possible that he who speaks much shall not displease God. Whence he shows this here with an example and a similitude: 'Dreams follow many cares,' and therefore it is foolish to attend to them. In the thirty fourth chapter of Ecclesiasticus: 'Dreams have led many into error, and in many words is found foolishness.' In the twentith chapter: 'He who uses many words wounds his own soul.' And in the tenth chapter of Proverbs: 'Excessive speech shall not lack sin.' And opposing it in the tenth chapter here below: 'The fool multiplies his words.' 9 Saint Bonaventura, Commentary on Ecclesiastes, Chapter 5 1 Eccl 5.1-2 2 Sirach 9.18, 28.25 3 Prov 29.20 4 Sirach 21.29, James 1.19 5 Seneca Epis 40.14 as 'Tardiloquum te esse iubeo,' I bid you to be slow of speech 6 Ps 101.20 7 Sirach 23.28 8 Mt 12.36 9 Sirach 34.7, Sirach 20.8, Prov 10.19, Eccl 10.14

Falling With Open Eyes

Tu autem, fili hominis, audi quaecunque loquor ad te, et noli esse exasperans, sicut domus exasperatrix est. Id est, mala quae fieri conspicis, ipse non facias, ne hoc quod prohibere mitteris ipse committas. Omnis etenim praedicator intenta semper debet mente pensare ne qui missus est lapsos erigere ipse in pravitate operis cum lapsis cadat, et Pauli hunc sententia feriat dicentis: In quo alterum judicas teipsum condemnas. Unde Balaam Dei spiritu repletus ad loquendum, sed tamen in carnali vita suo spiritu detentus, de semetipso loquitur, dicens: Dixit auditor sermonum Dei, qui novit doctrinam Altissimi, et visiones omnipotentis videt, qui cadens apertos habet oculos. Cadens apertos oculos habuit, qui rectum quod diceret vidit, sed recte vivere contempsit. Cadens videlicet in perverso opere, et apertos habens oculos in sancta praedicatione. Sanctus Gregorius Magnus, In Ezechielem Prophetam, Liber Primus, Homilia IX Source: Migne PL 76.881d-882a

But you, son of man, hear whatever I say to you, and do not be exasperating, like this house is exasperating. 1 That is, do not do the evil that you see, lest that which you are sent to prohibit you yourself do. Indeed every preacher should always be attentive with a thoughful mind lest he who has been sent to lift up the fallen himself falls into wicked deeds with the fallen. Paul conveys this sense where he says, 'In what you judge another you condemn yourself.' 2 And Balam filled by the spirit of God to speak, and yet snared in the carnal life by his own spirit, said concerning himself: 'One who heard spoke the speech of God, he who knew the teaching of the Most High, and who saw visions of the Almighty, he who is falling with his eyes open.' 3 He falls with his eyes open who sees the rightness of what is said, but scorns to live righteously. That is, he falls into evil deeds, even when he has had his eyes opened by holy preaching. Saint Gregory the Great, On the Prophet Ezekiel, Book 1, from Homily 9 1 Ezek 3.14 2 Rom 2.1 3 Numb 24.14

