Acquiring Greatness

Καὶ ἦλθον εἰς Καφαρναούμ. καὶ ἐν τῇ οἰκίᾳ γενόμενος ἐπηρώτα αὐτούς: τί ἐν τῇ ὁδῷ διελογίζεσθε; οἱ δὲ ἐσιώπων: πρὸς ἀλλήλους γὰρ διελέχθησαν ἐν τῇ ὁδῷ τίς μείζων. Kαὶ καθίσας ἐφώνησεν τοὺς δώδεκα, καὶ λέγει αὐτοῖς: εἴ τις θέλει πρῶτος εἶναι, ἔσται πάντων ἔσχατος καὶ πάντων διάκονος. Kαὶ λαβὼν παιδίον ἔστησεν αὐτὸ ἐν μέσῳ αὐτῶν, καὶ ἐναγκαλισάμενος αὐτὸ εἶπεν αὐτοῖς: ὃς ἂν ἓν τῶν τοιούτων παιδίων δέξηται ἐπὶ τῷ ὀνόματί μου, ἐμὲ δέχεται: καὶ ὃς ἂν ἐμὲ δέχηται, οὐκ ἐμὲ δέχεται ἀλλὰ τὸν ἀποστείλαντά με. Οἱ μαθητὰι ἔτι ἀνθρωπικώτερα φρονοῦτες, διεφιλονείκουν πρὸς ἀλλήλους περὶ τοῦ, ποῖος αὐτων μείζων ἐστὶ καὶ προτιμότερος παρὰ τῷ Χριστῷ. Ὁ δὲ Κύριος τὴν μὲν ἐπιθυμίαν τὴν τῆς προτιμήσεως οὐ κωλύει. Θέλει γὰρ ἡμᾶς ἐπιθυμεῖν τοῦ ἡψηλοτέρου βαθμοῦ. Οὐ μέντοι ἁρπάζειν ἡμᾶς βούλεται τὰ πρωτεῖα, ἀλλὰ διὰ τῆς ταπεινώσεως μᾶλλον κατακτᾶσθαι τὸ ὑψηλόν. Παιδίον γὰρ ἔστησεν εἰς τὸ μέσον, καὶ κατ' ἐκεῖνο γενέσθαι καὶ ἡμᾶς βούλεται. Τὸ γὰρ παιδίον· οὔτε δόξης ἐφίεται, οὔτε φθονεῖ οὔτε μνησικακεῖ. Καὶ οὐ μόνον, φησὶν, ἐὰν αὐτοὶ τοιοῦτοι γενήσεσθε, μισθὸν λήψεσθε μέγαν, ἀλλὰ κἂν ἑτέρους τοιούτους τιμήσητε δι' ἐμὲ, βασιλείαν οὐρανῶν ἀντιλάβοιτε. Ἐμὲ γὰρ δέχεσθε· ἐμὲ δὲ δεχόμενοι, δέχεσθε τὸν ἀποστείλαντά με. Ὁρᾷς οὖν πόσα δύναται ἡ ταπείνωσις, καὶ τὸ ἄπλαστον τοῦ τρόπου καὶ ἄδολον. Τὸν Υἱον γὰρ καὶ τὸν Πατέρα ἐνοικίζει ἐν ἡμῖν. Πρόδηλον δὲ ὅτι καὶ τὸ Πνεῦμα τὸ ἅγιον. Θεοφύλακτος Αχρίδος, Ἑρμηνεία Εἰς Τὸ Κατά Μάρκον Εὐαγγέλιον, Κεφ' Θ' Source: Migne PG 123.589c-d

