The Wise Serpent

Serpens autem erat sapientior omnium bestiarum quae erant super terram, quas fecit Dominus Deus, et dixit serpens mulieri: Quid utique dixit Deus, ne edatis ab omni ligno quod est in paradiso? Cum dicit sapientiorem serpentem, intelligis quem loquatur, id est, illum adversarium nostrum qui tantum habet hujus sapientiam mundi. Sed et voluptas atque delectatio bene sapiens dicitur, quia et sapientia carnis appellatur sapientia, sicut habes: Quia sapientia carnis inimica est Deo. Et ad exquirenda delectationum genera astuti sunt, quia appetentes sunt voluptatum. Sive ergo delectationem intelligas, quaedam est divino adversa mandato, et inimica sensibus nostris. Unde sanctus Paulus ait: Video aliam legem in membris meis repugnantem legi mentis meae, et captivantem me in lege peccati. Si autem ad diabolum referas, verus inimicus est generis humani. Quae autem causa inimicitiarum nisi invidia? Sicut Salomon ait: Quia invidia diaboli mors introivit in orbem terraru. Invidiae autem causa beatitudo hominis in paradiso positi, et ideo quoniam ipse diabolus acceptam gratiam tenere non potuit, invidit homini, eo quod figuratus e limo, ut incola paradisi esset, electus est. Considerabat enim diabolus quod ipse qui fuisset superioris naturae, in haec saecularia et mundana deciderat; homo autem inferioris naturae sperabat aeterna. Hoc est ergo quod invidet dicens: Iste inferior adipiscitur quod ego servare non potui? Iste de terris migrabit ad coelum, cum ego de coelo lapsus in terra sim? Multas vias habeo quibus hominem decipere possim. De limo factus est, terra ei mater est, corruptibilibus involutus est. Et si anima superioris naturae, tamen et ipsa lapsui potest esse obnoxia, in corporis carcere constituta; quando ego lapsum vitare non potui. Est igitur via prima, ut decipiatur, dum conditione sua majora desiderat. Hic enim quidam conatus est industriae. Deinde carnis est, quod non habeat, desiderare. Postremo in quo videor ego omnibus esse sapientior, nisi circumscribam hominem, et versutia et fraude contendam? Itaque machinatus est, ut non primo Adam adoriretur, sed Adam per mulierem circumscribere conaretur. Non adorsus est eum qui coram acceperat coeleste mandatum: sed eam adorsus est quae a viro didicerat, non a Deo quid observaret, acceperat. Neque enim habes quia mulieri dixit Deus, sed quia Adae dixit; et ideo per Adam cognovisse mulier aestimanda est. Cognoscens igitur hoc loco tentamenti genus, plurima etiam aliis locis tentamenti genera reperies. Alia sunt per principem istius mundi, qui quaedam venena sapientiae in hunc mundum evomuit; ut vera putarent homines esse quae falsa sunt, et specie quadam hominum caperetur affectus. Non enim semper quasi apertus hostis ingreditur: sed sunt quaedam potestates quae amorem simulent, gratiamque praetendant; ut paulatim cogitationibus nostris venenum suae iniquitatis infundant, a quibus oriuntur illa peccata quae vel ex delectatione, vel ex quadam mentis facilitate nascuntur. Sunt etiam aliae potestates quae veluti colluctantur nobiscum. Unde et Apostolus ait: Quia non est nobis colluctatio adversus carnem et sanguinem, sed adversus principatus, et potestates, et rectores hujus mundi, tenebrarum harum, adversus nequitiam spiritalium quae sunt in coelestibus. Volunt enim hac quadam contentione nos frangere, et veluti quoddam animae nostrae corpus elidere. Unde et Paulus quasi bonus athleta non solum ictus adversantium potestatum vitare cognoverat, verum etiam adversantes ferire. Unde et ait: Percutio pugnis, non ut aera caedens. Et ideo quasi bonus athleta ad coronam meruit pervenire. Ergo multiplicia tentamenta sunt diaboli. Et ideo bilinguis serpens habetur atque lethalis, eo quod diaboli minister aliud lingua loquatur, aliud corde meditetur. Sunt et alii ministri qui et cordis et vocis suae infectas veneno veluti verborum suorum jactant sagittas, quibus Dominus ait: Generatio viperarum, quomodo potestis bona loqui, cum sitis mali? Sanctus Ambrosius Mediolanensis, De Paradiso, Caput XII Source: Migne PL 14.301b-302c

'The serpent was wiser than any of the beasts on the earth which the Lord God had made, and the serpent said to the woman, 'Why did God say, you shall not eat of any tree of the garden?' 1 When it says that the serpent was more cunning, you understand who is spoken of, that is, the one who is our enemy, who has the wisdom of this world. Gratification of pleasure has been fittingly called wisdom, because it is called the wisdom of the flesh, as in the statement, 'Because the wisdom of the flesh is hostile to God.' 2 And for seeking out gratification there is cleverness, since there are seekers of pleasure. If, therefore, you understand the gaining of pleasure to be contrary to the Divine command and hostile to our senses, this is in accord with what Paul states: 'I see another law in my members warring against the law of my mind and making me a captive in the law of sin.' 3 And if you ascribe this to the Devil, the true enemy of mankind, what other cause of enmity is there unless it is envy? As Solomon says: 'By the envy of the devil death came into the world.' 4 The cause of envy was the happiness of man placed in Paradise, and therefore because the devil was not able to hold to the grace once accepted, he envied man, who though fashioned from mud, had been chosen to be an inhabitant of Paradise. The Devil began to think how it was that he who was of a higher nature had fallen into this worldly existence, but man, an inferior creature, yet had hopes of eternal life. In envy he said, 'This inferior will acquire what I could not keep? He will leave the earth for heaven, when I have fallen from heaven to earth? I have many ways by which I can deceive man. He was made of mud, earth is his mother, and he is bound up in things corruptible. And if his soul is of superior nature, yet it is open to being cast down, since it is established in the prison of the body. When I fell, I could not avoid it. This, therefore, is the first way, to deceive him while he wants to make his state greater. Thus trial will be made of his ambition. The next way is by the flesh, the desire of what he does not have. Finally, how else can I appear to be wiser than all else if not by the use of cunning and fraud to ensnare man?' Thus he did not plan his first attack against Adam, but he plotted to to trap him through the woman. He did not assail the man who had in his presence received the heavenly command, but her who had learned of it from her husband and who had not received from God the command that should be observed. There is no passage in which God spoke to the woman, but because He spoke to Adam, we must judge that she learnt of it from Adam that the command was communicated through Adam to the woman. Recognise, then, in this place the nature of the temptation, for in other places there are  many other kinds of temptations await. Some come from the Prince of this world, who has vomited into this world a sort of poisonous wisdom, so that men think the false to be true and the emotions of men are carried away by mere appearance. The enemy's advance is not always in the open, but certain powers feign what is desirable and becoming pleasing by that, they pour into our thoughts the poison of their iniquities, from which source arise those sins which are born of indulgence in pleasures, or from some weakness of the mind. And there are yet other powers who may be said to wrestle with us, as the Apostle says, 'For our wrestling is not against flesh and blood but against the Principalities and Powers, against the world rulers of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness on high.' 5 They wish by such exertions to break us, and, as if were, drive out the soul from the body. Wherefore, like a good athlete, Paul knew how to avoid the blows of the opposing powers and even to strike those who were set against him. Hence he says, 'I strike with my fists, not as one beating the air.' 6 And so like a good athlete he merited the crown of victory. The temptations of the Devil, then, are manifold. For that reason his is the double tongued serpent, because a servant of Devil says one thing with the tongue and, meditates something else in the heart. There are other servants who cast forth the shafts of their word and thought smeared in venom, to whom the Lord says, 'You brood of vipers, how can you speak good things when you are evil?' 7 Saint Ambrose, On Paradise, Chapter 12 1 Gen 3.1 2 Rom 8.7 3 Rom 7.23 4 Wisd. 2.24 5 Ephes 6.12 6 1 Cor 9.26, 2 Tim 4.8 7 Mt 12.34