Goods And Vigils

Μέγιστον ἀγαθόν ἐστιν ἡ ἀγρυπνία τοῖς ἀποσείεσθαι τὸν γείτονα θανάτου ὕπνον προαιρουμένοις, καὶ τοσούτῳ μέγα, ὅσῳ καὶ ὁ Δεσπότης αὐτὸς, τοῦτο μετελήλυθε, καὶ ᾠκειώσατο ἐν τῇ οἰκονομίᾳ τῇ κατὰ σάρκα, ὥς φησι καὶ ὁ Λουκᾶς, ὅτι Ἤν Ἰησοῦς διανυκτερεύων ἐν τῇ προσευχῇ τοῦ Θεοῦ, διδάσκων ἡμᾶς δι' αὐτοῦ τοῦ ἔργου ἀκολουθεῖν τοῖς ἴχνεσιν τοῦ Διδασκάλου. Διόπερ καὶ ἔλεγεν· Γρηγορεῖτε καὶ προσεύχεσθε, ἵνα μὴ εἰσέλθητε εἰς πειρασμόν. Οἱ δὲ γε περὶ Παῦλον καὶ Σίλαν, τὸ κέρδος οὐκ ἀγνοοῦντες τῆς ἀγρυπνίας, περὶ τὸ μεσονύκτιον ἐδόξαζον τὸν Θεόν. Καὶ Δαυὶδ φησίν· Ἠγρύπνησα, καὶ ἐγενόμην ὡς στρουθίον μονάζον ἐπὶ δώματος, ἤγουν εὔπτρεον, οὐκ ἐπὶ τῆς γῆς συρόμενον, ἀλλ' ἐπὶ τοῦ δώματος, καὶ τοῦ ὕψους τῆς ἀρετῆς διαιτώμενον. Γλώττῃ γὰρ ἰκετηρίῳ ἀντὶ τῶν χειρῶν μου τοῖς τοῦ φιλανθρώπου Θεοῦ ἀοράτοις ποσὶ περιεπλεκόμεην κλαίων, καὶ ἡ πηλώδης μου καρδία κειμήλιον γέγονεν ἀργυροῦν, ἤ χρυσοῦν, καὶ θυσιαστήριον πάλιν Κυρίου ἀπειργάσθην ὁ ταπεινὸς ἄνθρωπος, ἀνασκαλευούσης τῆς χάριτος ἐν ἐμοὶ τοὺς γνώσεως ἄνθρακας, καὶ θυσίαν εὐώδη Θεῷ ἀναφερούσης. Ἅγιος Νειλος, Βιβλιον Πρῶτον, Ἐπιστολὴ ΚΗ’ Τιμοθεῳ Ὑποδιακονῳ Source: Migne PG 79.95c

A vigil is a great good for those who have chosen to cut off any proximity of the sleep of death, and it is of such greatness that the Lord Himself entered into it, and Himself practised it while in the condition of the flesh, even as Luke says: 'Jesus spent the night in prayer to God.' 1 instructing us with this work to follow the footsteps of the teacher. Whence He said, 'Watch and pray, lest you enter into temptation.' 2 And those who were with Paul and Silas were not left ignorant of the benefit of vigils, for they praised God in the middle of the night. 3 And David says: 'I kept watch, and I was made like a sparrow alone on a rooftop.' 4 not making use of wings, nor dragging them on the earth, but remaining on the rooftop, the height of virtue. For with the supplicant tongue alternating with my hands, and feet folded up feet to concealment, I cry out to the benevolent God, that the clay of my heart become a treasury for silver or gold, and again that a humble man be made a sacrificial altar of the Lord, and grace dig up the flaming coal of wisdom, and bear off a fragrant sacrifice to God. Saint Nilus of Sinai, Book 1, Letter 28, to Timotheus the Subdeacon 1 Lk 6.12 2 Mt 26.41 3 Acts 16.25 4 Ps 101.8

Anger And Sin

Ὀργίζεσθε καὶ μὴ ἁμαρτάνετε, λέγετε ἐν ταῖς καρδίαις ὑμῶν καὶ ἐπὶ ταῖς κοίταις ὑμῶν κατανύγητε... Ταύτην τὴν λέξιν παραλαβὼν ὁ ἀπόστολος ἐπήγαγεν αὐτῇ· ̔Ο ἥλιος μὴ ἐπιδυέτω ἐπὶ τῷ παροργισμῷ ὑμῶν, μηδὲ δίδοτε τόπον τῷ διαβόλῳ. ὁ ταύτην καταδεξάμενος τὴν ἀποστολικὴν προτροπὴν ὀργισθεὶς οὐχ ἁμαρτάνει τοῦ κατ' ὀργὴν διακειμένου ἐπίμονον αὐτὴν ἔχοντος ὄν καὶ μηνιαστὴν ἔθος καλεῖν. βεβαιοῖ ταύτην τὴν νόησιν τὸ ἑξῆς ἐπιφερόμενον· Ἄ λέγετε γάρ φησίν, ὀργισθέντες δηλονότι, ἐν ταῖς καρδίαις ὑμῶν, ἐπὶ ταῖς κοίταις κατανύγητε, ὥστε ἀναστάντας ἐξ ὕπνου μηδὲν πρᾶξαι ἤ εἰπεῖν τῶν ἐν τῇ καρδίᾳ ἐν ὀργῇ διεσκεμμένων. Δίδυμος Αλεξανδρεύς, Εἰς Ψαλμούς, Ψαλμος Δ´ Source: Migne PG 39.1168a

