Thanksgiving And The Nations

Sicut scriptum est: Propter hoc confitebor tibi in gentibus, et nomini tuo cantabo. Exemplo prophetico probat; scriptum est enim in psalmo decimo septimo gentes admittendas ad gratiam Dei ad percipiendam salutem. Vox enim Christi est, qua futurum dixit quod in gentibus praedicatio ejus fructum habitura esset confessionis sacramenti Dei; ideo gratias ex hoc agit Filius Patri in obedientiam gentium. Unde in Evangelio ait: Confitebor tibi, Pater domine coeli et terrae, quia abscondisti haec a sapientibus, et prudentibus, et revelasti ea parvulis; quoniam bonum placitum fuit ante te. Confessio ergo ista unius Dei est in Trinitate, ex qua surgit laetitia; ut post veri confessionem laetus decantet misericordiam et donum Dei. Ambrosiaster, In Epistolam ad Romanos, Caput XV Source: Migne PL 17.174a

As it is written, 'Because of this I shall confess to you among the nations, and I will sing your name.' 1 He proves it with a prophetic example, for it was written in the seventeenth Psalm that the nations shall be admitted to the grace of God for the reception of salvation. And it is the voice of Christ, which has spoken of future things, that His preaching shall have fruit among the Gentiles in the confession of the mystery of God. Therefore the Son gives thanks to the Father in the obedience of the nations. Hence in the Gospel it says, 'I shall confess to you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that you have hidden these things from the wise and prudent and revealed them to little ones, because it was a good that was pleasing before you.' 3 Therefore this is a confession of the one God in Trinity, from which joy rises up, so that after the confession of truth there is joyful singing of the mercy and gift of God. Ambrosiaster, Commentary On The Letter of Saint Paul To The Romans, Chapter 15 1 Rom 15.9, Ps 17.49 2 Mt 11.25-26

The Incarnation And The Trinity

Huic enim limo terreno vim vitalem miscuit, ut in arboribus, unde surgit venustas in foliis, in floribus pulchritudo, sapor in fructibus et medicina. Nec hoc contentus, adjecit etiam vim sensibilem limo nostro, ut in pecoribus, quae non solum vitam habeant, sed et sentiant quinquepertita sensificatione vigentes. Addidit adhuc honorare limum nostrum, et ei vim rationalem immisit, ut in hominibus, qui non solum vivunt, sentiunt, sed et discernunt inter commodum et incommodum, inter bonum et malum, inter verum et falsum. Voluit quoque infirmiora nostra abundantiori gloria sublimare, et contraxit se Majestas: ut quod melius habebat, videlicet seipsum, limo nostro conjungeret, et in persona una sibi invicem unirentur Deus et limus, majestas et infirmitas, tanta vilitas et sublimitas tanta. Nihil enim Deo sublimius, nil vilius limo: et tamen tanta dignatio e Deus descendit in limum,  tantaque dignitate limus ascendit in Deum, ut quidquid in eo Deus fecit, limus fecisse credatur; quidquid limus pertulit, Deus in illo pertulisse dicatur tam ineffabili quam incomprehensibili sacramento. Et attende, quia sicut in illa singulari divinitate trinitas est in personis, unitas in substantia; sic in ista speciali commistione trinitas est in substantiis, in persona unitas: et sicut ibi personae non scindunt unitatem, unitas non minuit Trinitatem; ita et hic persona non confundit substantias, nec substantiae ipsae personae dissipant unitatem. Summa illa Trinitas hanc nobis exhibuit trinitatem, opus mirabile, opus singulare inter omnia, et super omnia opera sua! Verbum enim, et anima, et caro in unam convenere personam; et haec tria unum, 0099A et hoc unum tria, non confusione substantiae, sed unitate personae. Haec est prima et superexcellens mistura; et haec prima inter tres. Adverte homo quia limus es, et non sis superbus; quia Deo conjunctus es, et non sis ingratus. Sanctus Bernardus Clarae Vallensis, Sermones De Tempore, In Vigilia Nativitatis Domini, Sermo III Source: Migne PL 183.98b-99a

For He even mixed the vital power with terrestrial mud, as with plants, from whence the beauty of leaves rises and the fairness of flowers and the sweet aromas of fruits and medicines. But do not be content with just that. Add the sensible power to our mud, as in animals, that not only have life but are empowered with the awareness of sensation. And then add honour to our mud with the mixing of the rational power in it, as in men, who not only live and sense but discern between what is fitting and unfitting, and good and evil, and true and false. Then He wished to make our infirmity yet more glorious, and He narrowed his majesty, for what was better that He had joined Himself to our mud, and in one person was unified to both God and mud, as was majesty to infirmity, and such great vileness to such great sublimity. Nothing is more sublime than God, nothing so vile as mud, and yet such dignity from God descended into mud, and mud with such dignity ascended to God, so that whatever God did mud was thought to do, and whatever mud bore God was said to bear, a most ineffable and incomprehensible mystery. And attend, because as there is one divinity in the Trinity of the persons, and there is unity in substance, so in this special mixing there is a trinity in substance, and a unity in person. So in the former the persons and are not separated in unity and unity does not diminish the Trinity, and in the latter the person does not confuse the substances, nor do the substances disturb the unity of that person. That high Trinity exhibits to us this later trinity, a wonderous work, a singular work among all things, and above all things His. For the Word and the soul and the flesh come together in one person, and these three are one, and this one is three, not to the confusion of the substances, and with the unity of the person. Saint Bernard of Clairvaux, Sermons for the Year, On The vigil of The Nativity of the Lord, from the Third Sermon

The Father And The Son And Truth

Sed qui misit me, verax est. Videte quemadmodum Patri dat gloriam aequalis Filius Patri. Exemplum enim nobis praebet, gloriam dare Deo, gloriam Dei quaerere, non nostram: quasi diceret, O homo fidelis, si ego Filius Patris, aequalis Patri, consubstantialis Patri, coaeternus Patri, do gloriam ei, a quo sum: quomodo tu superbus es apud eum, cujus es servus? Multa, inquit, habeo de vobis loqui, et judicare; sed qui misit me, verax est, tanquam diceret, ideo verum dico, quia filius veracis, veritas sum. Pater veritas est, Filius veritas. Ait enim apertisime ipse Dominus, Ego sum via, et veritas, et vita. Ergo si Filius veritas, Pater quid, nisi quod ait, veritas? Qui me misit, verax est. Filius veritas, Pater verax est, sed non a veritate. Filius veritas, sed a Patre, quia Filius a Patre, non a seipso, et ideo ait alio loco: A meipso non veni, id est, a meipso non sum. Pater utique verax est, non participando veritatem, sed generando veritatem, quia Pater genuit Filium, qui de seipso ait: Ego sum via, et veritas. Cum autem dixisset Dominus Jesus: Verax est, qui me misit, non intellexerunt illi, quod de Patre eis dicebat; necdum habuerunt oculos cordis apertos, ut intelligere possent aequalitatem veracis et veritatis. Sanctus Beda, In Ioannis Evangelium Expositio, Liber I, Caput VIII Source: Migne PL 92.745c-746a

But He who sent me is true. 1 Note how the equal Son gives glory to the Father. He gives it as an example for us to give glory to God and to seek the glory of God and not our own, as if He were to say, 'O faithful man, if I, the Son of the Father, equal to the Father, consubstantial to the Father, coeternal with the Father, give glory to Him from whom I am, how shall you be proud before Him, you who are his servant? 'Many things I have to tell you and judge,' He says, 'but He who sent me is true,' 1  as if He were to say, 'Therefore I speak the truth, because I am the Son of Him who is true, and I am the truth. The Father is truth, the Son is truth.' For the Lord openly says, 'I am the way and the truth and the life.' 2 Therefore if the Son is truth, what is the Father, unless, as He said, the truth? 'He who sent me is true.' The Son is truth, the Father is true, but not from truth. The Son is truth, but from the Father, because the Son is from the Father and not from Himself, and therefore in another place He says, 'I did not come from myself,' 3 that is, I am not from myself. So the Father is true, and not by participating in the truth but in generating the truth because the Father begat the Son, He who says about Himself, 'I am the way and the truth.' But when the Lord Jesus had said, 'He who sent me is true,' they did not understand that He spoke to them of the Father, for the eyes of the heart was not yet open, so that they were able to understand the equality of the one who is true and the truth. Saint Bede, Commentary on the Gospel of John, Book 1, Chapter 8 1 Jn 8.26 2 Jn 14.6 3 Jn 8.42

Purity And Righteousness

Domine, quis habitabit in tabernaculo tuo? Respondit Spiritus sanctus per Prophetam: Qui ingreditur sine macula, et operatur justitiam. Igitur impollutus ingrediens, et extra omnem peccati labem vivens, hic esse responsus est, cui post baptismi lavacrum nullae adhaeserint sordes, sed sit immaculatus et nitidus, sitque ei non corpus stupris contaminatum, non oculi spectaculis theatralibus sordidi, non mens vino ebria, non pecuniæ vita ancilla. Magnum est igitur his abstinere; sed non in his statim confecti itineris est requies: coepta enim in his via est, non peracta. Nam sequitur: Et operatur justitiam. Bonum non tam cogitandum est, quam exsequendum: et benevolentia non ineunda est, sed explenda. Justitiam enim velle, hic erit fructus ut fiat. Sanctus Hilarius Pictaviensis, Tractatus super Psalmos, Tractatus in Psalmum XIV Source: Migne PL 9.303a-b