Cain's Grief

ΕΡΩΤ ΚΜΑ’ Εἰ ἐλυπήθη Κάϊν μὴ δεχθέντων τῶν παρ' αὐτοῦ προσενεχθέντων, δῆλον ὅτι μετεμελήθη· τῶν γὰρ μεταμελουμένων ἡ λύπη. Ἠνίασεν αὐτὸν οὐχ ἡ αὐτοῦ πλημμέλεια, ἀλλ' ἡ τοῦ ἀδελφοῦ εὐπραξία. Τοῦτο γὰρ καὶ ὁ Ἀκύλας ᾐνίξατο· ἔφη δὲ οὕτως, Καὶ ὀργίλον τῷ Κάϊν σφόδρα, καὶ ἔπεσε τὸ πρόσωπον αὐτοῦ. Καὶ εἶπε Κύριος πρὸς Κάϊν, Εἰς τί τὸ ὀργίλον σοι. Θεοδώρητος Ἐπίσκοπος Κύρρος, Εἰς Τὴν Γένεσιν Source: Migne PG 80.143b

Question 41 If Cain grieved because his offerings were not accepted, therefore he was penitent, for penitence is sorrowful. He was not anguished because of his own fault, but because of the good of his brother. To this Aquila alludes when he translates it in this way: 'And Cain was gravely angered, and he cast down his face. And the Lord said to Cain, 'Why are you angry?' 1 Theodoret of Cyrrhus, Questions On Genesis 1 Gen 4.5-6

Judgement And The Way

Κρῖνον αὐτοὺς, ὁ Θεός· ἀποπεσάτωσαν ἀπὸ τῶν διαβουλιῶν αὐτῶν. Κατὰ τὸ πλῆθος τῶν ἀσεβειῶν αὐτῶν ἔξωσον αὐτοὺς, ὅτι παρεπίκρανάν σε, Κύριε... Τῷ ἁμαρτάνοντι λυσιτελεῖ μᾶλλον ὑπὸ Θεοῦ κριθῆναι, ἢ ἔξω εἶναι τῆς κρίσεως. Καὶ τὸ ἀπὸ μοχθηρῶν διαβουλιῶν ἀποπεσεῖν οὐ κακὸν τῷ ἀποπίπτοντι, οὐκ ἐρχομένῳ ἐπὶ τὸ μοχθηρὸν αὐτῶν τέλος· ὡς οὐ καλὸν τῶν κρειττόνων μὴ ἐπὶ τέλος ἐλθεῖν. Πάνυ δὲ χαρίεν, πῶς οὐκ εἴρηκε πόθεν ἔξωσεν, ἵνα μὴ τοῖς πολλοῖς σαφὲς ᾗ. Οἶμαι δὲ, ὅτι ἀπὸ τῶν ἀσεβειῶν αὐτῶν κατὰ τὸ πλῆθος αὐτῶν. Οὐ γὰρ ἀφ' ἑαυτοῦ ἐξωθεῖ ὁ Θεός τινας· Οἱ γὰρ μακρύνοντες, φησὶν, ἑαυτοὺς ἀπὸ σοῦ, ἀπολοῦνται. Κύριε, ὁδήγησόν με ἐν τῇ δικαιοσύνῃ σου ἕνεκα τῶν ἐχθρῶν μου, κατεύθυνον ἐνώπιόν σου τὴν ὁδόν μου... Ὁ προτιθέμενος ὀρθῶς φρονεῖν καὶ πράττειν, πολλοὺς ἐναντίους ἔχει. Εἰσὶ γὰρ καὶ ἄνθρωποι καὶ δαίμονες φθονεροὶ, λυπούμενοι ἐπὶ τοῖς ἀγαθοῖς τῶν κατορθούντων. Τοῦτο δὲ θεωρήσας καὶ ὁ προκείμενος οὐ τῇ ἑαυτοῦ δυνάμει δέδωκε τὸ ἀπομάχεσθαι τοῖς ἐπικειμένοις κατ' αὐτοῦ, ἀλλὰ παρεκάλεσε τὸν Θεὸν χεῖρα αὐτῷ ὀρέξαι σκεπάζου σαν αὐτὸν ἀβλαβῆ ἀπὸ τῶν τοσούτων καὶ τηλικούτων πολεμίων, φάσκων· Αὐτὸς, ὦ Δέσποτα, ὁδήγησόν με ἐν τῇ δικαιοσύνῃ σου· οὕτω γὰρ κατορθωθείη τὸ τὴν ὁδόν μου ἐνώπιόν σου κατευθυνθῆναι. Ὅτι οὐκ ἔστιν ἐν τῷ στόματι αὐτῶν ἀλήθεια, ἡ καρδία αὐτῶν ματαία. Τάφος ἀνεῳγμένος ὁ λάρυγξ αὐτῶν· ταῖς γλώσσαις αὐτῶν ἐδολιοῦσαν... Ἐχθρῶν ἐμποδιζόντων τὴν ὁδόν σου φανερωθῆναι ἐν ὀφθαλμοῖς μου, σὺ κατεύθυνον αὐτὴν ἐνώπιόν μου. Οἶδα γὰρ αὐτοὺς ἐν οἷς περὶ ὁδοῦ ἐπαγγέλλονται, μὴ ἀληθεύοντας, τῷ μὴ εἶναι ἐν τῷ στόματι αὐτῶν ἀλήθειαν, καὶ ματαίαν εἶναι αὐτῶν τὴν καρδίαν. Πάντα δὲ τὰ ἐκφωνούμενα ἐν τῷ λάρυγγι αὐτῶν νεκρά ἐστι, τῷ εἶναι αὐτὸν τάφον ἀνεῳγότα. Ἀλλὰ καὶ λελογισμένοι σόφισμά τινές εἰσιν οἱ λόγοι αὐτῶν. Ὠριγένης, Εἰς Ψαλμους, Ψαλμος E' Source: Migne PG 12.1172a-c

Judge them, O God, cut them off from their thoughts. According to the multitude of their impieties let them be driven off, because they have exasperated you, O Lord... 1 It is of greater benefit for the sinner to be judged by God than to be outside judgement. To be cut off from depraved thoughts is not an evil that befalls them who thus do not come to the culmination of their evils, just as it is not good among better things not to attain their end. But it would be pleasing to know what he did not say, from what they were driven off, which may not be clear to many. I think it was from their evils and the multitude of them. For God does not drive off anyone from Himself. As he says. 'For they who withdraw themselves far from you, they shall perish.' 2 O Lord, lead me into your righteousness on account of my enemies, direct my way into your sight... 3 He who proposes to himself to think and act correctly, he shall have many to oppose him. For there are men and demons full of envy who are aggrieved by good things rightly done. When the Prophet perceives this, he does not depend on his own virtue to fight against those who stand against him, but he asks the Lord to stretch forth His hand so that he might escape for all such adversaries unharmed, saying, 'O Lord, lead me into your righteousness, for so it shall be that my way is guided into your sight.' Because there is no truth in their mouths, their hearts are a vanity, their throats open tombs, their tongues work wickedness... 4 When enemies impede your way, that it may it be obvious to my eyes, direct it into my sight. For I know they do not speak the truth concerning the things which they proclaim about the way, having no truth in their mouths, and their hearts are vain. Everything which their throat pronounces is death, because it is an open tomb, for their speech is replete with sophistry. Origen, Selecta On the Psalms, from Psalm 5 1 Ps 5.11 2 Ps 72.27 3 Ps 5.9 4 Ps 9.10-11