Be angry and sin not, the things you say in your hearts, fight with on your beds... 1 This line is taken up by the Apostle when he says: 'Do not let the sun go down on your anger, do not give a place to the devil.' 2 And to receive the Apostolic admonition is not to sin because of anger when one is angered. Rather let him who is troubled by anger have that endurance that is by custom called restraint of anger. And the sense of this is confirmed a little after, for it says, 'The things you say,' clearly by those who are angered, 'in your hearts, fight with on your beds', that rising from sleep you resolve to act nothing like them, in deed or by speech in the heart, because of anger. Didymus the Blind, Commentary on The Psalms, from Psalm 4 1 Ps 4.5 2 Ephes 4.26-27

Enriching Works

Modestia vestra nota sit omnibus hominibus... Nunc exemplo eorum alios vult lucrari; cum enim modestia eorum manifestata fuerit, id est, rationabilis conversatio, lucebunt opera eorum, et non deerunt, qui imitentur bonum illorum; ut non solum propriorum gestorum, sed et aliorum augmentum consequantur; ut sicut dictum est, labores fructuum suorum edant. Quando enim fructus operum suorum alios acquirit ad opus bonum, labores eorum qui acquisiti sunt, proficient eis, quorum exemplo bona opera imitari coeperunt. Ambrosiaster, In Epistolam Beati Pauli Ad Philippenses Source: Migne PL 17.418c

May your modesty be known to all men... 1 Now he wishes others to be enriched with their example. When their modesty shall have been made manifest, that is, their reasonable way of living, their works shall enrich, and they shall not lack who shall imitate their goods, so that their own deeds shall not only give increase to themselves but even to others, as it is said: 'They shall eat the fruit of their labours.' 2 For when the fruit of their works gains others for good work, the labours of those gained are profitable to them, who began by their example to imitate good works. Ambrosiaster, Commentary On The Epistle of Saint Paul To Philippians 1 Phil 4.5-7 2 Ps 127.2

Giving And Receiving Gifts

Enim desidero, inquit, videre vos, ut aliquod tradam vobis donum spiritale ad confirmandum vos, id est, consolari in vobis per eam, quae invicem est, fidem vestram atque meam. Primo omnium discere debemus opus esse apostolicum desiderate fratres, sed non aliam ob causam, nisi ut vel conferamus eis aliquid doni spiritalis si possumus, vel si non possumus, ipsi ut accipiamus ab his. Sine hoc enim non est probabile desiderium circumeundi fratres. Quod autem dicit, ut aliquod tradam vobis donum spiritale, videtur indicare esse aliquid quod donum quidem sit, non tamen spiritale. Nam donum fidei sine dubio spiritale est, et donum sapientiae, et scientiae, et virginitatis similiter. Ubi autem dicit de nuptiis et virginitate loquens: Sed unusquisque proprium habet donum a Deo, alius sic, alius autem sic; donum quidem dicit esse nuptias, quoniam, sicut scriptum est, a Deo aptatur mulier viro; sed non istud donum est spiritale. Possunt et alia multa dona Dei dicit, ut divitiae et fortitudo corporis, ut formae decor, ut regnum terrestre. A Deo enim etiam haec donantur, sicut et Daniel dicit: Quia ipse facit reges, et commutat; sed non sunt haec dona spiritlia. Beati sunt ergo illi quibus spiritalem gratiam tradere vult Apostolus ad confirmationem fidei, ut ultra non sint parvuli, neque circumferantur omni vento doctrinae. Quod cum fit a Paulo, et ipse consolationem capit, opus suum firmum et stabile videns: et illi consolantur qui apostolicae gratiae participes fiunt. Origenes, Commentariorum In Epistolam Beati Pauli Ad Romanos, Liber Primus, Interprete Rufino Aquileiense Source: Migne PG 14.857b-858a