They came to Capernaum, and when they were in the house, He asked them: What did you talk of in the way? They were silent, for in the way they had argued among themselves about who was the greatest. Sitting down, He called the twelve and said to them: 'If any man wishes to be first, he shall be the last of all and the servant of all.' And taking a child, He set him in the midst of them, and having embraced him, He said to them: 'Whoever shall receive one child like this in my name, he receives me. And whoever receives me, receives not me, but Him who sent me. 1 The disciples who were yet thinking in human terms, argued in the way about who was greater and more worthy to be with Christ. Now the Lord did not prohibit the desire for eminence, for He wishes us to aspire to come to a higher rank, but He does not want us to seize the first places as if they were plunder, but rather He wishes us to acquire the higher places by humility. For having placed the boy in the midst of them, He wishes us to become like him. For the boy does not desire glory, nor envies, not bears grudges. And not only, He says, if you become so will you receive a great reward, but if you honour these other ones because of me, you shall obtain the kingdom of heaven. For he who receives me, receives the one who sent me. See, then, how much humility can do, and simplicity and conduct which is without deceit. For it makes the Son and the Father dwell in us. 2 And most manifestly the Holy Spirit. Theophylact of Ochrid, Commentary On The Gospel Of Saint Mark, Chapter 9 1 Mk 9.31-36 2 Jn 14.23

Least And Greatest

Ὁ δὲ μικρότερος ἐν τῇ βασιλείᾳ τῶν οὐρανῶν μείζων αὐτοῦ ἐστιν. Φαμὲν τὸ μικρότερον περὶ αὐτοῦ λέγειν τοῦ Χριστοῦ· μικρότερον δὲ κατὰ τὴν δόκησιν τῶν ἀκουόντων. Τὸ δὲ, ἑν τῇ βασιλείᾳ τῶν οὐρανῶν, δηλοῖ ἐν τοῖς πνευματικοῖς, καὶ ἐν τοῖς κατ' οὐρανὸν ἄπασι καὶ θεῖκοῖς μείζονα ὑπάρχειν ἐκείνου τὸν Χριστόν. Οὕτως δὲ ἀναγνωσόμεθα, ὅτι, Μικρότερος· εἶτα, μικρὸν διαλιπόντες, ἐποίσομεν τὸ, Ἐν τῃ βασιλείᾳ τῶν οὐρανῶν μείζων αὐτοῦ ἐστιν. Ἡ δὲ βασιλεία τῶν οὐρανῶν αὐτός ἐστιν ὁ Χριστὸς, προτρεπόμενος πάντας εἰς μετάνοιαν, καὶ ἕλκων εἰς ἑαυτὸν διὰ τῆς χάριτος. Ὠριγένης, Εἰς Τὸ Κατὰ Ματθαιον Ἐπαγγελιον, Κεφ ΙΑ' Source: Migne PG 17.293a-b

But the least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than him. 1 We say that the 'least' concerning him speaks of Christ, and least according to the opinion of those listening. But 'in the kingdom of heaven' clearly refers to spiritual things and everything which pertains to heaven and Divinity, in which Christ is greater than him. So let us read it, that 'least' is as a leaving of a little thing, so that we make the 'in the kingdom of heaven is greater than him.' And the kingdom of heaven is Christ Himself, He who calls all to penitence, and draws them to Himself through grace. Origen, On the Gospel of St Matthew, Fragment 1 Mt 11.11

Giving And Receiving Goods

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

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

The Mustard Seed

Audistis hodie, fratres, quemadmodum grano sinapis tota regni coelestis comparata est magnitudo. Et quid est quod potestatem tantam, sic parva, sic minima immo minimorum minima similitudo concludit? Sic enim ait Dominus: Cui simile est regnum Dei? Et cui simile aestimabo illud? Cum dicit: Cui simile, quasi quaerentis indicat et producit affectum. Et ille solus Verbum, scientiae fons, dicendi flumen, qui omnium corda rigat, sensus aperit, ingenium dilatat, in invenienda similitudine nunc laborat? Sed quid invenerit audiamus. Simile est, inquit, regnum coelorum grano sinapis. Quaerens in coelo et in terra, nil invenit nisi granum sinapis, in quo potentiam totam supernae dominationis includat; et illud regnum singularitate potens, aeternitate felix, divinitate fulgens, diffusum toto coelo, tota terra dilatatum, in grani sinapis coarctat et concludit angustias. Simile est regnum coelorum grano sinapis. Spes ista est credentium tota? Exspectatio ista est fidelium summa? Ista est felicitas virginum longis continentiae laboribus comparata? Ista est gloria martyrum totius effusione sanguinis conquisita? Hoc est quod nec oculus vidit, nec auris audivit, nec in cor hominis ascendit? hoc est quod ineffabili sacramento diligentibus Deum promittit Apostolus esse praeparatum? Fratres, non facile Dominicis moveamur in dictis; nam si infirmum Dei, fortius est hominibus; et stultum Dei sapientius est hominibus, hoc minimum Dei tota magnitudine mundi magnificentius invenitur; si modo hoc granum sinapis nos sic nostris seminemus in mentibus, ut intelligentiae magnam nobis in arborem crescat, et sensus altitudine tota levetur ad coelum, ac totos scientiarum diffundatur in ramos atque ita ora nostra ferventia vivido fructus sui sapore succendat, et ita igne seminis sui toto nobis ardeat, et flammetur in pectore, atque nostrae ignorantiae totum nobis auferat sua degustatione fastidium. Simile est regnum coelorum grano sinapis, quod acceptum homo misit in hortum suum, et crevit, et factum est in arborem magnam, et volucres coeli requieverunt in ramis eius. Grani sinapis, sicut dicit, instar est regnum Dei, quod de supernis affertur verbo, suscipitur auditu, fide seritur, credulitate radicatur, spe crescit, confessione diffunditur, virtute tenditur, et dilatatur in ramos, ad quos vocat aves coeli, id est, spirituales sensus, atque in ipsis eas quieta suscipit mansione. Sanctus Petrus Chrysologus, Sermo XCVIII, De Parabola Grani Sinapis Source: Migne PL 52.474b-475b