The Serpent's Counsel

Germanus: Nos hactenus credebamus causam initiumque ruinae seu praevaricationis diabolicae, qua de angelica statione deiectus est, invidiam specialiter exstitisse, quando Adam et Evam livida calliditate decepit. Serenus: Non esse istud initium praevaricationis illius seu deiectionis, Geneseos lectio manifestat, quae, ante illorum deceptionem, serpentini nominis eum nota credidit inurendum, ita dicens: Serpens autem erat sapientior, sive, ut Hebraici exprimunt libri, callidior cunctis bestiis terrae quas fecit Dominus Deus. Intelligitis ergo quod ante illam circumventionem primi hominis, de angelica discesserat sanctitate; ita ut non solum nominis huius insigniri mereretur infamia, sed etiam in nequitiae tergiversatione caeteris praeferretur bestiis terrae. Non enim tali vocabulo Scriptura bonum angelum designasset, nec de his qui in illa beatitudine perseverant diceret, Serpens autem erat sapientior omnibus bestiis terrae. Nam hoc cognomen non solum Gabrieli, sive Michaeli, nullo modo posset aptari, sed ne bono quidem cuiquam homini conveniret. Apertissime itaque et serpentis vocabulum, et comparatio bestiarum, non sonat angeli dignitatem, sed praevaricatoris infamiam. Denique livoris ac seductionis materia, qua ut hominem deciperet instigatus est, de anterioris ruinae exstitit causa, quod scilicet de limo terrae nuperrime figuratum ad illam eum gloriam cerneret evocandum, unde, cum esset unus de principibus, se meminerat corruisse. Et idcirco priorem eius lapsum, quo superbiendo corruerat, quo etiam serpens meruerat nuncupari, secunda ruina per invidiam subsecuta est: quae inveniens eum adhuc aliquid in sese rectum habentem, ita ut etiam cuiusdam colloquii atque consilii cum homine posset habere consortium, sententia Domini utiliter in ima deiectus est; ut non iam, sicut ante, sublime aliquid intuens excelsus incederet, sed ut solo cohaerens reperet, et humiliatus super ventrem terrenis vitiorum escis et operibus pasceretur, occultum deinceps publicans inimicum, ac ponens inter ipsum et hominem utiles inimicitias salutaremque discordiam; ut dum cavetur tamquam hostis noxius, amicitiis fraudulentis ulterius homini nocere non posset. In quo tamen et illud nos praecipue debet instruere, ut a malis consiliis declinemus; quod licet deceptionis auctor congrua poena et condemnatione plectatur, ne ille quidem qui seducitur, supplicio careat, licet aliquantulo leviore quam ille qui auctor deceptionis exstiterit. Quod hic expressum plenissime cernimus: Adam namque qui seductus est, immo, ut Apostoli verbis eloquar, qui seductus non est, sed seductae acquiescens, in exitialem videtur accessisse consensum, sudore vultus ac labore tantummodo condemnatur, qui tamen illi, non per suam, sed per terrae maledictionem sterilitatemque decernitur. Mulier vero, quae huius rei persuasor exstitit, multiplicationem gemituum ac dolorum atque tristitiae promeretur, perpetuo pariter iugo subiectionis addicta. Serpens autem, qui primus incentor huius offensae est, perenni maledictione mulctatur. Quamobrem summa sollicitudine et circumspectione cavendum est a consiliis pravis, quia sicut auctorem puniunt, ita deceptum nec peccato faciunt carere, nec poena. Sanctus Ioannes Cassianus, Collationes, Collatio Octava, De Principatibus Seu Potestatibus, Caput IX-XI Source: Migne PL 49.736b-739a

Germanus: Until now we believed that the reason and beginning of the ruin and error of the devil, by which he was cast down from the angelic state, was most particularly envy, when in his malicious cleverness he deceived Adam and Eve. Serenus: That this was not the beginning of his fall and ruin, the passage in Genesis shows, as before their deception it deems him to be already branded with the name of serpent, so saying: 'But the serpent was wiser,' or as the Hebrew books express it, 'more clever than all the beasts of the earth, which the Lord God had made.' 1 You understand, then, that before he deceived the first man, he had fallen away from angelic sanctity, so that he not only deserved to be stamped with the infamy of that name, but indeed surpassed all other beasts of the earth in the subterfuges of wickedness. For Scripture would not have designated a good angel in such a way, nor would it say of those who remained in that state of bliss: 'But the serpent was wiser than all the beasts of the earth.' For it is not only that this title could not possibly be applied to Gabriel or Michael, but it would not even befit any good man. And so the title of serpent and the comparison to beasts most clearly declares the wickedness of an apostate not the dignity of an angel. Finally the occasion of envy and seduction which drove him to deceive man, arose from the cause of his previous ruin, that is, he saw that one who had just recently been shaped from the mud of the earth was to be called to that glory from which he remembered that he himself, when he was one of the princes, had fallen. And so that first ruin of his, in which he fell by pride, and which earned for him the name of serpent, was followed by a second because of envy, which finding him still having something upright, so that he could yet have some conversation and counsel with man, the Lord's sentence very rightly cast him down into the depths, that he might no longer, as before, walk erect and look on high, but cleaving to the ground creep along, and being brought low on his belly, feed on earthly food and works of vices, and thereafter announce his secret hostility and set between himself and man a useful enmity and a salutary discord, so that while man is wary of him as a dangerous enemy, he can no longer harm him with fraudulent friendship. In which matter, however, we should especially learn, so that we may shun evil counsels, that though the author of the deception was struck with a fitting punishment and condemnation, nor did the one who was seduced lack a penalty, although it was somewhat lighter than his who was the author of the deception. And this we see was very plainly expressed. For Adam, who was deceived, or rather, to speak in the Apostle's words, 'was not deceived' 2 but, consenting to her who was deceived seems to have given a fatal agreement, is only condemned to labour and the sweat of his face, which, however, is given to him not through a curse on himself, but by a curse upon the earth and its barrenness. But the woman, who persuaded him, receives a multiplication of groans and pains and sorrow, together with the yoke of perpetual subjection. But the serpent, who was the first to incite them to this offense, is punished by an endless curse. For which reason we should beware, with the utmost care and circumspection, evil counsels, for as they punish their authors, so they do not spare the deceived fault, nor punishment. Saint John Cassian, Conferences, from Conference 8, On Principalites And Powers, Chaps 9-11 1 Gen 3.1 2 1 Tim 2.14

Chastity And Humility

Unde huius muneris magnitudo, ad quod capessendum pro nostris viribus hortati sumus, quanto est excellentius atque divinius, tanto magis admonet sollecitudinem nostram, non solum de gloriosissima castitate, verum etiam de tutissima humilitate aliquid loqui. Cum ergo perpetuae continentiae professores se coniugatis comparantes secundum Scripturas compererint eos infra esse et opere et mercede et voto et praemio, statim veniat in mentem quod scriptum est: Quanto magnus es, tanto humila te in omnibus, et coram Deo invenies gratiam. Mensura humilitatis cuique ex mensura ipsius magnitudinis data est: cui est periculosa superbia, quae amplius amplioribus insidiatur. Hanc sequitur invidentia, tamquam filia pedissequa; eam quippe superbia continuo parit, nec umquam est sine tali prole atque comite. Quibus duobus malis, hoc est superbia et invidentia, diabolus est, itaque contra superbiam, matrem invidentiae, maxime militat universa disciplina christiana. Haec enim docet humilitatem, qua et adquirat et custodiat caritatem. De qua cum dictum esset: Caritas non aemulatur, velut si causam quaereremus, unde fiat, ut non aemuletur, continuo subdidit: Non inflatur, tamquam diceret: Ideo non habet invidentiam, quia nec superbiam. Doctor itaque humilitatis Christus primo semetipsum exinanivit formam servi accipiens, in similitudine hominum factus et habitu inventus ut homo; humilavit semetipsum, factus oboediens usque ad mortem, mortem autem crucis. Sanctus Augustinus Hippoensis, De Sancta Virginitate Source: Migne PL 40.412-413