'For I desire to see you,' he says, 'that I might give you some spiritual gift for your strengthening, that is, to be comforted in you by it,  and so mutually, your faith and mine.'1 First of all we should learn that it is a part of the Apostolic work to wish to see brothers, but not for any reason unless to bring to them some spiritual gift if we are able, and if we are not able, that we shall receive something from them. Without this is it not likely there will be a wish to visit brothers. Now when he says, 'that I might give you some spiritual gift', it seems to indicate what sort of gift it might be, yet not what sort of spiritual one. For the gift of faith is without doubt spiritual, and the gift of wisdom and knowledge and chastity likewise. But where he speaks of chastity and marriage he says: 'But each one has his own gift from God, one man this, another that,' 2 he does speak of marriage as a gift, because, as it is written, 'by God a woman inclines to a man,' 3 but this gift is not spiritual.  One can speak of many gifts of God, such as wealth, and strength of body, and beauty of form, and a worldly kingdom, and indeed these are given by God, as Daniel says, 'Because he makes kings, and he changes them,' 4 but these are not spiritual gifts. Therefore they are blessed to whom the Apostle wishes to bring spiritual grace for the strengthening of faith, so that they be children no more, and be no more tossed about by the teachings of the world. 5 And when it is done by Paul, this is his comfort, that he looks upon his work as something firm and stabile, and they are strengthened who partake of the Apostolic grace. Origen, from the Commentary on the Letter of Paul to the Romans, Book 1, Translated by Rufinus of Aquileia. 1 Rom 1.11-12 2 1 Cor 7.7 3 Prov 19.14 4 Dan 2.21 5 Ephes 4.14

Calling On The Name

Omnis enim quicunque invocaverit nomen Domini, salvus erit. Nomen Domini invocat, qui servus Domini esse desiderat; desiderat esse servus ejus, quicunque intelligit nomen ejus. Nomen ejus intelligeunt, qui in semetipsis experiuntur dominatum ejus. Ipsi sunt qui cognoscunt in semetipsis gratiam Dei, et ingrati non sunt, et ideo invocantes nomen Domini salvi sunt. Sic ergo fides Jesu Christi Domini nobis salutem, et quanta nobis hic inchoatur in spe, et quanta dabitur in re. Quod autem dicit, salvus erit, utique sicut a febre, sicut a peste, quia non est sanis opus medicus, sed male habentibus. Si ergo omni invocanti salus promittitur, nec est distinctio Judaei et Graeci, omnibus invocandum est. Guillelmus S Theodorici Abbas, Expositio In Epistolam Ad Romanos, Lib VI, Caput X Source: Migne PG 180.655d-656a

For all who shall call on the name of the Lord shall be saved. 1 He calls on the name of the Lord who desires to be a servant of the Lord. He desires to be His servant who understands His name. He understands His name who in Himself experiences His rule. These are the ones who know the grace of God in themselves, and they are not unthankful, and therefore calling on the name of the Lord they are saved. As therefore faith in Jesus Christ our Lord is our salvation, as much as it begins in hope for us, just as much it shall be given in truth. But because Paul says here, 'shall be saved' it is as from a fever or a plague, because there is no work for a physician with the healthy, but with those who are sick. 2 If, therefore, salvation is promised to all who call, nor is there any distinction between Jew and Greek, for all must call. William of St Thierry, Commentary on Romans, Book 6, Chapter 10 1 Rom 10.13 2 Mt 9.12, Mk 2.17, Lk 5.31

Commands And Binding

Quapropter multam fiduciam habens in Christo imperandi tibi, quod ad rem pertinet, propter charitaem tamen magis deprecor, cum sis talis, ut Paulus senex, nunc autem et vinctus Christi Jesu. Quantum ratio exigebat, dignum erat imperare discipulo magistrum ex fiducia apostolicae auctoritatis; sed quia vir bonus erat philemon, per affectum illum provocat obaudire, quasi coaevum aetatis, et vinctum Christi Jesu, id est, obligtum negotiis Dominicis, vel propter nomen ejus subjectum vinculis, sicut erant et ipsi apostoli. Tales enim fuerunt Judas et Silas, qui, cum ex plebe essent, primores inter fratres, obligaverant semetipsos Dominicis actibus; ut una cum apostolicis coagonizarent propter fidem Dei. Unde Silas particeps laborum invenitur Apostoli. Ambrosiaster, In Epistolam Beati Pauli Ad Philomenem Source: Migne PL 17.505b

Whence by the possession of great faith in Christ I can command you to act in this affair, yet because of love I rather beg you, who are such as I, an old man, and now even a prisoner for Jesus Christ. 1 Weighty reason demanded that on account of Apostolic authority the master was fit to command the pupil, but because Philemon was a good man, he calls on him to obey out of affection, as men of the same age, and a captive of Jesus Christ, that is, one bound to the affairs of the Lord, indeed on account on His name subject to chains, as the Apostles were. For such were Judas and Silas, 2 who from the common people, first among brothers, bound themselves to the deeds of the Lord, so that they suffered with the Apostles on account of the faith of God. Whence Silas is found to participate in the trials of the Apostle. Ambrosiaster, Commentary On The Epistle of Saint Paul To Philemon 1 Philemon 8-9 2 Acts 15.22-