You have heard today, brothers, that the whole greatness of the kingdom of heaven has been compared to a mustard seed. And how is it that such power is contained within something so small, so little, indeed is in the likeness of the littlest of little things? For the Lord says: 'To what shall I liken the kingdom of God? To what shall I compare it?' 1 When He says, 'To what shall I liken,' it shows Him as one who is as if seeking and producing an effect. And does that only Word, the fount of knowledge, the river of eloquence, who waters all hearts and opens all minds and expands all intellects, now toil in the finding of a likeness? Let us hear what He finds. 'The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed,' He says. Seeking in the heavens and the earth He finds nothing but a mustard seed in which the total power of the supernal realm might be encompassed, and that kingdom of singular power, that happiness in eternity, the Divine light, which brightens all the heavens, and stretches out across the whole earth, he narrows and closes up in the constricted space of a mustard seed? 'The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed.' This is the whole hope of believers? This is the consummation of the expectation of faithful? This is to be compared to the happiness of virgins after their long labours of contentince? This has been found to match the whole glory of the martyrs who poured out their blood? This is 'What the eye has not seen, and the ear not heard, nor has it arisen to the heart of a man?' 2 This is that ineffable mystery which is prepared for the lovers of God according to the promise of the Apostle? Brothers, let us not be so easily bewildered by the words of the Lord. 'For if the weakness of God is stronger than men, and the foolishness of God is wiser than men,' 3 this least thing of God is found to be more magnificent than the whole greatness of the world, if in this way we sow in our minds this mustard seed, so that a great tree of understanding grow up in us, and the whole height of the mind rise up to heaven, and in all the branches knowledge be diffused, so that our eager mouth is set alight with the lively taste of its fruit, and the fire of its seed burn all through us and flame up in the heart, and all the weakness of ignorance be driven out by its taste. 'The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed, which a man received and placed in his garden and it grew and it became a great tree and the birds of heaven rested on its branches.' The mustard seed, as He says, is an image of the kingdom of God, which is brought by the Word from the heights, and is received by hearing, and is planted by faith, and is rooted by belief, and it grows by hope, and it spreads by confession, and it stretches forth with virtue, and it expands its branches, to which it calls the birds of heaven, that is, the spiritual senses, which he receives in himself wit his place of peace. Saint Peter Chrysologus, from Sermon 98, On The Parable Of The Mustard Seed 1 Lk 13.18 2 1 Cor 2.9 3 1 Cor 1.25