Whence because of the greatness of this service, to which undertaking we have exhorted according to our strength, as the more excellent and more divine it is, so the more does it admonish us to say something not only concerning most glorious chastity, but also concerning most secure humility. When, then, those who make profession of perpetual chastity, comparing themselves with married persons, shall discover that, according to the Scriptures, the others are below both in work and wages, both in vow and reward, let it immediately come to mind what is written: 'By how much you are great, by so much be humble in all things, and you shall find favor before God.' 1 The measure of humility for each has been given from the measure of greatness itself, to which pride is full of peril, which lays in greater ambush against the greater. From it follows envy, as a daughter in her train, since pride straightway gives birth to her, nor is she ever without such a child and companion. By which two evils, that is, pride and envy, is the devil, and therefore it is against pride, the mother of envy, that the whole Christian discipline chiefly wars. For this teaches humility, by which love is acquired and kept. Concerning which has been said: 'Charity envies not;' and as though we were asking the reason how it might be that it envies not, he straightway added, 'It is not puffed up;' 2 as though he had said that it has no envy because it has no pride. Therefore the teacher of humility, Christ, first 'emptied Himself, taking the form of a servant, made in the likeness of men, and found in fashion as a man, He humbled Himself, made obedient even to death, even the death of the Cross.' 3 Saint Augustine of Hippo, On Virginity 1 Sirach 3.18 2 1 Cor 13.4 3 Phil 2.7-8

Help To Improve

Ἐβάφης τὸν λογισμὸν τῷ ὀφιώδει φθόνῳ τῇ τε πικρίᾳ τῆς βασκανίας· ἀλλ' ἔχεις ξύλον τίμιον τὸν σταυρὸν τοῦ Κυρίου, ἐὰν θελήσῃς, δυνάμενον γλυκᾶναι τὸ πικρὸν ὕδωρ τοῦ ἤθους σου. Καὶ γὰρ ὁ μέγας Μωσῆς ξύλον ἐμβαλὼν εἰς τὸ πικρότατον ὕδωρ τῆς Μεῥῥᾶς γλυκὺ εὐθέως καὶ προσηνὲς λίαν τοῦτο ἀπειργάσατο. Ἅγιος Νειλος, Βιβλιον Πρῶτον, Ἐπιστολὴ ΡϚ' Καπιτωνι Διακονῳ Source: Migne 79 128

Your mind has been struck with the envy of the serpent and the bitterness of malice, but you have the precious cross of Christ, which if you will, is able to turn the bitterness of your state into sweet water. For the great Moses, dipping the wood in the most bitter waters of Mara, made it sweet and clear. 1 Saint Nilus of Sinai, Book 1, Letter 106, To Capiton the Deacon 1 Exod 15.23

Righteousness And Possessions

Nunc consideremus qualis vir justus esse debeat, si invidia fuerit exorta. Primum ut declinet eam, melius est enim sine lite abire, quam residere cum jurgio. Deinde ut talia possideat, quae secum aufferre possit: ut in nullo teneri ab adversario possit obnoxius, sed dicat: Cognosce si quid tuum est apud me Et quaesivit Laban, et nihil suum invenit apud Jacob. Magnus vir, et vere beatus, qui nihil potuit suum amittere, nihil alienum habere, hoc est, nihil minus habere, nihil superfluum. Itaque ille perfectus est, cui nihil deest: justus, cui nihil superest. Hoc enim est jusitiiae tenere mensuram. Quanta virtus cujus societas lucrum dabat, non irrogabat dispendium? Hoc est perfectum esse, adhaerentibus sibi commodi plurimum dare, nihil afferre incommodi. Denique is qui nocere cupiebat, inanem eum non potuit dimittere. Sapiens enim nunquam inanis est, semper in se habens amictum prudentie, qui potest dicere: Justitiam induebam, et vestiebam judicium, sicut dixit Job. Namque haec mentis sunt interna velamina, quae nemo alius possit auferre, nisi cum aliquem sua culpa despoliat. Denqiue sic despoliatus Adam, nudus inventus est: at vero Joseph etiam vestimento exteriore rejecto, nudus non erat, qui salva habebat indumenta virtutis. Nunquam ergo inanis sapiens. Nam quomodo inanis, qui de plenitudine Christi accipit, et servat acceptum? Quomodo inanis, cujus repletaest anima, quae  acceptae gratiae vestimenta custodit? Illud metuendum est, ne quis innocentiae velamen amittat, ne impii sacrilegae persecutionis impressione terminos justitiae supergressi, vestimentum animae ac mentis eripiant. Quod non facile accidit, nisi prius aliquem vox suae iniquitatis exuerit. Unde et David dicit: Si est iniquitas in manibus meis...decidam merito ab inimicis meis inanis: persequatur inimicus animam meam comprehendat. Sanctus Ambrosius Mediolanensis, De Jacob et Vita Beata, Lib II, Caput V Source: Migne PL 14 622B-623A

Now let us consider what sort of man the righteous one should be if envy has risen up. First he seeks to be gone from it, for better it is to leave without strife than to stay for quarrels. And he goes with such things as he possesses, which he is able to take with him, that in nothing his adversary be able to hold him indebted, but he may say, 'Know that what yours is mine.' 1 And so Laban searched but found nothing of his own with Jacob. 2 Great the man and truly blessed who could lose nothing which is his and nothing of another possess, that is, he has nothing less than he should have and nothing superfluous. He is perfect who lacks nothing, righteous to whom nothing is wanting, for this is to hold to the measure of righteousness. How much shall the presence of his virtue profit when he gives it, and not given be loss? This it is to be perfect, to allow only that which befits to adhere to one, and to carry off nothing that does not befit. Then the one who desired to harm was not able to send him away empty. But the wise man is never empty, always in himself he has the garment of prudence, he who is able to say, 'I put on righteousness, and vested myself in judgement,' 3 as Job said. For this internal covering of the mind no one is able to take away, unless by one's own fault it is stolen away. Thus Adam was robbed and found naked, but Joseph even when he lost his exterior garment was not naked, he who had the saving covering of virtue. 4 No one therefore who is wise is empty. For how can he be empty who has received the plenitude of Christ and guards what he has received? How can he be empty whose soul is full and who guards the vestment of grace received? This alone must be feared, the loss of the vestment of innocence, the overstepping of the bounds of righteousness unto impious sacrifice when persecution presses, and they tear away the vestment of soul and mind. Which easily happens, unless previously some counsel has stripped off one's own iniquity. Whence David says, 'If there is iniquity in my hands ... rightly I shall be cut off by my enemies empty; then let the enemy pursue my soul and seize it.' 5 Saint Ambrose, from On Jacob and the Good Life, Book 2, Chap 5 1 Gen 31.43 2 Gen 31.3 3 Job 29.14 4 Gen 39 7-23 5 Ps 7.4-5