Grace And Salvation

Et vos cum essetis mortui delictis et peccatis vestris, in quibus aliquando ambulastis secundum saeculum hujus mundi... Totus hic sensus jugendus est, et de Ephesiis quod in peccatis fuerint, et de se ipso quod Paulus in desideriis carnis et in consiliis carnalibus fuerit. Illis, inquam, omnibus, jugendum est illud quod Deus, qui dives in misericordia, salvos omnes fecerit, et ipsum Paulum, et Ephesios. Sic enim concludit, cujus gratia estis salvi facti, cum ambularetis mortui delicitis; et vos cum ambulaveritis mortui delictis et peccatis vestris. Frequenter monui, mortem duplici modo accipi, illam unam notam, cum fine vivendi in mundo anima separatur a copore; aliam, cum in ipso corpore constituta, desideria carnis agit atque in peccatis vivit. Vos, inquit, cum essetis mortui: et designavit mortis genus, delictis et peccatis vestrs, in quibus aliqunado ambulastis secundum saeculum hujus mundi. Ostendit quae sunt peccata, scilicet desideria in mundo, de mundo, divitiarum, vel voluntatis vel scientiae mundanae, vel religionis de mundo, et caetera hujus mundi quae animam perdunt errantam a scientia veritatis. Quod autem dixit saeculum hujus mundi, sunt enim et superiora, et illa saecula aeterna, quae quomodo intelligantur, et quam significantiam habeant, aliis a me libris est replicatum. Saeculum hujus mundi autem omnis regio mundana, vel omnis mundus, in mundo motus rerum tempus faciens et involvens. Non eodem modo saeculum in aeternis est: esse autem aeternorum saecula, etiam Paulus declaravit, et omnes prophetae: siquidem dicitur et frequentur dicitur benedictus Deus in saecula saeculorum. Etenim saeculum finitur; saecula autem saeculorum, et de aeternis et in aeternum sunt. Victorinus Afrus, In Epistolam Pauli ad Ephesios, Liber I, Cap II Source: Migne PL 8.1252d-1253b

And you when you were dead in your errors and in your sins, in which you walked according to the age of this world... 1 One should join together all the meaning here, both regarding the Ephesians, that they were in sin, and concerning Paul who was in the desires of the flesh and the counsel of it. Then to all these one must join God, who is rich in mercy and would save everyone, 2 Paul himself and the Ephesians. So indeed it concludes that by His grace you have been saved, 3 when you were walking dead in your errors, and when you had walked dead in your errors and sins. I have frequently given the warning that death should be understood in two ways, that one is to be noted in the separation of the soul from the body at the end of this life in the world, and the other is when in the body a man works the desires of the flesh and lives in sin. 'You,' he says, 'when you were dead,' and then specifies the type of death, 'in your errors and your sins, in which you were walking according to the age of this world,' He reveals what sins are, that is, the desires of the world, and for the world, the wealth of it, either the wish for or the knowledge of worldly things, or for the cults of the world, and the rest of the things of this world which ruin the soul, which is a wandering from the knowledge of the truth. Whence he says 'the age of this world', for there are greater things, even the eternal ages, and how they should be understood, and what signficance they have, I have treated in other books. For the age of this world is every part of the world, or the whole world, in which world time makes and unmakes amid the changes of things. But in no way is it the age of eternity. And what the ages of eternity are, even Paul has declared and all the prophets, as it is said, and frequently, 'Blessed be God in the age of the ages.' Indeed the age ends, but the age of the ages speaks of eternal things which are in eternity. Victorinus Afrus, On the Epistle of Saint Paul to the Ephesians, Book One, Chapter Two 1 Ephes 5.13 2 cf Ephes 1.7 3 Ephes 2.4-5