'O Lord, who shall dwell in your tabernacle?' And the Holy Spirit answers through the Prophet, 'He who enters without spot and works righteousness.' 1 Therefore entering unpolluted, and living apart from every fault of sin, is the response, to him in whom after the washing of baptism nothing foul remains, but he is immaculate and shining, and there is no filth contaminating the body, nor do the eyes turn to the spectacles of the theatres, nor is the mind drunk with wine, nor is money the handmaid of life. Therefore it is great thing to abstain from these things, but the immediate rest of the way is not found in them, for these things are the beginning of the way and not its end. Thus it follows, 'And works righteousness.' Good must not only be pondered but performed, and benevolence must not just be contemplated but enacted. For there is the desire for righteousness and the fruit is that it shall be done. Saint Hilary of Poitiers, Homilies on the Psalms, from Psalm 14 1 Ps 14.1-2 2 Prov 1.24-26

The Benevolent Spirit And Punishment

Benignus est enim spiritus sapientiae, et non liberabit maledicum a labiis suis; quoniam renum illius testis est Deus, et cordis illius scrutator est verus et linguae ejus auditor. Quoniam spiritus Domini replevit orbem terrarum; et hoc quod continet omnia, scientiam habet vocis. Propter hoc qui loquitur iniqua non potest latere, nec praeteriet illum corripiens judicium. In cogitationibus enim impii interrogatio erit; sermonum autem illius auditio ad Deum veniet, ad correptionem iniquitatum illius. Quoniam auris zeli audit omnia, et tumultus murmurationum non abscondetur. Custodite ergo vos a murmuratione quae nihil prodest, et a detractione parcite linguae: quoniam sermo obscurus in vacuum non ibit, os autem quod mentitur occidit animam. Benignus enim etc. Hic monet ad iustitiam locutionis, retrahendo a sermonibus malis. Et primo removet ab ipsis male dictis impunitutis confidentiam; secundo praedicit eorum poenam: Propter hoc qui loquitur etc.; tertio monet ad pravarum locutionum cautelam: Custodite etc. In prima primo removet impunitatis confidentiam, quae possit oriri ex iudicis misericordia: Benignus; secundo, ex ejus ignorantia : Quoniam renum etc; tertio, ex eius impotentia: Quoniam spiritus Domini. Dicit ergo: Benignus enim est spiritus etc. Bene dixi , quod corripietur fictus etc; Benignus enim est spiritus sapientiae , scilicet increatae, scilicet Filii, a qua datur Spiritus sanctus; vel creatae, quam ipse dat; infra duodecimo: O quam bonus et quam suavis est, Domine, spiritus tuus in omnibus. Psalmus: Spiritus tuus bonus etc. Et tamen non liberabit maledictum etc, quamvis sit benignus; quia, sicut dicit Gregorius, disciplina et misericordia multum destituitur, si una sine alia teneatur. Vel sic: et quia benignus, non liberabit maledictum etc, quia benignitas malitiae contraria est; ut dicit Glossa: Non liberabit, inquam, maledictum, id est maledicentem, qui maledictus est, quia facit contra Dei mandatum, qui prohibet maledicere; Psalmus: Maledicti, qui declinant a mandatis tuis; ecce , maledictio in praesenti. Item, Matthaei vigesimo quinto: Discedite a me, maledicti, in ignem aeternum etc; ecce, maledictio in futuro. A labiis suis , id est a peccato labiorum suorum, vel a poena, quam meruit peccato labiorum suorum; Matthaei duodecimo: Ex verbis tuis condemnaberis; item in Psalmo: Labor labiorum suorum operiet eos. Sanctus Bonaventura, Commentarius In Librum Sapientiae, Caput I Source: Here, 361b-d

For the spirit of wisdom is benevolent, and will not acquit the evil speaker from his lips, for God is witness of his soul, and a true searcher of his heart, and a hearer of his tongue. Because the spirit of the Lord fills the whole world and that which contains all things has knowledge of the voice. Therefore he who speaks unjust things cannot be hidden, neither shall the chastising judgment pass him by. Investigation shall be made into the thoughts of the unholy man, and the hearing of his words shall come to God for the chastising of his iniquities. Because the jealous ear hears all things, and the tumult of murmuring shall not be hidden. Therefore keep yourselves from murmuring, which profits not at all, and restrain your tongue from detraction, for obscure speech shall not go for nothing, and the mouth that lies kills the soul. 1 This is warning against unjust speech, and for the drawing away from wicked words. Firstly there is the removal of confidence in impunity in speaking evil, secondly punishment is foretold, 'Therefore he who speaks...' Thirdly there is a warning for caution against depraved speaking. 'Keep yourselves...' Firstly, then, confidence in impunity is removed, which arises from the thought of mercy in judgement, 'Benevolent.' Secondly ignorance is removed, because God is witness to it. Thirdly the thought of inability is removed, 'For the Spirit of the Lord fills the whole world.' Therefore it is said that the Spirit is benevolent, and it is well said that He shall correct a lie, 'For the spirit of wisdom is benevolent,' that is the uncreated Spirit, of the Son, from whom the Holy Sprit is given, or the created spirit, which He gives, as it says below in twelfth chapter, 'O how good and sweet is your Spirit in all things, Lord.' In the Psalm, 'Your spirit is good.' 2 And although the Spirit is benevolent He will not pass over the evil speaker, because as Gregory says, 'Many forsake discipline and mercy if they hold to one without the other.' 3 And so because He is benevolent He does not spare an evil speaker, because benevolence is contrary to wickedness, as the gloss says. 'He shall not acquit the evil speaker,' that is, he who speaks evil, because he is cursed who does something against the commandment of God who prohibits us to speak evil.' In the Psalm, 'Those who forsake your commandments are accursed,' note that they are cursed in the present, and in the twenty fifth chapter of Matthew, 'Be gone from me, accursed ones, into eternal fire,' 4 note that they are cursed in the future. 'From his lips' that is, from the sin of his lips and the punishment which the sin of his lips has merited. In the twelfth chapter of Matthew. 'From your words you shall be condemned.' In the Psalm, 'The work of their lips shall cover them.' 5 Saint Bonaventura, Commentary On Wisdom, Chapter 1 1 Wisdom 1.6-10 2 Wisd 12.4, Ps 142.10 3 Greg Moral 20.5.44 4 Ps 118.21, Mt 25.44 5 Mt 12.37, Ps 139.10

Grieving The Spirit

Et nolite contristare Spiritum sanctum Dei, in quo signati estis in diem redemptionis. Cum bene agimus, gaudet in nobis Spiritus sanctus, datus nobis, videns monita sua proficere utilitatibus nostris, sicut dictum est a Domino: Ita gaudium erit in coelo in uno peccatore poenitentiam agente. Gaudet ergo Spiritus sanctus saluti nostrae, non sibi, qui non indiget laetitia; ita, e contrario, si obedientes ei non fuerimus, contristatur, quia non habet profectum in nobis; vult enim nos pertinere ad vitam. Non tamen sic contristatur, ut patiatur, quippe cum impassibilis sit: sed cum eum contristatum dicit, nostri causa hoc significat; quia deserit nos eo quod laeserimus eum, contemnendo monita ejus. Contristatio itaque ejus indignitas nostra est, quae filios nos Dei prohibet appellari; ipse enim est Spiritus sanctus, qui sanctificat filios Dei, manens in nobis. Ambrosiaster, In Epistolam ad Ephesios, Caput IV Source: Migne PL 17.393a

And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, with whom you have been signed for the day of redemption. 1 When we act well, the Holy Spirit that has been given to us rejoices in us, seeing that His warnings have advanced our usefulness, as it was said by the Lord 'Thus there will be joy in heaven for the repentance of one sinner.' 2 Therefore the Holy Spirit rejoices in our salvation, and not for Himself since He does not lack any joy. Thus, on the contrary, if we are not obedient to Him, He is aggrieved, because He does not note any improvement in us, He who wishes to lead us to life. But is not that when He is grieved that He suffers, for certainly He is impassible, but when it says that we grieve Him, it signifies that we are the cause, because of which He deserts us, since we oppose Him and scorn His warnings. Thus His grieving is our unworthiness, which forbids us to be called sons of God, for it is by the Holy Spirit’s remaining in us that we are sanctified as sons of God. Ambrosiaster, Commentary On The Letter of Saint Paul To The Ephesians, Chapter 4 1 Ephes 4.30 2 Lk 15.10

The Given Spirit

In hoc cognoscimus quoniam in eo manemus, et ipse in nobis: quoniam de Spiritu suo dedit nobis. Hoc ipsum, quia de Spiritu suo dedit tibi, unde cognoscis? Interroga viscera tu. Si plena sunt chartitate, habes Spiritum Dei, Paulo attestante qui ait: Quia charitas Dei diffusa est in cordibus nostris per Spritium sanctum qui datus est nobis. Sanctus Beda, In I Epistolam Sancti Joannis, Caput IV Source: Migne PL 93.110b

In this we know that we remain in Him, and that He is in us, because He has given of His Spirit to us. 1 How do we know this, that He has given of His Spirit to us? Question your heart. If it is full of love, you have the Spirit of God. Paul also gives witness to this, saying, 'Because the love of God has been diffused in our hearts through the Holy Spirit that has been given to us.' 2 Saint Bede, Commentary on the First Letter of Saint John, Chapter 4 1 1 Jn 4.13 2 Rom 5.5

The Spirit's Work

Porro ad faciendum bonum quid in nobis Spiritus bonus operatur? Profecto monet, et movet, et docet. Monet memoriam, rationem docet, movet voluntatem. In his enim tribus tota consistit anima nostra. Memoriae suggerit bona in cogitationibus sanctis, atque ita ignaviam nostram torporemque repellit. Propterea quoties hujusmodi suggestionem boni senseris in corde tuo, da honorem Deo, et age reverentiam Spiritui sancto, cujus vox sonat in auribus tuis. Ipse namque est qui loquitur justitiam. Et in Evangelio habes quia ille suggeret vobis omnia, quaecunque dixero vobis. Et adverte quid praemiserit: Ille vos docebit omnia. Dixeram enim quia docet rationem. Multi siquidem monentur, ut benefaciant; sed minime sciunt quid agendum sit, nisi adsit denuo gratia Spiritus sancti; et quam inspirat cogitationem, doceat in opus proferre, ne vacua in nobis sit gratia Dei. Sed quid? Scienti bonum, et non facienti, peccatum est illi gratia. Propterea non solum moneri et doceri, verum etiam moveri et affici ad bonum necesse est ab eo utique Spiritu, qui adjuvat infirmitatem nostram, et per quem in cordibus nostris diffunditur charitas, quae est bona voluntas. Sanctus Bernardus Clarae Vallensis, Sermones De Tempore, In Festo Pentecostes, Sermo I Source: Migne PL 183.325a-c