Apostles and Aromas

Qui male vivunt et christiani vocantur, iniuriam Christo faciunt: de qualibus dictum est quod per eos nomen Domini blasphematur. Si per tales nomen Dei blasphematur, per bonos nomen Domini laudatur. Audi Apostolum: Christi bonus odor sumus, inquit, in omni loco. Dicitur et in Canticis canticorum. Unguentum effusum nomen tuum. Ad Apostolum revoca intentionem: Christi, inquit, bonus odor sumus in omni loco, et in his qui salvi fiunt, et in his qui pereunt; aliis sumus odor vitae in vitam, aliis odor mortis in mortem: et ad haec quis idoneus? Occasionem nobis praebet praesens lectio sancti Evangelii de odore isto ita loqui, ut et a nobis sufficienter dicatur, et a vobis diligenter audiatur, Apostolo ipso ita dicente: Et ad haec quis idoneus? Ergo ut inde nos conemur loqui, numquid idonei sumus, aut vos audire haec idonei estis? Nos quidem idonei non sumus; sed idoneus est ille qui per nos dignetur dicere quod vobis prosit audire. Ecce Apostolus bonus odor est, sicut dicit ipse: sed ipse bonus odor aliis est odor vitae in vitam, aliis autem odor mortis in mortem; tamen bonus odor. Numquid enim ait: Aliis sumus bonus odor ad vitam, aliis malus odor ad mortem? Bonum odorem se dixit, non malum; et eumdem bonum odorem aliis ad vitam dixit, aliis ad mortem. Felices qui bono odore vivunt: quid autem infelicius illis qui bono odore moriuntur? Et quis est, ait aliquis, quem bonus odor occidit? Hoc est quod ait Apostolus: Et ad haec quis idoneus? Quomodo ea facit Deus miris modis, ut bono odore et boni vivant, et mali moriantur; quomodo sit, quantum Dominus inspirare dignatur, nam fortasse ibi lateat altior intellectus, qui a me non potest penetrari; tamen quousque penetrare potui, vobis non debet denegari. Paulum apostolum bene agentem, bene viventem, iustitiam verbo praedicantem, opere demonstrantem, doctorem mirabilem, fidelem dispensatorem, fama usquequaque disseminabat: quidam diligebant, quidam invidebant. Nam ipse quodam loco ait de quibusdam, quod non caste, sed per invidiam Christum annuntiarent; existimantes, inquit, tribulationem suscitare vinculis meis. Sed quid ait? Sive occasione, sive veritate Christus annuntietur. Annuntiant qui me amant, annuntiant qui mihi invident; illi bono odore vivunt, et illi bono odore moriuntur; tamen utrisque praedicantibus nomen Christi annuntietur, odore optimo mundus impleatur. Amasti bene agentem, vixisti bono odore: invidisti bene agenti, mortuus es bono odore. Numquid quia mori voluisti, ideo odorem illum malum esse fecisti? Sanctus Augustinus Hipponensi, In Evangelium Ioannis, Tractatus L Source: Migne PL 35.1760-61

Those who live wickedly and are named Christians give injury to Christ, concerning whom it is said that through them 'the name of the Lord is blasphemed.' 1 If by such folk the name of God is blasphemed, by the good the name of the Lord is honored. Listen to the Apostle Paul when he says, 'We are a sweet aroma of Christ in every place.' And it is said in the Song of Songs, 'Your name is as ointment poured forth.' 2 Attend again to the Apostle: 'We are a sweet aroma of Christ in every place, both in them that are saved and in them that perish. To the one we are the aroma of life unto life, to the other the aroma of death unto death: and who is sufficient for these things?' 3 The present reading of the holy Gospel gives to us occasion of so speaking about that aroma, that we may speak worthily, and that you may diligently listen to what is thus said by the Apostle, 'And who is sufficient for these things?' But are we then sufficient to attempt to speak about this, or you to hear? We, indeed, are not sufficient, but He is sufficient, who is pleased to speak by us what it may profit you to hear. Understand that the Apostle is a sweet aroma, as he calls himself, but that sweet aroma is 'to some the aroma of life unto life, and to others the aroma of death unto death;' yet still a sweet aroma. For does he say 'To some we are a sweet aroma unto life, to others an evil aroma unto death?' No, he said he was a sweet aroma, not an evil one, and himself the same good aroma, to some unto life, to others unto death. Happy they who live in this sweet aroma. But what misery can be greater than theirs to whom the sweet aroma is death? And who is it, says some one, whom the sweet aroma kills? It is to this the Apostle alludes in the words 'And who is sufficient for these things?'  How wonderful the ways by which God makes it that the good aroma is life to the good and death to the wicked; and how it is so, as much as the Lord is pleased to inspire me, for perhaps it yet hides a higher meaning beyond my power to penetrate, yet so far, I say, as I have been able to penetrate should not be denied to you. The fame of the correctness of the Apostle Paul's deeds and life, and the preaching of righteousness in word and the exhibition of it in works, and his wondrous teaching and his fidelity as a steward, were everywhere reported abroad, and some loved and some envied. For he himself speaks of a place where some did not preach Christ sincerely but of envy; 'Thinking,' he says, 'to add affliction to my bonds.' But what does he say? 'Whether in pretence or in truth, let Christ be preached.' 4 That is, they preach who love me, they preach who envy me; in the good aroma the former live and in it the latter die, and yet by the preaching of both let the name of Christ be proclaimed, and with this best of aromas let the world be filled. If you have loved one who does good, in the good aroma you have lived. If you have envied one doing good, you have died in the good aroma. But because you chose to die, did you turn the aroma into an evil one? Saint Augustine of Hippo,Tractate 50, On the Gospel of John 1 Rom 2.24 2 Song 1.3 3 2 Cor 2.14-16 4 Phil 1.17-18