Freedom And Servitude

Cum enim inquit servi essetis peccati, liberi fuistis justitiae. Qualis, quaeso, potest servi addicti esse libertas, nisi quando eum peccare delectat? Liberaliter enim servit, qui sui domini voluntatem libenter facit, ac per hoc ad peccandum liber est, qui peccati servus est. Unde ad juste faciendum liber non erit: nisi a peccato liberatus, esse justitiae coeperit servus. Ipsa vero est vera libertatis, esse justitiae coeperit servus. Ipsa vero est vera libertas, habere recte facti laetitiam: simul et pia servitus, amplecti praecepti obedientiam. Sed ad bene faciendum ista libertas unde erit homini addito et vendito, nisi redimat eum, cujus illa vox est: Si vos Filius liberaverit, tunc vere liberi eritis. Liberi enim a justitia non sunt, nisi arbitrio libertatis; liberi autem a peccato non sunt, nisi gratia Salvatoris. Guillelmus S Theodorici Abbas, Expositio In Epistolam Ad Romanos, Caput VI Source: Migne PG 180.610d-611a

For when you were servants of sin, you were free from righteousness.... 1 How is it possible, I ask, to be free when enslaved to sin, unless it is a man's delight to sin? He serves freely, who freely performs the will of his master, and because of this he is free for sin who is a slave of sin. Whence a man shall not be free to do what is right unless he has been freed from sin to become a servant of righteousness. This, however, is true freedom, to have joy in acting righteously, and at the same time that service is pious which has embraced the obedience of the commands. But how shall a man bound and sold have this freedom for acting well, unless He frees him whose voice says: 'If the Son has freed you, then truly you are free.' 2 Men are not free from righteousness unless by freedom of the will, and they are not free from sin unless by the grace of the Saviour. William of St Thierry, Commentary on Romans, Chapter 6 1 Rom 6.20 2 Jn 8.36

Gifts And Riches

Ut det vobis, secundum divitias gloriae suae, virtute confortari per spiritum ejus in interiorem hominem: habitare Christum per fidem in cordibus vestris: in charitate radicati et fundati: ut possitis comprehendere cum omnibus sanctis quae sit latitudo, et longitudo, et profundum, et altitudo: Scire etiam supereminentem scientiae charitatem Christi, ut impleamini in omni plenitudine Dei. Propterea, inquit, curvo genua mea ad Patrem, ad cujus similitudinem omnis in coelo et in terra paternitas nominatur, deprecans eum atque obsecrans, ut tribuat vobis virtutem gloriae suae, id est, majestatis suae habere consortium: vosque roboret atque confirmet per Spiritum sanctum: quia nulla fortitudo absque Spiritu sancto est: Roboret autem atque confirmet in interiorem hominem. Non enim corporis vires, sed animae quaerimus: nec exteriorem, sed interiorem hominem cupimus roborari: ut postquam habitaverit Christus in interiore homine, in ipsius interiori hominis habitet principali, id est, in cordibus nostris: nequaquam per cuncta ejus membra discurrens, sed in rationabili ejus habitans: et in eo domicilium, sedemque suam ponens. Hoc autem totum per fidem fiet, si credamus in eum. Quamobrem ait: Habitare Christum per fidem in cordibus vestris. Habitatio autem ista quae per exordium fidei fabricatur, radices et fundamentum in charitate habet: ut quoniam Dei agricultura sumus, Dei aedificatio, omnia in charitate succrescant atque aedificentur. Sanctus Hieronymus, In Epistolam Pauli ad Ephesios, Lib II, Cap III Source: Migne PL 26.490a-c

That he might give to you according to the riches of His glory, to be strengthened through His spirit in the interior man, to dwell with Christ through faith in your hearts, rooted and established in love, that with all the holy ones you are able to understand what is the breadth and the length and the depth and the height, indeed to know the surpassing love of the knowledge of Christ, that you be filled with the fullness of God. 1 'Because of this,' Paul says, 'I bend my knee to the Father, in whose likeness every paternity in heaven and earth is named,' 2 praying to Him and beseeching, that He give to you the virtue of His glory, that is, that you be associates in His majesty, and He strengthen you and confirm you with the Holy Spirit, because there is no fortitude without the Holy Spirit, He who strengthens and confirms the interior man. For we do not seek strength of body but of soul. We desire to be strengthed in the interior man, that after Christ might dwell in the interior man, in the foundation of the interior of that man, that is, in our hearts, not spreading through every one of his members, but dwelling in the rational part, there established and placing His throne. And this all may be done through faith, if we believe in Him. As he says: 'To dwell with Christ through faith in your hearts.' But this habitation which is fashioned by the beginning of faith has its roots and foundation in love, so that since we are the field of God's work, the building of God, 2 eveything grows up and is built up in love. Saint Jerome, Commentary On The Epistle of Saint Paul to the Ephesians, Book 2, Chapter 3 1 Ephes 3.16-19 2 Ephes 3.14-15 3 1 Cor 3.9