But for the doing of good how does the good Spirit work in us? Certainly He admonishes, He prompts, and He teaches. He admonishes with memory, He teaches with reason, and He moves the will. In these three things our soul is established. With memory He suggests good things in thinking of the saints, and thus He drives away our indolence and torpor, and therefore every day you shall sense an encouragement to do good in your hearts, to give honour to God and to revere the Holy Spirit whose voice resounds in your ears, for He speaks righteousness. And in the Gospel you have it that He suggests everything to you, 'Whatever I have said to you.' And look to what precedes, 'He shall teach you everything.' 1 I have said he teaches with reason, and certainly He regularly admonishes so that we might do good, for hardly anyone would know what to do unless refreshed with the grace of the Holy Spirit. And He teaches us with inspiring thought what work we should turn to, lest the grace of God be empty in us. But why? Because to know what is good and not to do it is a sin for the one who has grace. 2 Therefore He does not only admonish and teach, but it is truly necessary that the Spirit moves us to and fixes us in what is good, He who helps us in our weakness and through whom love is diffused in our heart, which is a good will. 3 Saint Bernard of Clairvaux, Sermons for the Year, On Pentecost, from the First Sermon 1 Jn 14.26 2 Jam 4.17 3 Rom 8.26, Rom 5.5

The Spirit And Rivers And Speech

Εάν τις διψᾷ, ἐρχέσθω πρός με, καὶ πινέτω. Ὁ πιστεύων εἰς ἐμὲ , καθὼς εἶπεν ἡ Γραφή, ποταμοὶ ῥεύσουσιν ἐκ τῆς κοιλίας αὐτοῦ ὕδατος ζῶντος Ποταμούς δὲ ῥεῦσαι ἔφη, καὶ οὐ ποταμὸν, ὕδατος ζῶντος, τὴν τοῦ Πνεύματος ἄφθονον χάριν καν τὴν δαψίλειαν αἰνιττόμενος. Τοιοῦτον γάρ ἐστι τὸ Πνεῦμα, εἰς οἷαν ψυχὴν εἰσέλθοι , καὶ ἐν ᾧ ἂν ἱδρυνθείη, ποιοῦν αὐτὴν ἀναβλύζειν πάσης πηγῆς ἀφθονώτερον. Καὶ μάθο: ἄν τις, πῶς ποταμοὶ ῥεύσουσιν ἐκ τῆς κοιλίας τοῦ πιστεύοντος κατὰ τὰς Γραφὰς, εἴγε τὴν τοῦ Πέτρου γλώτταν, καὶ τὴν τοῦ Παύλου ῥύμην, καὶ τὴν τοῦ Στεφάνου σοφίαν κατασκέψαιτο· οὓς οὐδὲν ὑφίστατο λέγοντας, ἀλλὰ πάντες παρεσύροντο ὡς τινων ποταμῶν ῥεύμασιν ἀνυποστάτοις τὴν φοράν. Θεοφύλακτος Αχρίδος, Ἑρμηνεία Εἰς Τὸ Κατὰ Ιὠαννὴν, Κεφαλὴ Z' Source: Migne PG 123.1152a

If someone thirsts, let him come to me, and drink. He who believes in me, as Scripture says, rivers of living water shall flow from his breast. 1 He speaks of flowing rivers of living waters, and not just a river, because He refers to the generous grace and largess of the Holy Spirit. So great is the Spirit that in whatever soul He enters, and in which He dwells, there He makes gush forth a bountiful fountain. And anyone may learn how these rivers flow forth from the breast of one who believes according to the Scriptures if he considers the speech of Peter, and the force of Paul, and the wisdom of Stephen, none of whom shrank from any speech, but drove on in everything, as if caught up in the racing flow of waters. Theophylact of Ochrid, Commentary On The Gospel Of Saint John, Chapter 7 1 Jn 7.37-38

Giving Water

Rivos ejus inebria, multiplica generationes ejus: in stillicidiis ejus laetabitur cum exorietur. Terra autem visitata, inebriata est: et quomodo nunc rivi ejus inebriantur? Sed meminisse debemus, quod si quis ex aqua Domini potaverit, flumina de ventre ejus effluent: ergo potatione aquae opus est, ut flumina fluant. Inebriamur autem ipsi, cum Spiritum sanctum qui fluvius est nuncupatus accipimus. Dehinc, quia ex nobis diversi gratiarum rivi emanant, orat propheta ut hos eosdem Dominus inebriet: ut his inebriatis, et dono divini muneris perfusis, generationes nostrae multiplicentur; terra scilicet bona, secundum evangelicam comparationem, verbi semen excipiens, fructu tricesimo et sexagesimo et centesimo ditescat Sanctus Hilarius Pictaviensis, Tractatus super Psalmos, Tractatus in Psalmum LXIV Source: Migne PL 9.414b-c

Give water to its streams, multiply its fruits, in its showers it shall rejoice as it rises up. 1 He has visited the earth and watered it, 2 and now how are its streams watered? We should remember that if someone drinks from the water of the Lord that rivers shall flow out of his breast, 3 therefore one must drink this water so that the rivers flow. We are watered when it is announced that we have received the Holy Spirit, He who is like a river. Hence because the diverse rivers of grace may emanate from us, the prophet prays that the Lord might water him with these, so that being watered with them, and doused in the gift of the Divine benefactions, our fruits might be multiplied, that is, in the good land according to the parable of the Gospel, where when the seed of the Word is received it yields thirty fold and sixty fold and a hundred fold. 4 Saint Hilary of Poitiers, Homilies on the Psalms, from Psalm 64 1 Ps 64.11 2 Ps 64.10 3 Jn 7.38 4 Mt 13.8

The Spirit And Freedom

Πῶς τολμᾶς τὸ Πνεῦμα τὸ ἅγιον δοῦλον προσααγορεύειν, τὸ διὰ τοῦ ἀσπίλου βαπτίσματος πάντας τοὺς πιστεύοντας ἐλευθεροῦν ; Λέγει γὰρ ὁ Ἀπόστολος, ὅτιπερ, Ο νόμος τοῦ Πνεύματος τῆς ζωῆς ἠλευθέρωσέ με ἀπὸ τοῦ νόμου τῆς ἁμαρτίας , καὶ τοῦ θανάτου. Ἅγιος Νειλος, Βιβλιον Πρῶτον, Ἐπιστολὴ ΣΙΑ' Βυριλλῳ Μακεδονιῳ Source: Migne PG 79.160d-161a

How is it that you dare insist that the Holy Spirit is a servant, He who through the cleansing of baptism liberates all who believe? For the Apostle says, 'The law of the Spirit of life has freed me from sin and death.' 1 Saint Nilus of Sinai, Book 1, Letter 211, to Byrillos The Macedonian 2 1 Rom 8.2 2 4th c heresy founded by Macedonius, a bishop of Constantinople, who taught that the Holy Spirit was created and subordinate to the Father And Son

Manna And The Holy Spirit

Scriptum est de manna, quia secundum tempus illud si quis id ita assumpsisset ut praeceperat Deus, nutriretur ex eo; si quis vero contra præceptum Dei, et contra statutum divinitus modum voluisset assumere, non frueretur eo , ut vitali cibo, sed vermes ebullirent ex co. Et ita fiebat, ut una atque eadem species mannæ aliis quidem vermes et putredines generaret, aliis vero salubrem cibuin conferret, et vitae necessarium. Igitur et nostrum manna verbum Dei est, et apud nos ergo sermo Dei aliis efficitur ad salutem, aliis cedit ad poenam. Et propter hoc arbitror quod ipse Dominus et Salvator, qui est vivum Dei verbum, dicebat: In judicium ego veni in hunc mundum, ut non videntes videant, et videntes caeci fiant . Quanto melius esset nonnullis omnino nec audire verbum Dei , quam audire cum malitia, vel audire cum hypocrisi. Melius autem dicimus ad comparationem Vere autem melius , et vere rectius , ac perfectius est, ut qui audit verbum Dei , audiat corde bono et simplici , audiat corde recto et parato, ut quasi in terra bona fructificet et crescat. Haec in praefatione diximus propter nonnullos eorum qui ad audiendum non simplici, nec fideli mente conveniunt. De quibusdam dico catechumenis, quibus fortasse nonnulli etiam eorum qui jam baptismum consecuti sunt, sociantur. Non enim omnes qui ex Israel, ii sunt Israelitae; neque omnes qui loti sunt aqua, continuo etiam sancto Spiritu loti sunt: sicut econtrario non omnes qui in catechumenis numerantur, alieni sunt et expertes Spiritus sancti. Invenio enim in Scripturis divinis nonnullos catechumenorum dignos habitos Spiritu sancto, et alios accepto baptismo indignos fuisse sancti Spiritus gratia. Cornelius catechumenus erat, et antequam ad aquam veniret , meruit accipere Spiritum sanctum. Simon baptismum acceperat, sed quoniam cum hypocrisi accessit ad gratiam , repudiatur a dono Spiritus sancti. Nolo dubites et nunc esse in populo catechumenorum aliquos Cornelios , ad quos dici possit , quia misericordiae et orationes tuæ ascenderunt in coelam; et rursum in populo fidelium esse aliquos Simones, quibus confidenter dicendum sit: O plene omni dolo et fallacia, fili diaboli, inimice omnis justitiae. Haec ego ad correptionem mei ipsius loquor, non solum auditorum. Unus enim et ego sum ex iis, qui audiunt verbum Dei . Origen, In Numeros, Homilia III, Interprete Rufino Aquileiense Source: Migne PG 12.593c-594b