Peace and Quiet

Ἐν εἰρήνῃ ἐπὶ τὸ αὐτὸ κοιμηθήσομαι, και ὑπνώσω· Ὁτι σὺ, Κύριε, κατὰ μόνας ἐπ' ἐλπίδι κατῴκισάς με. Ἰδοῦ καὶ ἄλλο προνοίας εἶδος οὐ μικρὸν, τὸ εἰρήνης ἀπολαύειν τοὺς ἀνακειμένους Θεῷ. Εἰρήνη γὰρ τοῐς ἀγαπῶσι τὸν νόμον σου, καὶ οὐκ ἔστιν αὐτοῖς σκάνδαλον. Οὐδεν γὰρ οὔτως εἰρήνην ποιεῖν εἴωθεν, ὡς ἡ τοῦ Θεοῦ γνῶσις, καὶ ἡ τῆς ἀρετῆς κτῆσις, τὸν ἔνδοθεν τῶν παθῶν ἐξοικίζουσα πόλεμον, καὶ οὐκ ἀφιεῖσα αὐτὸν πρὸς ἑαυτὸν διαστασιάζειν τὸν ἄνθρωπον. Ὡς εἴγε μὴ ταύτης ἀπολαύοι τῆς εἰρήνης, κἂν ἐν βαθυτάτῃ εἰρήνῃ ᾗ ἔξωθεν, κἂν μηδεὶς πολέμιος αὐτὸν βάλλῃ, τῶν ὑπὸ τῆς οἰκουμένης πολεμουμένων πάντων ἐστὶν ἀθλιώτερος. Οὐ γὰρ οὔτω Σκύθαι, οὐδὲ Θρᾷκες, οὐ Σαυρομάται, καὶ Ἰνδοὶ, καὶ Μαῦροι, καὶ ὅσα ἄγρια ἔθνη πολεμεῖν εἰώθασιν, ὡς λογισμὸς ἀτοπώτατος ἐνδομυχῶν τῇ ψυχῇ, καὶ ἐπιθυμία ἀκόλαστος, καὶ χρημάτων ἔρως, καὶ προσπάθεια. Καὶ εἰκότως· ἐκεῖνος μὲν γὰρ ἔξωθεν ὁ πόλεμος, αὔτη δὲ ἔνδον ἐστὶν ἡ μάχῃ. Ὅτι δὲ τὰ ἔνδοθεν τικτόμενα τῶν ἔξεθεν προσβαλλόντων ἐστὶ χαλεπώτερα, καὶ μᾶλοον διαφθείρειν εἴωθε, τοῦτο ἐπὶ πάντων ἔστιν ἰδεῖν. Καὶ γὰρ καὶ ξύλου φύσιν σκώληξ ἔνδον τικτόμενος μᾶλλον διαφθείρει, καὶ σώματος δύναμιν καὶ ὑγείαν τῶν ἔξωθεν φυομένων τὰ ἔνδοθεν βλαστάνοντα νοσματα μειζόνως λυμαίνεται· καὶ πόλεις οὐχ οὔτως οἱ ἔξωθεν πολέμιοι, ὡς οἱ ἐμφύλιοι καταλύουσιν· οὕτω δὴ καὶ ψυχὴν οὐχ οὔτω τὰ ἔξωθεν προσιόντα μηχανήματα, ὡς τὰ ἔνδοθεν τικτόμενα νοσήματα λυμαίνεσθαι πέφυκεν. Ἀλλ' ἐάν τις τὸν φόβον τοῦ Θεοῦ ἔχων, μετὰ ἀκριβείας τοῦτον καταλύσῃ τὸν πόλεμον, καὶ κοιμήσῃ τὰ πάθη, καὶ τὰ θηρία τὰ ποικίλα ἐκεῖνα τῶν ἀτόπων λογυσνῶν ἀποπνίξας, μὴ ἐμφωλεύειν παρασκευάσῃ, οὗτος καθαρωτάτης καὶ βαθυτάτης ἀπολαύσεται εἰρήνης. Ταύτην τὴν εἰρήνην ἐλθὼν ὁ Χριστὸς ἐχαρίσατο· ταύτην καὶ ὁ Παῦλος τοῖς πιστοῖς ἐπηύχετο, καθ' ἑκάστην ἐπιστολὴν λέγων· Χάρις ὑμῖν καὶ εἰρήνη ἀπὸ Θεοῦ Πατρὸς ἡμῶν· ὁ γὰρ τὴν εἱρήνην ταύτην ἔχων, οὐ μόνον βάρβαρον καὶ πολέμιον, ἀλλ' οὐδὲ αὐτὸν τὸν διάβολον δέδοικεν· ἀλλὰ πάσης τῆς τῶν δαιμόνων φάλαγγος καταγελᾷ, καὶ πάντων ἀνθρώπων ἐστὶν εὐθυμότερος, οὐ πενίᾳ πιεζόμενος, οὐ νόσῳ καὶ ἀῥῥωστίᾳ βαρούμενος, οὐκ ἄλλω τινὶ τῶν ἀνθρωπίνων τῶν ἀδοκήτως προσπιπτόντων θορυβούμενος, δια τὸ τὴν ψυχὴν, τὴν δυναμένην ταῦτα μετὰ ἀκριβείας διαθεῖναι καὶ εὐκολίας ἀπάσης, ἐῥῥωμένην καὶ ὑγιαίνουσαν ἔχειν. Καὶ ἵνα μάθητε ὅτι τοῦτό ἐστιν ἀληθές· ἔστω τις βάσκανος, καὶ μηδεὶς αὐτῷ πολεμείτω· τί τὸ ὄφελος; Αὐτὸς γαρ ἑαυτῷ πολεμεῖ· παντὸς ξίφους ὀξυτέρους καθ' ἑαυτοῦ θήγων λογισμοὺς, πᾶσι τοῖς ὁρωμένοις προσπταίων, καὶ καθ' ἔκαστον τῶν ἐντυγχανόντων ἀνθρώπων τιτρώσκων ἑαυτὸν, καὶ πρὸς οὐδένα ἡδέως ἔχων, ἀλλὰ κοινοὺς πολεμίους πάντας ὁρῶν. Τί οὖν ὅφελος τῆς ἔξωθεν εἰρήνης τούτῳ, ὅταν αὐτὸς λυσσῶν καὶ μαινόμενος, καὶ κοινὸς τῆς φύσεως ὤν ἐχθρὸς, περιέρχηται, τοσοῦτον ἔνδοθεν φέρων πόλεμον, καὶ μυρία τόξα καὶ βέλη, μᾶλλον δὲ μυρίους θανάτους εὐχόμανος, ἤ ἰδεῖν τινα τῶν ὁμογενῶν εὐδοκιμοῦνται καὶ εὐμερίας ἀπολαύοντα; Πάλιν ἕτερος ὑπὸ χρημάτων ἐπιθυμίας κατεχόμενος, μυρίους πολέμους καὶ μάχας καὶ στάσεις εἰς τὴν ἑαυτοῦ συνάγει ψυχὴν, καὶ ἐν θορύβῳ καὶ ταραχῇ ὤν, οὐδὲ μικρὸν ἀναπνεῦσαι δυναταὶ. Ἀλλ' οὐχ ὁ τούτων ἀπηλλαγμένος τῶν παθῶν οὕτω διάκειται, ἀλλ' ἐν γαληνῷ κάθηται λιμένι, ἐντρυφῶν τῇ φιλοσοφίᾳ, καὶ οὐδεμίν ὑπομένων ἀηδίαν τοιαύτην. Διὸ δὴ καὶ ταύτης ἀπολαύων τῆς προνοίας Ὁ Προφήτης ἔλεγεν· Ἐν εἰρήνῃ ἐπὶ τὸ αὐτὸ κοιμηθήσομαι, και ὑπνώσω· δνλῶν, ὅτι τῷ μὴ ταύτην ἔχοντι τὴν εἰρήνην οὐδὲ ὁ κοινὸς λιμὴν  ἄπας ἀνέῳκται, ἀλλὰ καὶ οὕτος προσκεχωσται, ὁ του ὕπνου καὶ τῆς νυκτός.  Ἅγιος Ἰωάννης ὁ Χρυσόστομος, Εἰς Τον Δ' Ψαλμον

In peace I shall sleep and rest. Because you, Lord, alone in hope have established me. 1 Behold another significant type of providence, that those dedicated to God enjoy peace: 'For peace there is to the lovers of your law and not to them is scandal'  2 For there is nothing equal to the making of peace than the knowledge of God, and the possession of virtue, which casts the internal war of passions far from one's house, and it does not allow it to disturb a man. For certainly if a man does not enjoy this peace, even if there is perfect peace outside him, even if no enemy falls upon him, he is more wretched than those who are under assault in the world. For neither Scythian, nor Thracian, nor Sarmatian, nor Indian, nor Moor, nor any wild folk, are accustomed to bring so fierce a war as wicked thoughts are into the depths of the soul, uncontrolled lust, love of money, vehement attachment to things. And it is certainly so, for the first is an external conflict and the latter internal, and what is born within us, compared to those things that come from without, is more grievous, and they are accustomed to be more violent, which may be seen in everything. For wood having worms born within it is more corrupt, and the health of the body suffers more harm by disease which arises from within than by that which comes from without, and cities are not so much by external enemies than by civic enemies destroyed; and so even the soul is not so much by external machinations sickened than by that which is born from within bringing ruin. Yet if a man have the fear of God he may suppress this conflict utterly, and give peace to the passions, and suppress the various uprisings of unseemly thoughts, not allowing them to linger in his interior, and this one is most great in his enjoyment of peace. This is the peace Christ's coming has given, and for this Paul prayed for the faithful,saying in each of his letters, 'Grace to you and peace from God our father.' For he who has this peace, not only he need not take fright at barbarous enemy and the devil himself, but every cohort of demons he may laugh at, and he is of all men cheerful, not oppressed by poverty, nor by disease and ill health weighed down, nor perturbed by any unforeseen event which befalls men, because his soul has strength and health by which he is most eminently and easily able to manage and temper these things. And that this you might know this to be true: if some man is envious, and no one bring war upon him, what does it benefit? For he brings war upon himself, as if his thoughts were a sharp sword thrusting into his interior in everything which seems to offend him and in each thing which happens among men by which he wounds himself, and he has no delight in anything but he sees everything as an enemy. What then is the use of external peace, when he is furious and maddened, the enemy of our common nature, and bears within himself such an internal war and a thousand arrows and shafts, and prefers to suffer a thousand deaths rather than see anyone else who is like him held in high regard? Again another may be gripped by a desire for wealth, and so he incites innumerable battles, and brawls, and uprisings in his own soul, and endless tumults and troubles, and he has no time to breathe. But it is not so with the one who is free from such passions, he is not moved in such a manner, but in a tranquil port he resides, and he feasts on wisdom, and no trouble he bears. Whence the fruitful foresight of the Prophet says, 'In peace I shall sleep and rest,' which means that to him who does not have peace, it is not that the common port of all is not open, but that it is obstructed, even in quiet and night.  Saint John Chrysostom, Exposition of the Psalms, Psalm 4 1 Ps 4 9-10 2 Ps 118.165