Different Types Of Wisdom

...ἡ γὰρ καύχησις ἡμῶν αὕτη ἐστίν, τὸ μαρτύριον τῆς συνειδήσεως ἡμῶν... Τὸ πρὸς θεὸν ἡμῶν καύχημα μαρτυρεῖται ἐκ τῆς συνειδήσεως· εἴρηται δὲ περὶ τῆς συνειδήσεως τῆς μὴ δεχομένης πρόσωπον. Aὕτη οὖν ἡ καύχησις ἥτις μαρτύριον τῆς συνειδήσεως ἡμῶν ὑπάρχει, παρεσκεύασεν ἐν ἁγιότητι καὶ εἰλικρινείᾳ ἀλλὰ μὴ ἐν ἀνθρωπίνῃ παιδεύσει ἀναστραφῆναι ἐν παντὶ τῷ κόσμῳ, μάλιστα δὲ πρὸς ὑμᾶς· ὁ γὰρ κατὰ τὸ εὐαγγέλιον παιδεύων οὐκ ἀνθρωπίνην ἐπαγγέλλεται διδασκαλίαν ἀλλὰ τὴν ἐκ τῶν ἁγίων γινομένην γραφῶν, ἥτις διὰ τὸ ἐκτὸς εἶναι κηλῖδός τινος εἰλικρινής ἐστιν. Σαρκίνην δὲ σοφίαν τὴν περὶ αἰσθητῶν ὠνόμασεν, ἣν ὁ ἔχων οὐ χωρεῖ τὴν τοῦ Πνεύματος σοφίαν, μωρίαν αὐτὴν λογιζόμενος. Ἔθος δὲ τῇ γραφῇ τὰ περὶ τῶν κοσμικῶν καὶ ὑλικῶν μαθήματα σάρκινα καλεῖν· οὕτω γοῦν καὶ φρόνημα λέγεται τῆς σαρκός, καὶ ἐν τοῖς ἔργοις τῆς σαρκὸς καταλέγονται αἱρέσεις, φαρμακεῖαι, εἰδωλολατρεῖαι. οὐ γὰρ ἔτι ταῦτα σάρκινα ῥητέον παρονομαζόμενα ἀπὸ τῆς αἰσθητῆς σαρκός· εἴρηται γὰρ ἀπὸ τῆς ὑλικῆς ἕξεως καθ' ἣν ὁ ἐνεργῶν κατὰ σάρκα περιπατεῖν λέγεται, καὶ γίνεται σάρκινος πραθεὶς ὑπὸ ἁμαρτίαν. Ὅμως δὲ εἰ καὶ ἐν πάσῃ τῇ οἰκουμένῃ ἀνεστράφημεν ἐν ἁγιότητι καὶ εἰλικρινείᾳ, ἀλλ' οὖν τοῦτο πρὸς ὑμᾶς μᾶλλον καὶ μᾶλλον πεποιήκαμεν. Δίδυμος Αλεξανδρεύς, Εἰς Τὴν Δευτέραν Ἐπιστολήν Παύλου Πρὸς Κορινθίους Source: Migne PG 39.1686b

...for it is our boast, whose witness is our conscience... 1 The boast before God has its witness from conscience, which conscience is said to be no respecter of persons. This, then, is the boast whose witness is conscience, that he has conducted himself with holiness and purity, not according to a human way of teaching in any place of the world, especially among you, for he who is educated in the rule of the Gospel can hardly be said to proclaim human teaching, but that which Holy Scripture hands down. And he goes on to speak of a carnal wisdom of sensible things, which he who has, cannot have the wisdom of the Spirit, because it is thought to be foolish. It is the custom of Scripture to name worldly and material disciplines carnal. So there is mention of a carnal wisdom 2 and heresies are reckoned among the work of the flesh, and likewise witchery and idolatry, 3 but it is not that these things which are called carnal, by the giving of such a name, are actually flesh, but they are said rather to come from material affection, by which he who acts is said to walk according to the flesh, and to be handed over to sin. Even so, he then continues, even if in all the world we have conducted ourselves with holiness and purity, we have done so much more with you. Didymus the Blind, On The Second Letter of Saint Paul to The Corinthians, Fragment 1 2 Cor 1.12 2 Rom 8.6 3 Galat 5.20