It is written concerning the manna, that if according to the time the Lord commanded it someone took it up, then he would be nourished by it, but if against the commandment of the Lord and against the divine statute someone wished to take it up, it would be of no benefit to him, even to such a degree that worms would crawl forth from the life giving bread. 1 Thus one and the same type of manna generated worms and rottenness for some and on others it conferred wholesome food, and what is needful for life. Therefore even with our manna among us, which is the word of God, for some the word is effective for salvation, but for others it brings forth punishment. Therefore that judge who is the Lord and Saviour, who is the living word of God, said, 'In judgment I have come into this world, even that those who do not see might see, and that those who do see become blind.' 2 How much better it would be for some not to hear the word of God at all, than to hear it in wickedness or as hypocrites. But it is better for us to give a comparison. Truly it is better and more righteous and more perfect that he who hears the word of God, hears it with a good and innocent heart, and with an upright and prepared heart, so that on earth he may put forth good fruits and grow. We have brought forth these remarks first because a number of those who hear are not innocent, nor are they faithful in their minds. About whom I say to the catechumens, regarding those with whom they associate and who have perhaps already received baptism, 'Not everyone from Israel is an Israelite.' 3 Not all who have been washed with water, then have the further washing of the Holy Spirit, and likewise and in an opposite sense not all who are accounted among the catechumens are foreign and unknown to the Holy Spirit. I have found in the Holy Scriptures that several catechumens were worthy of receiving the Holy Spirit, and others who had received baptism were unworthy of the grace of the Holy Spirit. Cornelius was a catechumen and even before he come to the water he was worthy of receiving the Holy Spirit. Simon received baptism but because he was a hypocrite for grace, he was denied the gift of the Holy Spirit. I do not doubt that even now there are some who are Cornelius among the people of the catechumens, to whom it is possible to say, that your mercy and prayers have ascended to heaven, and again that among the gathering of the faithful there are some who are Simon, to whom it must be forcefully said 'O full of every guile and deceit, O son of the devil, O enemy of all righteousness.' 4 I do not say these things only to the audience but even for my own correction, for I am one of those who hears the word of God. Origen, On Numbers, from the Third Homily, Translated by Rufinus of Aquileia. 1 Exod 16.20 2 Jn 9.39 3 Rom 9.6 4 Act 10 Act 13.10

Piety And Seeking

Sentite de Domino in bonitate, et in simplicitate cordis quaerite illum. In bonitate autem de Domino sentit qui sacram Scripturam secundum pietatem legit atque intelligit, et in simplicitate cordis eum quaerit, qui humiliter ejus voluntati se subjicit ad custodiendum videlicet mandata ejus. Nam qui pie quaerit Dominum, honorat sacram Scripturam, et non reprehendit quod nondum intelligit, et propterea non resistit: quod est mitem esse, de quo in Evangelio Veritas ipsa ait: Beati mites, quoniam ipsi possidebunt terram. Hinc ergo mundi philosophi, et eorum sequaces haeretici excipiuntur qui ratione humana secreta se aestimant capere posse divina, cum scriptum sit: Sapientiam Dei praecedentem omnia quis investigabit? Et Apostolus manifeste dicat: Incomprehensibilia esse judicia Dei, et investigabiles vias ejus: qui in praesenti vita potius colendus est recta fide, quam incauta disputatione. Rabanus Maurus, Commentariorum In Librum Sapientiae Wisdom, Liber I, Caput I Source: Migne PL 109.673b-c

Think of the Lord in goodness, and seek Him in simplicity of heart. 1 They think of the Lord in goodness who piously read and understand Holy Scripture, and they seek Him in simplicity of heart who humbly subject themselves to His will, that is, in the guarding of His commandments. For he who piously seeks the Lord reveres Holy Scripture, and he does not dispute what he does not yet understand, on account of which he is not impeded, which is to be meek, concerning which the Truth says in the Gospel, 'Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit he earth.' 2 Therefore the worldly philosophers, and those who are followers of heretics, are excluded, who with human reason think they can draw out and grasp Divine secrets, even when it it is written, 'Who is able to investigate the wisdom of God which excels everything?' And the Apostle openly says, 'The judgements of God are incomprehensible and His ways are beyond investigation,' 3 who in the present life would rather have care for correct faith than foolish arguments. Rabanus Maurus, Commentary on the Book of Wisdom, Book 1, Chapter 1 1 Wisdom 1.1 2 Mt 5.4 3 Sirach 1.3, Rom 11.33

Peace And Wisdom

Beati pacifici, quoniam filii Dei vocabuntur. Postquam omnes supradictas virtutes habet homo, nihil aliud restat, nisi ut Deum, qui est vera pax, praemium habeat. Deus in tanta pace, quod neque in personis est dissensio aliqua, sed perfecta concordia, neque in seipso variatur, quamvis res, in quibus est, variantur. Suos vero similes sibi faciet, quia erunt incorruptibiles, et impassibiles, et incommutabiles, et ita sunt concordes, quod de bonis aliorum gaudebunt, tanquam de suis. Septimo loco ponitur, quia in sabbato vero, requiei dabitur illa pax transactis septem aetatibus, quam Adam nondum habebat, sed quam transferendus in coelum completa obedientia accepturus erat. Haec est pax illa, de qua Apostolus dicit: Et pax Dei, quae exsuperat omnem sensum. Haec est illa, de qua Christus dicit: Pacem meam do vobis, pacem relinquo vobis. Illic do, hic relinquo, quia illa pax non potest haberi, nisi in futuro, sed tamen aliquae reliquiae dantur in praesenti, quod potest videri in illis, qui ita habent sedatos illicitos motus corporis, quod nullum civile bellum patiuntur in se, sed habet anima requiem suam in hac vita, nec etiam conturbari posset quolibet modo, vel quantumcunque verberentur, sed in se quieti sunt, et alios reconciliare laborant. Unde dicitur: Pax multa diligentibus legem tuam, non tamen perfecta. Illa perfecta pax et spiritus sapientiae non differunt. Aliud est intelligentia, aliud sapientia. Intelligentia est quando res investigatur et discutitur. Sapientia est quando non investigamus, sed jam sapientes sumus, et in ipso bono sapientiae delectamur. Haec eadem est illa pax, quando Deum scrutari non laborabimus, sed in eo tamen cognito delectabimur, et tunc erimus filii Dei, quia similes ei efficiemur. Anselmus Laudunensis, Enarrationes In Matthaeum, Caput V Source: Migne PL 162.1288b-d

Blessed are the peacemakers, because they shall be called sons of God. 1 After a man has all the virtues spoken of above, nothing else remains but that he shall have God as his reward, He who is true peace. God is such great peace, because there is no dissension at all among the Persons but perfect harmony, nor is there are variation in Him, although the things in which He is may vary. And He makes those who are His own similar to Himself, because they shall be incorruptible and impassible and unchangeable and thus harmonious, for they will rejoice in the goods of others as their own. This beatitude is placed in the seventh place because on the true sabbath that peace shall be given that surpasses the seven ages, which Adam did not yet have, but which he shall receive when in perfect obedience he shall be transported into heaven. This is the peace of which the Apostle says, 'And the peace of God which surpasses all understanding.' This is the peace of which Christ says, 'My peace I give to you, my peace I leave to you.' 2 From there I give it, and here I leave it, because it is only possible to have that peace in the future, and yet a remnant of it is given in the present, which it is possible to observe in those who are tranquil amid the shameful motions of the body because they suffer no internal strife in themselves, but the soul has its rest in this life, and it is not possible to trouble it in any way, and as much as they are struck, yet they remain quiet in themselves, and they labour to reconcile others. Hence it is said, 'Much peace to the lovers of your law,' 3 though it is not that perfect peace. That perfect peace and the spirit of wisdom do not differ. Intelligence is one thing, wisdom is another. Intelligence is when we we investigate something and study it. Wisdom is when we do not investigate but now we are wise and we delight in the good of wisdom. This is that same peace that is not in labouring to know God but rather we shall delight in that knowledge, and then we shall be sons of God, because we shall be made like Him. Anselm of Laon, Commentary On The Gospel of Saint Matthew, Chapter 5 1 Mt 5.9 2 Phil 4.7, Jn 14.27 3 Ps 118.165

True Life

Vivam, inquit, et observabo sermones tuos. Vivam atque observabo non praesentis temporis res est; sed significatio sermonis hujus in futurum se tempus extendit. Scit enim Propheta quando beata illa et vera viventium vita sit. Nunc enim et in pulvere mortis manemus, et in mortis corpore sumus, a quo se liberari Apostolus orat, dicens: Miser ego homo, quis me liberabit a corpore mortis hujus? Habemus autem etiam nunc admixtam nobis materiam, quae mortis legi et peccati obnoxia est; et in hujus caducae carnis infirmisque domicilio corruptionis labem ex ejus consortio mutuamur: ac nisi glorificato in naturam spiritus corpore, vitae verae in nobis non potest esse natura. Audiamus eum, qui se meminit in corpore mortis habitare dicentem: Quia vita nostra absconsa est cum Christo in Deo. Cum autem Christus apparuerit vita nostra, tunc et vos apparebitis cum ipso in gloria. Hanc ergo retributionem sibi Propheta orat, ut vivat: futurae hujus vitae tempus in loco altero docens, quo ait: Et placebo Domino in regione viventium. Scit hanc mundi istius sedem regionem non esse viventium. Scit nos adhuc secundum praefigurationem legis emundandos esse. Nunc enim admiscemur morticinae: et in lege quisquis mortuum contrectat, immundus est. Sed absit istud, ut quidquam horum in lege corporaliter intelligatur, tamquam per contrectationem mortui quisquam fiat immundus. Joseph ossa egrediens Aegyptum Moyses ipse lator legis abstulit, Eliseus mortuo ut eum vivificaret incubuit: Dominus ipse mortuos manu apprehensos in vitam retraxit: et contrectatio mortui si immundum effectura fuisset, nequaquam a tantis viris, neque a Domino violata lex esset, ipso dicente: Non veni legem solvere, sed adimplere. Sed quia lex umbra est futurorum bonorum; idcirco per hanc praeformatam significantiam docuit nos in hoc terreni et morticini corporis habitaculo mundos esse non posse, nisi per ablutionem coelestis misericordiae emundationem consequamur, post demutationem resurrectionis, terreni corporis nostri effecta gloriosiore natura. Sanctus Hilarius Pictaviensis, Tractatus super Psalmos, Tractatus in Psalmum CXVIII Source: Migne PL 9.517c-519a