Shepherds And Angels

Οὐκ εἰς τὴν τῶν Ἰουδαίων συναγωγὴν εἰς Ἱεροσόλυμα πρὸς τοὺς ἱερεῖς καὶ γραμματεῖς καὶ Φαρισαίους ἀπέρχεται ὁ ἄγγελος· ἀλλὰ ποιμένας εὑρισκει ἀγραυλοῦντας, καὶ φυλάσσοντας φυλακὰς τῆς νυκτὸς ἐπὶ τὴν ποίμνην αὐτῶν· τούτοις γὰρ εὐαγγελίζεται τοῦ Σωτῆρος τὴν γέννησιν. Οὗτοι μὲν γὰρ ἄπλαστοι ἧσαν, τὴν παλαιὰν πολιτείαν ζηλοῦντες τῶν πετριαρχῶν. Ποιμένες γὰρ ἧσαν καὶ οὗτοι, οἱ καὶ δραμόντες τοῖς ἑτέροις καὶ ἀπηγγελλον. Ἐκεῖνοι γὰρ διεφθαρμένοι ὄντες τῷ φθονῷ, ἔμελλον κρύκτειν τὸ τῆς τοῦ κόσμου σωτηρίας μυστήριον. Ὠριγένης, Εἰς Το Κατα Λουκαν Εὐαγγελιον, Κεφ Α' Source: Migne PG 17.324b-c

The angel did not come to the priests of the synagogues of the Jews in Jerusalem, or the scribes, or the Pharisees, but he sought out the shepherds who were tending their flocks in the field and keeping guard over them in the night. 1 To these the good news of the birth of the Saviour was announced. They who were the simple folk, attending to the old way of the patriarchs; for they were shepherds. And they ran to others like them to announce the news. 2 For the mystery of the salvation of the world shall be hidden from those who are ruined by envy. Origen, Commentary On Luke, Chap 1, Fragment 1 Lk 2.8-9 2 Lk 2.18

The Devil and Evil

Πόθεν ὁ διάβολος, εἰ μὴ παρὰ Θεοῦ τὰ κακὰ; Τί οὖν φαμεν; Ὅτι ὁ αὐτὸς ὑμῖν ἀρκέσει καὶ περὶ τοῦ ζητήματος τούτου λογος, ὁ καὶ περὶ τῆς ἐν ἀνθρώποις μονηρίας ἀποδοθείς. Πόθεν γὰρ ποννρὸς ὁ ἄνθρωπος; Ἐκ τῆς οἰκείας οὐτοῦ προαιρέσεως. Πόθεν κακὸς ὁ διάβολος; Ἐκ τῆς αὐτῆς αἰτίας, αὐθαίρετον ἔχων καὶ αὐτός τὴν ζωὴν, καὶ ἐπ' αὐτῷ κειμένην τὴν ἐξουσίαν, ἤ παραμένειν τῷ Θεῷ, ἢ ἀλλοτριωθῆναι τοῦ ἀγαθοῦ. Γαβριὴλ ἄγγελος, καὶ παρέστηκε τῷ Θεῷ διηνεκῶς. Ὁ Σατανᾶς ἄγγελος, καὶ ἐξέπεσε τῆς οἰκείας τάξεως παντελῶς. Κἆκεῖνον ἡ προαίρεσις διεφύλαξεν ἐν τοῖς ἄνω, καὶ τοῦτον κατέῥῥιψε τῆς γνώμης τὸ αὐτεξούσιον. Ἐδύνατο γὰρ κἀκεῖνος ἀποστατῆσαι, καὶ οὖτος μὴ ἐκπεσεῖν. Ἀλλὰ τὸν μὲν διεσώσατο τῆς ἀγάπης τοῠ Θεοῦ τό ἀκόρεστον, τὸν δὲ ἀποβλητον ἔδειχεν ἡ ἐκ Θεοῦ ἀναχώρησις. Τούτο ἐστιν τὸ κακὸν, ἡ τοῦ Θεοῦ ἀλλοτρίωσις. Μικρὰ περιστροφὴ ὀφθαλμοῠ ἢ μετά ἡλίου ἡμᾶς εἶναι ποιεῖ, ἢ μετὰ τῆς σκιᾶς τοῦ σώματος ἡμῶν. Κἀκεῖ μέν ἀναβλέψατι ἔτοιμον τό φωτισθῆναι, ἀπονεύσαντι δὲ πρὸς τὴν σκιὰν ἀναγκαία ἡ σκότωσις. Οὔτω πονηρίαν, οὐ φύσις ἀντικειμένη τῷ ἀγαθῷ. Πόθεν οὖν αὐτῷ ὅ πρὸς ἡμᾶς πόλεμος; Ὅτι, δοζεῖον ὤν πάσης κακίας, ἐδέξατο καὶ τοῦ φθόνου τὴν νόσον, καὶ ἐβάσκηνεν ἡμῖν τῆς τιμῆς. Οὐ γὰρ ἤνεγκεν ἡμῶν τὴν ἅλυπον ζωὴν τὴν ἐν τῷ παραδέισῳ· δόλοις δὲ καὶ μηχαναῖς ἐξαπατήσας τὸν ἄνθρωπον, καὶ τὴν ἐπιθυμίαν αὐτοῦ, ἥν ἔσχε πρὸς τό ὁμοιωθῆναι τῷ Θεῷ, ταύτῃ πρὸς τὴν ἀπάτην ἀποχρήσαμενος, ἔδειξε τὸ ξύλον καὶ ἐπηγγείλατο δια τῆς βρώσεως αὐτοῦ ὅμοιον τῷ Θεῷ καταστήσειν. Ἐὰν γὰρ φάγητε, φησὶν, ἒσεσθε ὡς θεοι, γινώσκοντες καλὸν καὶ πονηρόν. Οὐκ ἐχθρὸς τοίνυν ἡμῖν κατεσκευασθη, ἀλλ' ἐκ ζηλοντυπίας ἡμῖν εἰς ἔχθραν ἀντικατέστη. Ὁρων γὰρ ἑαυτὸν ἐν τῶν ἀγγέλων καταῥῥιφέντα, οὐκ ἔφερε βλέπειν τὸν γήινον ἐπὶ τὴν ἀξίαν τῶν ἀγγέλων διὰ προκοπῆς ἀνυψούμενον. Ἅγιος Βασίλειος ὁ Μέγας, Ὁμιλία Ὁτι Οὐκ Ἐστιν Αἰτιος Των Κακων Ὁ Θεος.

Why is the devil sundered from God but by evil? What shall we say? The same reason that we gave for man's separation suffices for an answer to this question. Whence comes evil to man? From his own will. Whence comes evil to the devil? From the same cause. When he had freedom he could have either adhered to God in perseverance or separated himself from the good. Gabriel is an angel and stands with God.1 Satan was also an angel, and from that order cut himself off. One remained in heaven by free will the other by free will fell from there. For he was able to not do as he did and so not fall. But one delighted in the service of God and another made himself reprobate by withdrawing from God. This is evil: to withdraw from God. A little movement of the eye and one sees the sun, or one is in the shadow of one's body. Thus it may be seen with swift illumination that if one turns to shadows one will by necessity dwell in darkness. In this way the devil is evil, from freely choosing wickedness, not in nature being adversary to the good. Why then does he war against us? Because receptive of every evil he has received the infection of envy, and to plot against us is his glory. For he did not wound our life in paradise by a direct act, but with cunning and cleverness man was deceived, and that was his desire with the suggestion of becoming like God, and by use of lies, showing the tree, by promise of the future, that if one ate of it, one would become like God. 'For if , he said, you eat you shall be like gods knowing good and evil.'2 Thus he is not an enemy to us other that from envy he is made an enemy to us. For when he saw himself thrown from the angelic hosts and then that man, who was of earth, was to the dignity of angels able to be exalted by virtue, he was not able to endure it. Saint Basil of Caesarea, Homily on God not Being a Cause of Evil. 1 cf Lk 1.19 2.Gen 3.5