Great Before The Lord

Et erit magnus coram Domino... Non corporis hic, sed animae magnitudinem declaravit. Est coram Domino magnitudo animae, magnitudo virtutis: est etiam parvitas animae, et pueritia virtutis. Juxta enim animae et corporis numeramus aetates, non pro ratione temporis, sed pro qualitate virtutis; ut vir perfectus ille dicatur, qui careat errore pueritiae, et lubricum adolescnetiae animi maturtiate non sentiat: pusillus autem, qui nullum adhuc virtutis videatur habuisse processum. Unde illud in Hieremia, cum misereretur Dominus deflentis Ephraem, et peccata propria deprecantis: ' A juventute, inquit, mea delictus mihi filius Ephraem, puer in deliciis. Si enim non fuisset puer in deliciis numquam peccavisset. Et bene utrumque dixit, et in deliciis, et puerum; est enim puer, qui non peccat: Ecce puer meus, quem elegi. Per delicias itaque peccavit, qui ita erat informatus a Domino, ut nescius esset erroris, Ergo et si puer in deliciis non fuisset, et si virum perfectum virtutis processisset aetate, numquam lapsus fuisset; ut illi necesse esset veniam suorum petere delictorum, cum magis meritorum praemia sperare deberet. Quid etiam Dominus noster in Evangelio videtur exprimere, cum dicit: 'Nolite contemnere unum ex pusillis istis' Sed loco suo plura serventur. Ergo pusillus contrarius est magno. Et si, juxta Apostolum, parvulus sub elementis est: 'Cum enim essemus parvuli, sub elementis hujus mundi eramus': ergo magnus supra elementa mundi est. Erit itaque Johannes magnus non virtute corporis sed animae magnitudine. Denique non fines alicujus propagavit imperii, non triumphos aliquos bellici certaminis adoreis praeoptavit, sed quod est amplius, in deserto praedicens, delicias hominum corporisque lasciviam magna animi virtute depressit. Parvulus ergo in saeculo magnus in spiritu. Sanctus Ambrosius Mediolanensis, Evangelii secundum Lucam, Liber I Source: Migne PL 15.1546b-d

And he will be great before the Lord... 1 Here it is not the body but the soul that declared greatness. In the presence of the Lord greatness of soul, is greatness in virtue; littleness of soul is a puerility of virtue. We may reckon age by the soul or by the body, but not by calculation of time, but on account of the quality of virtue, so that a man is said to be perfect who is free from the errors of youth, who on account of maturity of soul does not know the unstable ways of youth. He is very little who appears not to have progressed in virtue. Whence in Jeremiah when the Lord comforts the weeping and praying Ephraem and pardons his sins: 'From his youth, He says, beloved to me, my son Ephraem, a child in pleasures.' 2 For if he were not a child in pleasures he would never have sinned. And well it speaks of both crimes and of youth, for there is the boy who does not sin, 'Behold my son, whom I have chosen.' 3 By pleasure, then, he erred, he who thus shaped by the Lord so that he not know error. So if a boy has never been in error, and if he has advanced to the age of the perfect man of virtue, never would he have fallen, so that he would have to beg forgiveness for sins, when rather he would hope to gain the reward of  merit. Which even our Lord in the Gospel seems to express when He says, 'Do not treat one of these little ones with contempt.' 4 But in its place let there be greater guarding. Therefore little is contrary to great. And if, according to the Apostle, a little boy is beneath the elements: 'When we were little ones we were beneath the elements of this world,' 5 so he who is great is above the elements of the world. Thus John will be great, not by bodily strength, but by greatness of soul. He did not push forward the frontiers of some empire, he did not desire some triumphs with the spoils of war, but, what is greater, preaching in the desert, he crushed down the human enjoyments and the desires of the flesh by the greatness and strength of his soul. Little, then, in the world, great in spirit Saint Ambrose, from the Commentary The Gospel of Luke, Book 1 1 Lk 1.17 2 Jerem 31.20 3 Isaiah 43.10 4 Mt 18.10 5 Galat 4.10

The Way To Greatness

Tollite iugum meum super vos, et discite a me:  non mundum fabricare, non cuncta visibilia et invisibilia creare, non in ipso mundo miracula facere, et mortuos suscitare; sed quoniam mitis sum et humilis corde. Magnus esse vis, a minimo incipe. Cogitas magnam fabricam construere celsitudinis, de fundamento prius cogita humilitatis. Et quantam quisque vult et disponit superimponere molem aedificii, quanto erit maius aedificium, tanto altius fodit fundamentum. Et fabrica quidem cum construitur, in superna consurgit: qui autem fodit fundamentum, ad ima deprimitur. Ergo et fabrica ante celsitudinem humiliatur, et fastigium post humiliationem erigitur. Sanctus Augustinus Hipponensi, Sermo LXIX,Caput I, De verbis Evangelii Matthaei, 'Venite ad me, omnes qui laboratis et onerati estis.' Source: Migne PL 38.441