Apostles And Servants

Quid igitur est Apollo? Quid vero Paulus? Ministri ejus, cui credidistis. Ut quia ministri sunt spes in his non sit, sed in Deo, cujus ministri sunt. Illi enim gratiarum actio deferenda est, cujus donum est; hi vero servi, quos etiam invitos oportet. Numquid non Moyses coactus est ire ad Pharaonem; et Jonas invitius missus est praedicare Ninivitis, et Ananias contradicens missus est Saulo manum imponere? Et unicuique sicut Dominus dedit. Id est, sicut voluit, et scivit?, divisit singulis efficia ministerii Ego plantavi, Apollo rigavit, sed Deus incrementum dedit. Plantare est evangelizare, et ad fidem attrahere: rigare vero, baptizare solemnibus verbis: peccata autem dimittere, et Spiritum dare, Dei solius. Si ergo effectum salutis Deus dat, nulla gloria in hac re hominis est. Scimus enim et Spiritum sanctum sine manus impositione datum a Deo, et non baptizatum consecutum remissionem peccatorum. Numquid non hic invisibiliter baptizatus est, quanod baptismatis consecutus est? Ambrosiaster, In Epistolam Beati Pauli Ad Corinthios Primam, Caput I Source: Migne PL 17.198c-199a

What, then, is Apollos? What Paul? His servants, of the One you have believed in...1 So that because they are servants there should be no hope placed in them but rather in God whose servants they are. To Him thanksgiving should be given, to Him who gives the gift. They are servants, and even if they are unwilling. Did not Moses go under constraint to Pharaoh? Was not Jonah unwilling when he was sent to preach to the Ninivites? And did not Ananias protest when he was sent to place his hands on Saul? 2 And as the Lord gives to each one... That is, as He wishes and knows, He distributes to each one useful services. I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the growth... To plant is to evangelise, and to draw to the faith. To water is to baptise with solemn words. But to forgive sins and to give the Spirit belongs to God alone. If therefore God gives the reward of salvation, there is no glory in it for a man. For we know the Holy Spirit has been given by God without the placing on of hands, and that forgiveness of sins has been given without baptism. Is it not that he has been baptised invisibly when that which belongs to baptism follows? Ambrosiaster, Commentary On The First Letter of Saint Paul To The Corinthians, Chapter 1 1 1 Cor 3.5 2 Exod 3.18-4.17, Jonah 1.1-3, Acts 9.10-19

Thanks And The Romans

Primum quidem gratis ago Deo meo per Jesum Christum pro omnibus vobis... Quoniam ad quosdam scribens Apostlus, dicit pro omnibus se gratias agere, sicut et nunc ad Romanos; ad alios vero scribens gratias quidem agit, sed no addit pro omnibus; observans invenies quod ubi dicit pro omnibus se gratias agere, culpas aliquas graves aut probra in eos non exaggerat; ubi autem notat aliquos vel arguit, non addit ad gratiarum actionem, quod pro omnibus gratias agat, sicut et ad Corinthos vel ad Colossenses. Ad Galatas vero omnino nec ponit gratiarum actionem, quod eos miratur tam cito transferri ab eo qui vocavit eos, in aliud Evangelium. Origenes, Commentariorum In Epistolam Beati Pauli Ad Romanos, Liber Primus, Interprete Rufino Aquileiense Source: Migne PG 14.853b

First I give thanks to my God through Jesus Christ for all of you...1 Since in writing to them the Apostle says that he gives thanks 'for all', as he now does here with the Romans, and in writing to others he gives thanks, but does not add 'for all,' observe that you will find that where he says he gives thanks 'for all,' he does not hold any fault or disgrace among them. And when he notes something or disputes it, he does not add to his giving of thanks that he gives thanks 'for all,' as with the Corinthians or the Colossians. 2 And then with the Galatians he does not make mention of giving thanks at all, but rather he wonders that they have so quickly turned away from the one who called them to another Gospel. 3 Origen, from the Commentary on the Letter of Paul to the Romans, Book 1, Translated by Rufinus of Aquileia. 1 Rom 1.8 2 1 Cor 1.4, Colos 1.3 3 Galat 1.6