Present And Future

Ἀγνοεῖς μὲν τὴν ἀνταπόδοσιν, ὡς ἀβλεπτῶν πρὸς τὰ μέλλοντα. Οὐ μόνον δὲ ἐν τῷ μέλλονται κριτηρίῳ, ἀλλὰ καὶ ἐν τῷ παρόντι βίῳ τίνουσι δίκας οἱ βάσκανοι. Καὶ πειθέτο σε ἡ τοῦ Ἀχαὰβ Ἰεζάβελ, ἐπιμανεῖσα τῷ τοῦ Ναβουθὰ ἀμπελῶνι, καὶ νῦν μὲν βορὰ κυσὶ γενομένη, μετὰ ταῦτα δὲ τῷ αἰωνίῳ τηρουμένη. Ἅγιος Ἰσιδορου Του Πηλουσιωτου, Βιβλίον Πρῶτον, Ἐπιστολή ΣΛΖ', Ἡρμοκιανῳ

You do not know what you shall be given, so blind to the future. But not only in the future is there judgement, for even in this present life punishments hang over those who envy. Let the fate of Jezebel queen of Ahab persuade you, she who craved the vineyard of Naboath and swiftly become food for dogs, and afterwards in eternal fire she was placed. Saint Isidore of Pelusium, Book 1, Letter 237, to Hermocianos

Pride, Envy and the Devil

In hoc autem opere quaerendum est secundum sanctam Scripturam, quid de diabolo dicendum sit. Primo, utrum ab initio ipsius mundi sua potestate delectatus abstiterit ab illa societate et caritate, qua beati sunt Angeli qui fruuntur Deo; an aliquo tempore in sancto coetu fuerit Angelorum, etiam ipse pariter iustus, et pariter beatus. Nonnulli enim dicunt ipsum ei fuisse casum a supernis sedibus, quod inviderit homini facto ad imaginem Dei. Porro autem invidia sequitur superbiam, non praecedit: non enim causa superbiendi est invidia, sed causa invidendi superbia. Cum igitur superbia sit amor excellentiae propriae, invidentia vero sit odium felicitatis alienae, quid unde nascatur satis in promptu est. Amando enim quisque excellentiam suam, vel paribus invidet, quod ei coaequentur; vel inferioribus, ne sibi coaequentur; vel superioribus, quod eis non coaequetur. Superbiendo igitur invidus, non invidendo quisque superbus est. Superbiam amoremque sui perversum fontes esse omnium malorum. Sanctus Augustinus Hipponensis, De Genesi Ad Litteram

In this work we seek in accordance with Sacred Scripture what might be said of the devil. First, whether at the beginning, delighting in his own power, he fell away from that society and love by which the blessed angels are nourished, or whether for some time he was just and blessed. Some say that the fall from the high seats was on account of his envy of man made in the image of God. However, envy follows pride, it does precede it; the cause of pride is not envy but the cause of envy is pride. Since therefore pride is the love of one's excellence, envy is hatred of the happiness of another, from whence it is visibly born. Indeed someone loving his own excellence either envies equals because they are his equals, or inferiors lest they become equal, or superiors that they are not equal. Therefore the envious are proud, the proud are not envious. Pride, perverse love of self, is the font of all evil. Saint Augustine of Hippo, The Literal Interpretation of Genesis

Criticising Critics

O invidia primum mordax tui! O Satanae calliditas semper sancta persequens! Nullae aliae Romanae urbi fabulam praebuerunt, nisi Paula et Melanium, quae contemptis facultatibus, pignoribusque desertis, crucem Domini quasi quoddam pietatis levavere vexillum. Si balneas peterent, unguenta eligerent, divitias et viduitatem haberent materiam luxuriae et libertatis, dominae vocarentur, et sanctae. Nunc in sacco et cinere formosae volunt videri, et in gehennam ignis cum jejuniis, et pedore descendere: videlicet non eis licet applaudente populo perire cum turbis. Si gentiles hanc etiam carperent, si Judaei haberent solatium non placendi eis, quibus displicet Christus. Nunc vero, pro nefas! homines Christiani, praetermissa domorum suorum cura, et proprii oculi trahe neglecta, in alieno oculo festucam quaerunt. Lacerant santum propositum, et remedium poenae suae arbitrantur, si nemo sit sanctus: si omnibus detrahatur: si turba sit pereuntium: si multitudo peccantium. Sanctus Hieronymus, Epistola XLV Ad Asellam Source: Migne PL 22 481-2

O envy, biter first of yourself! O cunning of Satan, that always persecutes the holy! No other Roman lady was exposed to gossip but only Paula and Melanium, who, despising possessions and deserting families, lifted the Lord's cross as a standard of piety. If they had attended the baths, chosen perfumes, and used their wealth and status as widows to luxuriate and be independent, they would have been acclaimed as ladies of high rank and saints. But now since in sackcloth and ashes they wish to appear beautiful, they with their fasting and their dirt will tumble into the Gehenna of fire, for certainly it could not be that they would perish with the crowd whom the people applaud. If it were Gentiles snapping at them, if it were Jews they had not cared to please, well, so these too Christ displeased. But, in truth and for shame, it is Christians who overlook care for their own households and neglecting the beams in their own eyes look for motes in the eyes of others. They tear apart the holy way and so judge that they have found a remedy for their own punishment if no one is holy, if they can detract from every one, if they can show that the many perish and sinners are the multitude. Saint Jerome, from Letter 45, To Asella

The Inheritance Of The Wise

Itaque sicut iis quae in quodam censu imprudentiae atque intemperantiae sunt, abdicat se prudentia, abdicat continentia: ita eorum exsors omnis insipiens est atque incontinens, quae in bonis atque in haerediatet sapientis viri sunt et continentis. Denique santae illae tali conjugio Lia et Rachel, una laboriosa, altera aspirato fortis, refugientes non generis necessitudinem, sed morum discrepantiam; cum viri exerciti Jacob sermone edocatae essent, quod vellet discedere, ut Laban et filiorum ejus invidiam declinaret atque ignaviam, responderunt: Numquid est nobis portio aut haereditas in domo patris nostri? Nonne sicut alienae aestimamur ei? Vendidit enim nos, et devoravit pretium nostrum. Ecce primum, quia ignavus et invidus laboriosam et disciplinae tenacem alienart a se ac defugit, seseque cupit separare; quoniam eas oneri esse cernit sibi, putat se lucrum fecisse, quod alienavit eas, et hoc esse suum pretium judicat, eumque fructum voluptatis. Nunc audiamus quomodo quae habet virtus, non habeat ignavia; aiunt enim: Omnes divitiae et gloria, quam tulit Deus petri nostro, nobis erit, et filiis nostris. Merito, Deo arbitro, dicunt esse sublata, quia ipse est auctor bonorum, cujus gratia ignavi exuuntur; quia decorem haereditatis divinae capere improbi atque infirmi non queunt: succedit autem intentus, et spiritum in se fortis habens. Sanctus Ambrosius Mediolanensis, Epistola XXVII, Ad Irenaeum Source: Migne PL 16.1047b-1048a

Thus as wisdom and continence are removed from those who are found in the register of imprudence and intemperance, so the foolish and incontinent man is without a share in the inheritance of the wise and continent. Again, those women sanctified by their marriage, Leah and Rachel, the one name meaning laborious, the other strong breath, not shrinking from family ties but averse to a difference of manners, when taught by the much tried Jacob that he wished to depart that he avoid the envy and sloth of Laban and his sons, answered, 'Is there yet any portion or inheritance for us in our father's house? Are we not judged to be strangers by him? He has sold us and devoured our money.' 1 Behold first that the slothful and envious man alienates himself from strict discipline and flies from it, desiring to separate himself from it, because he sees that it will be a burden to him, and he judges he has profited to do so, and it is the fruit of his pleasure. Now let us hear how virtue has what sloth has not: they say, 'All the riches which God has taken from our father, shall be ours, and our children's.' 2 Rightly do they say that they were removed by God's judgement, for He is the creator of the good, for the sake of which slothful men are deprived; for immoral and weak men do not seek to grasp the beauty of the Divine inheritance; it is the resolute man who succeeds, he who has in himself a strong spirit. Saint Ambrose, from Letter 27, To Ireneaus. 1 Gen 31.14-15 2 Gen 31.26