'I shall live,' he says, 'and I shall observe your words.' 1 But this living and observing is not a matter of the present time, but the signification of this speech extends itself into the future. For the prophet knows when the blessed and true life of the living will be, since now we exist in the dust of death, and we are in the body of death, from which the Apostle prays to be freed, saying, 'I am a wretched man, who shall free me from this body of death.' 2 Now we have material mixed in us which is subject to the law of death and sin, and in this dwelling place of frail and weak flesh, we borrow the taint of corruption from association with it, and unless the glorification of the Spirit is in the nature of our body, it is not possible for us to have the true life in us. Let us hear him who recalls to himself that he is dwelling in a body of death, saying, 'Because our life is hidden with Christ in God, and when Christ, our life, shall appear, then even you will appear with him in glory.' 3 Therefore this is the reward that the prophet prays for, he who teaches about the time of the future life in another place, saying, 'I shall please the Lord in the land of the living.' 4 He knows that the place of this world is not the land of the living. He knows that we yet need to be cleansed according to the prefiguration of the law, for now we are mixed with perishing things, and in the law whoever touches a corpse is unclean. 5 But let it not be that whatever is found in the law is understood corporally, as if by touching a corpse we are made unclean. The bones of Joseph were taken out of Egypt by Moses, who propounded the law, and so flouted it, and Elisha lay on a dead man to revive him, and the Lord Himself with the touch of His hand drew the dead back to life, 6 and so if the touch of a corpse were to make us unclean, these great men, even the Lord, would have violated the law, even He who said, 'I have not come to set aside the law but to fulfill it.' 7 But because the law is a shadow of future goods, therefore the meaning of prefiguration teaches us that in this dwelling of the earthly and perishable body it is not possible to be clean unless we receive the cleansing washing of the heavenly mercy, because of which, after the change of the resurrection, our earthly bodies will be turned into a glorious nature. Saint Hilary of Poitiers, Homilies on the Psalms, from Psalm 118 1 Ps 118.17 2 Rom 7.24 3 Colos 3.3-4 4 Ps 114.11 5 Numb 19.11 6 Exod 13,19, 4 Kings 4.34, Mt 9.25 7 Mt 5.17

A Mixing

Κλῖνον τὴν καρδίαν μου εἰς τὰ μαρτύριά σεν, καὶ μὴ εἰς πλεονεξίαν. Ἀπόστρεψον τοὺς ὀφθαλμούς μου τοῦ μὴ ἰδεῖν ματαιότητα· ἐν τῇ ὁδῷ σου ζῆσόν με. Στῆσον τῷ δούλῳ σου τὸ λόγιόν σου εἰς τὸν φόβον σου. Περίελε τὸν ὀνειδισμόν μου ὃν ὑπώπτευσα, ὅτι τὰ κρίματά σου χρηστά. Ἰδοὺ ἐπεθύμησα τὰς ἐντολάς σου, ἐν τῇ δικαιοσύνη σου ζῆσόν με. Πάντα ἐπὶ τὸν Θεον άναφέρουσιν οἱ ἅγιοι, διδάσκοντες ἡμᾶς , ὅτι χωρὶς θεοῦ οὐδὲν δυνάμεθα. Ἐὰν γὰρ μὴ ἐν ἐμοὶ, φησί, μένητε, οὐδὲν δύνασθε ποιεῖν. ᾿Αλλ ' ἴσως τις ἐρεῖ· Εἰ πάντα ἀναφέρεται ἐπὶ τὸν Θεὸν, ποῦ τὸ ἐπ᾿ ἐμοί; Εἰ δὲ μὴ , πανταχοῦ ἐπέπλεξε τοῖς ἀπὸ τοῦ Θεοῦ τὰ ἐφ᾿ ἡμῖν. Ἀπὸ τοῦ Θεοῦ τό· Νομοθέτησόν με, Κύριε, τὴν ὁδὸν τῶν δικαιωμάτων σου· τὸ δ ' ἐφ᾽ ἡμῖν· Καὶ ἐκζητήσω αὐτὴν διαπαντός. Ἀπὸ Θεοῦ αἰτῶ πάλιν Συνέτισόν με, καὶ ἐξερευνήσω τὸν νόμον σου. Τὸ δ ' ἐπ ' ἐμοί· Καὶ φυλάξω αὐτὸν ἐν ὅλῃ καρδίᾳ. Καὶ τρίτον ἀπὸ Θεοῦ αἰτῶ λέγων· Ὁδήγησόν με ἐν τρίβῳ τῶν ἐντολῶν σου· τἱ τὸ ἐπ᾿ ἐμοί; Ὅτι αὐτὸν ἠθέλησα· δῆλον δὲ ὅτι τὸν ἀνωτέρω εἰρημένον νόμον, ὥστε αἰτῶμεν τὰ ἀπὸ Θεοῦ προσγενέσθαι ἡμῖν, ἐπαγγελλόμενοι καὶ τὰ ἐφ᾽ ἡμῖν καὶ μὴ ψευδόμενοι, ἵνα μὴ τὰς πρὸς Θεὸν ἀθετῶμεν συνθήκας. Εὐσέβιος ὁ Καισάρειος, Ὑπομνηματα Ἐις Τους Ψαλμους, Ψαλμὸς ΡΙϚ' Source: Migne PG 23.1372b-c

Incline my heart to your testimonies, and not to avarice. Avert my eyes lest they see vanity, revive me in your way. Set your word in me in fear. Cut off the disgrace which I have acquired, because your judgements are joyful. Behold, I have desired your commandments, in your righteousness renew me. 1 Holy men refer everything to God, in which they teach us that we cannot do anything without God. 'For unless you remain in me,' He says, 'you can do nothing.' 2 Buy perhaps someone will say, 'If they refer everything to God what is there for me to do?' But everywhere there is a mixing of the things of God's power and of ours. Certainly of God is, 'Place your law in me, O Lord, the way of your justifications,' but our part is, 'I shall follow it always.' Again of God I ask, 'Give me understanding and I shall study your law,' and to me refers, 'I shall keep it in my whole heart.' Thirdly from God I entreat, 'Lead me into the path of your commandments,' but what pertains to me? 'Because I have wished it,' 3 that is, I have been mindful of your law. So it is that we seek the things of God to be with us and promise those things which are in our power, lest acting falsely we violate our covenant with God. Eusebius of Caesarea, Commentary on the Psalms, from Psalm 118 1 Ps 118.36-40 2 Jn 15.4 3 Ps 118.33-35

Most High

Kαὶ γνώτωσαν ὅτι ὄνομά σοι Kύριος, σὺ μόνος ὕψιστος ἐπὶ πᾶσαν τὴν γῆν. Εἰ καὶ ἄλλοι ὑψηλοὶ καὶ ὑψίστου ἐκ Θεοῦ γεγένηνται, ἀρετῇ μετεωριζόμενοι καὶ ὑψούμενοι. ᾿Αλλ' οὐδεὶς ἐξ ἐκείνων ἐξ ἑαυτοῦ καὶ κατ᾿ οὐσίαν ἐστὶν τοιοῦτος· μόνος γὰρ Θεὸς ὕψιστος, ποιῶν ἀλλ᾿ οὐ γινόμενος, ὡς μόνος σοφός ἐστιν καὶ μόνος ἀληθινὸς παρέχων σοφίαν καὶ ἀλήθειαν. Δίδυμος Αλεξανδρεύς, Εἰς Ψαλμούς, Ψαλμος ΠΒ' Source: Migne PG 39.1480b

And let them know that your name is the Lord, you who alone are most high over all the earth. 1 Even if others have been raised on high by God, and lifted up with virtue and exalted, yet there is not one among them who by his own nature is such a thing, for God alone is most high, the Creator and not the created, so that only He is wise, and only He is true, and only He gifts wisdom and truth. Didymus the Blind, Commentary on The Psalms, from Psalm 82 1 Ps 82.19

Rising Up

Si apud Christum thesaurus noster est, sicut Apostolus dicit: Scio cui credidi et certus sum, quia potens est depositum meum servare in illum diem: sit ibi cor nostrum, ubi est thesaurus noster. Disponamus ascensiones in corde nostro, et si non possumus corporaliter ascendere, saltem recordatione et desiderio coelestium spiritualiter ascendamus, sicut ille qui dicit: Haec recordatus sum et effudi in me animam meam, quonaim transibo in locum tabernaculi usque in domum Dei. Et: Memor fui Dei et delectatus sum, exercitatus sum, et defecit spiritus meus. Quid est quod dicit, concupiscit anima mea? Et iterum: Memor fui Dei et delectatus sum, et defecit spiritus meus? Quia in hac vita mortali aut potius in hac morte vitali comprendere, aut cogitate non sufficimus gloriam illam, quam nec oculus vidit, nec auris audivit, nec in cor hominis ascendit quae, Deus, praeparasti diligentibus te. Porro cum reformaverit Deus corpus humilitatis nostae configuratum corpori claritatis suae, tunc omnia implebit in nobis, qui omnia fecit pro nobis. Et hoc est quod Apostolus ait: Christus qui descendit, ipse est qui ascendit, ut adimpletet omnia quae adimplere voluit: nativitatem scilicet, resurrectionem, ascensionem, ut renascentes a peccato, resurgentes a morte animae resurgamus de virtue ad virtutem, donec videatur Deus deorum in Sion. Petrus Blenensis, Sermo XXIII, In Ascensione Domini Source: Migne PL 207.629b-d

If our treasure is with Christ, as the Apostle says, 'I know in whom I have believed and I am certain that He is able to guard what I have committed to Him against that day,' let our hearts be where our treasure us. Let us dispose ascents in our hearts, 1 and if we are not capable of ascending in the body, yet with remembrance and desire let us make a spiritual ascent to heaven, as he who says, 'These things I remembered and I poured out my soul in myself, because I shall pass into the place of the tabernacle, even to the house of God.' And again, 'I was mindful of God and I delighted, and I exerted myself, and my spirit fainted.' 2 What is this that the soul desires? And what is to remember God and to be delighted and to have the spirit faint? Because in this mortal life, or rather in this living death, we are not able to grasp or understand that glory 'which neither the eye has seen, nor the ear has heard, nor has it risen up in the heart of a man, what God has prepared for those who love Him.' 3 However when God refashions this body of our humility to a likeness of His own glorious body, 4 then He shall fulfill everything in us, He who has done everything for us. And this is what the Apostle says, 'Christ who descended is He who ascends, so that he might fulfill everything which He wishes to fulfill,' 5 that is, the Nativity, and the Resurrection, and the Ascension, so that being reborn from sin, and rising from the death of the soul, we may rise up 'from virtue to virtue, until the God of gods is seen in Sion.' 6 Peter of Blois, from Sermon 23, On The Ascension of the Lord 1 2 Tim 1.12, Mt 6.21, Ps 83.6 2 Ps 41.5, Ps 76.4 3 1 Cor 2.9 4 Phil 3.21 5 Ephes 4.10 6 Ps 83.8

Flying

Sed quid putamus, fratres, quomodo tunc repente de terris ad coelos evolare poterit, qui nunc exercitio et usu quotidiano volitare non didicerit? Si quaeris quo doctore, quo duce, numquid non Christus sicut aquila provocabat hodei ad volandum pullos suos, quando super eos volitabat, cum scilicet, videntibus illis elevaretur, diuque sequerentur oculis euntem in coelum? Poterat utique repente in ictu oculi, ex oculis eorum rapi, et ubi vellet, consitiui. Sed plane, sicut aquila provocans ad volandum pullos suos, et super eos volitans, et corda sursum levare post se nitebatur pollicebatur exemplo corporis sui: sicut Apostolus ait, aeterni, conscius mysterii, quia et nos bajluis nibibus rapiemur obviam Christo redeunti. Ipse quidem ascenit super Cherubim, et volvavit super pennas ventorum, id est, supergressus est virtutes Angelorum: tuae tamen condescendens infirmitati, expandet alas suas, et assumet te, atque portabit in humeris suis, si modo pullus degener non existas, ut a terra levari, et aura puriore perfruit non extimescas. Guerricus Ignaciensis, In Die Ascensionis Domini Sermo Source: Migne PL 185.156b-c

But what are we to think, brothers, how then shall a man be able to fly off suddenly from earth to heaven to whom now by daily custom and use flight is not given? If you seek some teacher, or some leader, shall it not be Christ who today like the eagle exhorts his little ones to fly when He hovers over them, when, that is, He is lifted up over those watching, and for a time their eyes follow him going into heaven? 1 And then He was able suddenly, and in the blink of an eye, to be taken from their eyes, and to be established where He wished. But certainly, as the eagle exhorts its young to fly by hovering over them, so He was able to teach with the example of His body that we should strive to lift up our hearts on high after Him, as the Apostle, conscious of eternal mysteries, says that even we shall be seized up in the cloud with Christ when He returns. 2 He who ascended over the Cherubim and flew on the wings of the wind, 3 that is, He who ascended over the powers of the angels, yet coming down to your infirmity, shall stretch out His wings, and He shall take you up and carry you on His shoulders, if you are not a degenerate offspring, so that you may be lifted off the earth, and you shall not fear to enjoy the purer air. Guerric of Igny, From a Sermon on the Ascension of the Lord 1 Deut 32.11, Acts 1.9-10 2 1 Thes 4.16 3 Ps 17.11

Higher And Higher

Δεῦρο ἀπὸ λιβάνου, νύμφη, δεῦρο ἀπὸ λιβάνου· ἐλεύσῃ καὶ διελεύσῃ ἀπὸ ἀρχῆς πίστεως Tί τοίνυν ἐν τούτοις ὑπενοήσαμεν; ἀεὶ τῶν ἀγαθῶν ἡ πηγὴ πρὸς ἑαυτὴν τοὺς διψῶντας ἐφέλκεται, καθὼς ἐν τῷ εὐαγγελίῳ φησὶν ἡ πηγὴ ὅτι Εἴ τις διψᾷ, ἐρχέσθω πρός με καὶ πινέτω· ἐν τούτοις γὰρ οὔτε τῆς δίψης οὔτε τῆς πρὸς αὐτὸν ὁρμῆς οὔτε τῆς ἐν τῷ πίνειν ἀπολαύσεως ἔδωκεν ὅρον, ἀλλὰ τῷ παρατατικῷ τοῦ προστάγματος πρὸς τὸ διηνεκὲς ποιεῖται τὴν προτροπὴν καὶ τοῦ διψῆν καὶ τοῦ πίνειν καὶ τοῦ πρὸς αὐτὸν τὴν ὁρμὴν ἔχειν. Tοῖς δὲ γευσαμένοις ἤδη καὶ τῇ πείρᾳ μαθοῦσιν ὅτι χρηστὸς ὁ Kύριος οἷόν τις προτροπὴ πρὸς τὴν τοῦ πλείονος μετουσίαν ἡ γεῦσις γίνεται. Διὰ τοῦτο οὐδέποτε λείπει τῷ ἀναβαίνοντι ἡ γινομένη πρὸς αὐτὸν προτροπὴ ἡ πάντοτε πρὸς τὸ μεῖζον ἐφελκομένη· ὑπομνησθῶμεν γὰρ τῆς πολλάκις ἐν τοῖς φθάσασιν ἤδη γεγενημένης παρορμήσεως παρὰ τοῦ λόγου τῇ νύμφῃ. Ἐλθέ, ἡ πλησίον μου, λέγει καὶ πάλιν Δεῦρο περιστερά μου, καὶ Δεῦρο σεαυτῇ ἐν σκέπῃ τῆς πέτρας. Kαὶ ἄλλας τοιαύτας φωνὰς προτρεπτικάς τε καὶ ἑλκτικὰς τῆς τῶν μειζόνων ἐπιθυμίας ὁ λόγος πρὸς τὴν ψυχὴν ποιησάμενος καὶ μαρτυρήσας ἤδη τῇ πρὸς αὐτὸν ἀνιούσῃ τὸ διὰ πάντων ἀμώμητον εἰπὼν ὅτι Ὅλη καλὴ εἶ καὶ μῶμος οὐκ ἔστιν ἐν σοί, ὡς ἂν μὴ τῇ μαρτυρίᾳ ταύτῃ ἐγχαυνωθεῖσα πρὸς τὴν τῶν μειζόνων ἄνοδον ἐμποδισθείη, πάλιν διὰ τῆς προτρεπτικῆς ταύτης φωνῆς ἐπὶ τὴν τῶν ὑπερκειμένων ἐπιθυμίαν ἀναβῆναι παρακελεύεται λέγων Δεῦρο ἀπὸ λιβάνου, νύμφη. Tὸ δὲ λεγόμενον τοιοῦτόν ἐστι· καλῶς, φησίν, ἐν τοῖς φθάσασιν ἠκολούθησας, ἦλθες μετ’ ἐμοῦ πρὸς τὸ ὄρος τῆς σμύρνης, συνετάφης γάρ μοι διὰ τοῦ βαπτίσματος εἰς τὸν θάνατον, συνανῆλθές μοι καὶ ἐπὶ τὸν βουνὸν τοῦ λιβάνου, συνανέστης γάρ μοι καὶ ὑψώθης ἐν τῇ τῆς θεότητος κοινωνίᾳ, ἣν ἐνδείκνυται τοῦ λιβάνου τὸ ὄνομα, ἀνάβηθί μοι καὶ ἀπὸ τούτων ἐπὶ ἕτερα ὄρη προκόπτουσά τε καὶ ὑψουμένη διὰ τῆς ἐνεργοῦς γνώσεως, δεῦρο τοίνυν ἀπὸ τοῦ λιβάνου, φησίν, οὐκέτι μνηστὴ ἀλλὰ νύμφη. Oὐ γάρ ἐστι δυνατὸν ἐμοὶ συζῆσαι μὴ ἀλλοιωθέντα διὰ τῆς τοῦ θανάτου σμύρνης πρὸς τὴν τοῦ λιβάνου θεότητα. Ἐπεὶ οὖν ἐν τούτῳ γέγονας ἤδη τῷ ὕψει, μὴ στῆς ἀνιοῦσα ὡς ἤδη διὰ τούτων ἐπιβᾶσα τῆς τελειότητος· ἀρχὴ γάρ σοι πίστεως ὁ λίβανος οὗτος γίνεται, οὗ μετέσχες διὰ τῆς ἀναστάσεως, ἀρχὴ δὲ τῆς ἐπὶ τὰ ὑψηλότερα τῶν ἀγαθῶν πορείας. Ἀπὸ τοίνυν τῆς ἀρχῆς ταύτης, ἥτις ἐστὶν ἡ πίστις, ἐλεύσῃ καὶ διελεύσῃ· τουτέστι καὶ νῦν ἥξεις καὶ εἰς ἀεὶ διερχομένη διὰ τῶν τοιούτων ἀνόδων οὐκ ἀπολήξεις. Ἅγιος Γρηγόριος Νύσσης, Ἐξηγησις Του Αἰσματος Των Ἀσμάτων, Ὁμιλία Hʹ Source: Migne PG 44.941d-944c

Come away from frankincense, O bride, come away from frankincense, come and pass through the beginning of faith. 1 What, then, are we to understand by this? The wellspring of good things always draws the thirsty to itself, as in the Gospel the wellspring says, 'If anyone thirsts, let him come to me and drink,' 2 in which He sets no limit to thirst, or to the urge to come, or to the enjoyment of the drinking, but by the openness of His injunction He proclaims a continuing invitation to both thirsting and drinking and the urge to come. To those who have already tasted and have learned from the experience 'that the Lord is good,' 3 the tasting becomes an invitation to partake of more tasting. Because of this the invitation that is always drawing us to what is greater is never lacking in the one who is travelling upwards. Let us recall what was often said by the Word to the bride earlier, 'Come, my close one,' He says,' and again, 'Come, my dove, and come for yourself … to the shelter of the rock.' 4 Indeed the Word has also addressed other such things, fashioned to exhort the soul and make it desire greater things, and He has already given witness of its flawlessness in everything as it rises to Him, saying, 'You are wholly beautiful and there is no flaw in you.' 5 But lest it become proud by this witness, which would hinder its ascent to greater things, again with a voice of exhortation He calls on it to rise up to a desire which yet lies beyond, 'Come away from frankincense, O bride.' What is being said is something like this, 'You have followed well in what has gone before. You came with me to the mountain of myrrh, for you were buried with me by baptism into death, 6 and you even accompanied me to the hill of frankincense, for you rose with me and were lifted up to communion with the Godhead, which is what the word frankincense indicates, now rise with me from these to other heights, advancing and ascending by the working of knowledge.' 'Come, then, from frankincense,' he says, 'no longer as one betrothed, but as the bride.' For it is not possible to live together with me unless you are transformed by the myrrh of death into the deity of frankincense. Since, then, you have already come to this height, do not pause in your ascent, for you have not reached perfection by these accomplishments. This frankincense, which you have come to share, is the beginning of faith for you through the resurrection, and it is the beginning of a journey toward greater heights of goodness. Come, then, from this beginning which is faith, come and pass over,' that is, 'even now you shall come, and you shall pass forever through such ascents and not cease.' Saint Gregory of Nyssa, Commentary on The Song of Songs, from Homily 8 1 Song 4.8 LXX 2 Jn 7.37 3 Ps 33.9, 1 Pet 2.3 4 Song 2.13-14 5 Song 4.7 6 Rom 6.4

Faith And Mountains

Qui confidunt in Domino, sicut mons Sion : non commovebitur in aeternum, qui habitat in Jerusalem. Fides quae ad Deum est, stabilem facit vitam nec ullis tentationibus moveri potest, qui supra firmam petram suam construit domum. Quis est mons Sion nisi Christus, qui est in vertice montium, et elevabitur super colles, et fluent ad eum omnes gentes? Sion est Ecclesia, in qua speculum vitae et aeternitatis visio, cujus caput est Christus. Ecce quaerit iste ascensor spiritalium graduum, qualis sit ista Jerusalem, in qua sanctorum chorus habitat, et respondetur ei: Montes in circuitu ejus, et Dominus in circuitu populi sui, ex hoc nunc et usque in saeculum. Isti montes sunt angeli, sunt prophetae, et praedicatores sancti, qui muniunt istam Jerusalem. Et ne hoc tibi parvum videretur, quod tales montes habet in circuitu, statim subjunxit: Et Dominus in circuitu populi sui. Ecce quales habemus muros, quales munitiones, quales defensores! Maneamus intra septa Jerusalem, et non timeamus insidias diaboli, nec sagittas ejus, tales habentes defensores; et hoc non ad tempus, sed in aeternum, ideo dicit: Ex hoc nunc et usque in saeculum. Alcuinus, Expositio in Psalmos Graduales, Psalmus CXXIV Source: Migne PL 100.626a-c

They who trust in the Lord are like mount Sion. He who dwells in Jerusalem shall never be moved. 1 Faith in God makes life firm, and he who has established his house on His rock cannot be shaken by any trial. 2 Who is mount Sion but Christ, who is on the peak of the mountain, and is lifted up over the hills, and all the peoples flow to him? 3 Sion is the Church, in which is the mirror of life and the vision of eternity, and of which Christ is the head. Note that he who goes up the spiritual steps asks what this Jerusalem is in which the chorus of the saints dwell, and he is answered, Mountains encircle it, and the Lord is around his people, now and forever. These mountains are the angels and the prophets, and the holy preachers, who make the walls of this Jerusalem. And lest it seem to be a little thing to you, that such mountains surround it, immediately he adds, 'And the Lord is around His people.' Behold what walls we have, what bastions, what defenders. Let us remain in the boundaries of Jerusalem, and let us not fear the plots of the devil, nor his shafts, since we have such great defenders, and not only for a time but forever, and therefore it says, 'now and forever.' Alcuin of York, Commentary on the Gradual Psalms, from Psalm 124 1 Ps 124.1 2 Mt 7.24-27 3 Isaiah 2.2

Speech, Deed, And Vanity

Vana locuti sunt unusquisque ad proximum summ. Locutio non incongrue intelligi potest, non solum in voce, sed etiam in operatione, quia indicium cordis non solum vox est, sed etiam exhibitio operis. Scimus autem quod vanum est omne quod transit. Ille vanitatem in corde habet qui transitoria diligit. Vanitatem loquitur, qui pro hac vita tranistoria immoderate laborans ipso suo studio, et opere eam se diligere ostendit. Vanitatem autem ad proximum suum loquitur qui exemplo suo eum ad petenda transitora cohortatur. Hugo De Sancte Victore, Miscellanea, Liber II, Caput X, Quod locutio sit in voce et opere, et quis vanitatem in corde habeat, quis loquatur; et quis loquatur eam ad proximum. Source: Migne PL 177.593c

Each one has spoken vanities to his neighbour. 1 It is not wrong to understand that speech is not only given by the voice but even through acts, because the proof of a heart is not only through the voice but even by the exhibition of the act. We know that everything which is vain passes away. He has vanity in his heart who loves transitory things. He speaks vainly who with excessive zeal labours for the transitory things of this life, and with that work shows what he loves. And he speaks vanity to his neighbour who by his example exhorts him to seek transitory things. Hugh Of Saint Victor, Miscellanea, Book 2, Chapter 10, That Speech May Be By the Voice or the Deed, and that he who has vanity in his heart who speaks, and who speaks to his neighbour 1 Ps 11.3

Books And Fruit

Εἴ σέ τι ὤνησεν ἡ τῆς βίβλου ἀνάγνωσις , δεῖξον ἐπὶ τῆς πράξεως. Εἰ δὲ μένεις ἐφ᾽ ὧν ἐκείνη καταηγορεί, φαίνῃ καταγινώσκων αὐτῆς. Καὶ πάντως ἐπὶ τούτοις ἡμεῖς οὔτε φθεγξόμεθά τι πρὸς σὲ διὰ γράμματος, οὔτε βιβλίον αἰτοῦντι παράσχωμεν, εἰ μὴ καὶ τῆς προτέρας καρπὸν θεασώμεθα. Ἅγιος Ἰσίδωρος Του Πηλουσιώτου, Βιβλίον Πρῶτον, Ἐπιστολὴ ΥΠΑ' Ἱερωνι Source: Migne 78.444d

If you have plucked some fruit from the reading of the book, show it in deeds. But if you remain as one whom it denounces, you seem to scorn it. And certainly because of such things we shall not speak to you through letters, nor attend to your requests for books, not until you we see some fruit. Saint Isidore of Pelusium, Book 1, Letter 481, to Hiero

Wisdom And Wealth

Διὰ τοῦτο ἠγάπησα τὰς ἐντολάς σου ὑπὲρ χρυσίον καὶ τοπάζιον Τελειοτέρου ἐστὶν τὸ ποιεῖν μετὰ τοῦ ἀγαπᾶν· ἀτελεστέρου δὲ ποιεῖν μὲν, οὐ μετὰ τοῦ ἀγαπᾶν δέ. Τῶν δὲ ἐν τῷ κόσμῳ τιμιώτατον δoκεῖ εἶναι χρυσός. Παρακειμένου γοῦν πλούτου παντὸς καὶ ἐντολῆς σου, οὐχ οὕτως ἐνορῶ τῷ πλούτῳ, ὡς τῇ ἐντολῇ σου. Ταῦτα συνάδει τῷ· ᾿Αγαθόν μοι ὁ νόμος τοῦ στόματός σου ὑπὲρ χιλιάδας χρυσίου καὶ ἀργυρίου· καὶ τῷ· Λάβετε παιδείαν καὶ μὴ ἀργύριον· καὶ γνῶσιν ὑπὲρ χρυσίου δεδοκιμασμένου· κρεῖσσον γὰρ σοφία λίθων πολυτελῶν· πᾶν δὲ τίμιον οὐκ ἄξιόν ἐστιν. Δίδυμος Αλεξανδρεύς, Εἰς Ψαλμούς, Ψαλμός ΡΙΗ' Source: Migne PG 39.1577a

Because of this I love your commandments above all gold and jewels. 1 It is of the more perfect to act and love, and of the less perfect to act and not love. Of the things in the world nothing seems more honoured than gold, but set all wealth before me and your commandments, I would not look to riches but to your commandments. This agrees with the previous line, 'Good to me is the law of your mouth, over thousands of gold and silver,' and also with, 'Receive instruction and not silver, and knowledge over proven gold, for wisdom is better than precious stones and nothing that is valuable can match it.' 2 Didymus the Blind, Commentary on the Psalms, from Psalm 118 1 Ps 118.127 2 Ps 118.72, Prov 8.10

Age And Ability

Et factum est in tricesimo anno, in quarto mense, in quinta mensis. Hoc autem quod dicitur, quia tricesimo anno spiritum prophetiae acceperit, indicat aliquid nobis considerandum, videlicet quia juxta rationis usum doctrinae sermo non suppetit nisi in aetate perfecta. Unde et ipse Dominus anno duodecimo aetatis suae in medio doctorum in templo sedens, non docens, sed interrogans voluit inveniri. Ut enim non auderent homines in infirma aetate praedicare, ille anno duodecimo aetatis suae interrogare homines est dignatus in terra, qui per divinitatem suam semper angelos docet in coelo. Quia enim ipse est Dei sapientia, de ipso angeli videndo vivunt hoc quod beatitudine aeterna satiantur. Quod Moyses quoque sub allegoriae mysterio admonet, dicens: Non arabis in primogenito bovis. Primogenitum enim bovis accipimus in infirma aetate primi nostri temporis bonam operationem. In qua tamen arandum non est, quia cum prima sunt adolescentiae vel juventutis nostrae tempora, nobis adhuc a praedicatione cessandum est, ut vomer linguae nostrae proscindere non audeat terram cordis alieni. Quoadusque etenim infirmi sumus, continere nos intra nosmetipsos debemus, ne dum tenera bona citius ostendimus, amittamus, quia et arbusta plantata si prius in terra radicata non fuerint, manu tacta citius arescunt; at si semel radicem fixerint, manus tangit, et tamen nil officit; venti impellunt, nec tamen impellentes laedunt. Et constructi parietes si impellantur, eruuntur, nisi a suo prius fuerint humore siccati. Mens itaque quousque ab humore pravitatis suae perfecte non fuerit exsiccata, alienae linguae manu tangi non debet, ne priusquam plene percipiat, perdat soliditatem suam, ne impulsa ruat, ne velut arbustum sine radicibus, dum plus quam tolerare valet concutitur, arescat. Ad exemplum ergo non sunt ostendenda nisi quae firma sunt. Prius etenim convalescere debet mens, atque ad utilitatem proximorum postmodum demonstrari, cum jam nec per laudem elevata corruat, nec per vituperationem percussa contabescat. Sanctus Gregorius Magnus, In Ezechielem Prophetam, Liber Primus, Homilia II Source: Migne PL 76.796b-797a

And it happened in my thirtieth year, on the fourth month, on the fifth day of the month.... 1 This which is said, that the prophet received the spirit in his thirtieth year, indicates something which we must consider, that is, according to the use of reason one should not take up the word of teaching until a mature age. Hence even the Lord Himself at twelve years of age, sitting in the midst of the teachers in the temple, did not teach, but questioned, wishing to discover. 2 Thus that men should not venture to preach at a young age it was fitting for Him at twelve years of age to question men on earth, He who through His Divinity is always teaching the angels in heaven, because He is the wisdom of God, whom the angels seeing live by and are satiated with eternal beatitude. And Moses also admonishes this in the mystery of allegory, saying, 'You shall not yoke a bull in its first year to the plough.' 3 For we understand that the first year of the bull is the good work of the immature age of our early years, in which however there is no ploughing, because in the first years of our immaturity, or our youth, there must be no preaching from us, whence the ploughsnare of our tongues does not cut into the earth of a foreign heart. For as long as we are immature, we should contain ourselves within ourselves, lest while we swiftly expose tender goods, we lose them, because even plants planted in the earth, if they have not yet rooted, may be damaged by the mere brush of a hand, but once the roots are firm, the hand which brushes them does no harm, and even gusts of wind do not injure them. And when walls are built, if first the moisture in them is not dried up, they fall at a blow. Thus when the mind is not perfectly dry of the moisture of defects, it should not be touched by the hand of a foreign tongue, lest before it fully understands, it destroys its solidity, and lest struck it falls, as plants which are not rooted wither when struck by more than they can bear. With this example, then, things should not be exposed if they are not firm. First the mind must gain strength and then later its utility for others will be revealed, but now it must not fall by praise's elevation, nor wither because of the blows of scorn. Saint Gregory the Great, On the Prophet Ezekiel, Book 1, from Homily 2 1 Ezek 1.1 2 Lk 2.46 3 Deut 15.19

Different Teaching

Οἱ μὲν γὰρ δέονται γάλακτι τρέφεσθαι, τοῖς ἁπλουστέροις καὶ στοιχειωδεστέροις τῶν διδαγμάτων, ὅσοι τὴν ἕξιν νήπιοι καὶ ἀρτιπαγεῖς, ὡς ἂν εἴποι τις, τὴν ἀνδρείαν τοῦ λόγου τροφὴν οὐ φέροντες· ἣν εἰ προσάγοι τις παρὰ δύναμιν, τάχα ἂν καταπιεσθέντες καὶ βαρηθέντες, οὐχ ἐξαρχούσης τῆς διανοίας, ὥσπερ ἐχεῖ τῆς ὕλης τὸ ἐπεισελθὸν ἑλχῦσαι καὶ οἰχειώσασθα!, ζημιωθεῖεν ἂν καὶ εἰς τὴν ἀρχαίαν δύναμιν· οἱ δὲ τῆς ἐν τοῖς τελείοις λαλουμένης σοφίας χρήζοντες “ἧς ὑψηλοτέρας καὶ στεῤῥυτέρας, τῷ πρὸς διάχρὶσιν ἀληθοῦς τε καὶ ψευδοῦς; ἱχανῶ: γεγυμνάσθαι τὰ αἰσθητήρια, εἰ γάλα ποτίξοιντο καὶ τρέφοιντο λαχάνοις, ἀσθενῶν βρώματι, δυσχεραίνοιεν ἄν" καὶ μάλα εἰχότως, οὐ δυναμούμενοι κατὰ Χριστὸν, οὐδὲ αὔξοντες τὴν ἐπαινετὴν αὔξησιν, ἣν ἐργάζεται λόγος τελειῶν εἰς ἄνδρα, καὶ εἰς μέτρον ἡλιχίας ἄγων πνευματιχῆς, τὸν καλῶς τρεφόμενον. αὶ πρὸς ταῦτα τίς ἱκαγός; Οὐ γάρ ἔσμεν ὡς οἱ πολλοὶ χαπηλεύειν δυνάμενοι τὸν λόγον τῆς ἀληθείας, καὶ ἀναμιγνύναι τὸν οἶνον ὕδατ· τὸν εὐφραίνοντα καρδίαν ἀνθρώπου λόγον τῷ πολλῷ καὶ εὐώνῳ καὶ χαμαὶ συρομένῳ καὶ ἐξιτήλῳ καὶ εἰχῆ ῥέοντι, ὥστε αὐτοί τι παραχερδαίνειν ἐκ τῆς καπηλείας, ἄλλὸ τε ἄλλως ὁμιλοῦντες τοῖς πλησιάζουσι καὶ πᾶσι πρὸς χάριν· ἐγγαστρίμυθοί τινες ὄντες καὶ κενολύγοι, τὰς ἑαυτῶν ἡδονὰς θεραπεύοντες λόγοις ἐκ γῆς φωνουμένοις καὶ δυομένοις εῑς γῆν· ὡς ἂν μάλιστα εὐδοκιμοῖμεν τοῖς πολλοῖς, ὅτι μάλιστα ζημιοῦντες αὐτοὺς. ἃ ἀπολλύντες, καὶ αἷμα ἀθῶον ἁπλουστέρων ψυχῶν ἐκχέοντες ἐχ τῶν χειρῶν ἡμῶν ἐκζητηθησόμενον. Ἅγιος Γρηγόριος ὁ Ναζιανζηνός, Λόγος B' Source: Migne PG 35.453c-456a

For some need to be fed with the milk of the simplest and most elementary teachings, those who are in an infant state and, so to say, new-made, and unable to bear the adult food of the word, for if it were to be presented to them beyond their strength, they would likely be overwhelmed and burdened owing to an immaturity of the mind, as happens with the digestion and assimilation of material bodies, and it may even be to the harm of their original power. Others are in need of the wisdom which is spoken among the perfect, 1 and the higher and more solid food, since their senses have been sufficiently exercised to discern the true and the false, 2 and therefore if they are given milk to drink and the diet of invalids, 3 they will be upset, and indeed rightly, for they will not be strengthened according to Christ, nor make that laudable increase which the Word works for the perfecting of men, bringing a man to the measure of spiritual stature with correct nourishment. 4 And who is capable in these things? For we are not, as the many, able to corrupt the word of truth, and mix in water with the wine which gladdens the heart of man, 5 that is, with much that is common and vile and and debased, and of the serpent's earth, all transient and vainly passing away, like some shopkeeper, so that he may profit himself by it, and that we may in some way accommodate ourselves to those we meet, gaining the assent of everyone, as ventriloquists and chatterers do, who serve their own pleasures by words uttered from the earth, and who sink into the earth, so that they may gain the greatest glory and a celebrated name among the multitude, while utterly injuring and indeed ruining ourselves, and shedding the innocent blood of simpler souls, which will be required at our hands. Saint Gregory Nazianzus, from the Second Oration 1 Cor 2.6 2 Heb 5.14 3 Rom 14.2 4 Ephes 4.13 5 2 Cor 2 16-17, Isaiah 1.22, Ps 103.15