'Take up my yoke upon you and learn from me.' 1 Not to make the world, not to create all things visible and visible, not to perform miracles in this world and raise the dead, but because, 'I am meek and humble in heart.' 1 You wish to be great? Begin from the least. You think to raise a great building to the heavens? For the foundation first turn your thoughts to humility. And as much as any man wishes and is disposed to lay down a foundation for his building, so much more will he raise a better building the more deeply he establishes his foundation. And the maker who when he constructs will rise into the heights, is who digs deep his foundation and into the depths drives it. Therefore the maker is humbled before heaven, and after humiliation he is raised up to the heights. Saint Augustine of Hippo, from Sermon 69, Chapter 1, On The Words of the Gospel of Matthew, 'Come to me all you who labour and are burdened.' 1 Mt 11.29

Growth and Perfection

Δοκεῖ μοι, ὅτι ὥσπερ ἐν τοῖς ἀνθρωπίνοις σώμασίν ἐστι μεγέθη διάφορα, ὥς τινας μὲν εἶναι  μικροὺς, ἑτέρους δὲ μεγάλους, καὶ ἄλλους μεταξύ· καὶ πάλιν εἶναι μικρῶν διαφορὰς ἐπὶ πλεῖον ἤ ἔλαττον, ὄντων μικρῶν,  ὁμοίως καὶ μεγάλων, καὶ τῶν μεταξύ οὕτως καὶ ἐν ταῖς τῶν ἀνθρώπων ψυχαῖς ἐστί τινα χαρακτηρίζοντα τὴν μικρότητα αὐτῶν, καὶ ἄλλα τὴν, ἵν' οὔτως εἴπω, μεγαλειότητα, καὶ ἀπαξαπλῶς, ἀνάλογον τοῖς σωματικοῖς, τὴν μεταξύτητα. Ἀλλ' ἐπὶ μὲν τῶν σωμάτων οὐ παρὰ τὴν αἰτίαν τοῦ ἀνθρώπου, ἀλλὰ παρὰ τοὺς σπερματικοὺς λόγους, ὁ μέν τις ἐστὶ βραχὺς καὶ μικρὸς, ὁ δὲ μέγας, ὁ δὲ μεταξύ· ἐπὶ δὲ τῶν ψυχῶν, κιὰ τὸ ἡμῖν, καὶ αἱ τοιαίδε πράξεις, καὶ τὸ τοιοῦτον ἦθος τὴν αἰτίαν ἔχει τοῦ μέγαν τινας εἶναι, ἤ μικρὸν, ἤ ἐν τοῖς μεταξὺ τυγχάνειν· καὶ ἔστιν ἐκ τῶν ἐφ' ἡμῖν ἥτοι προκόπτειν τῇ ἡλικί ἐπιδιδόντα εἰς μέγεθος, ἢ μὴ προκόπτοντα εἰναι βραχύν. Και οὕτω γε ἀκούω περὶ τοῦ Σωτῆρος ἀναλαβόντος ἀνθρωπίνην ψυχὴν, τό· ' Ὁ Ἰησοῦς προέκοπτεν.' Ὡς γὰρ ἐκ τοῦ ἑφ' ἡμῖν τῆς ψυχῆς αὐτοῦ ἧν ἡ ἑν σοφίᾳ προκοπὴ καὶ χάριτι, οὑτω καὶ ἑν ἡλικίᾳ, καὶ ὁ Ἀπόστολος· ' Μέχρι καταντήσωμεν πάντες εἰς ἄνδρα τέλειον, εἰς μέτρον ἡλικίας τοῦ πληρώματος τέλειον, κατὰ τὸν ἔσω ἂνθρωπον νομιστέον τὸν διαβάντα τὰ τοῦ νηπίου, καὶ φθὰσαντα ἐπὶ τὸν ἂνδρα, καὶ καταργήσαντα τὰ τοῦ νηπίου, καὶ ἁπαξαπλῶς τελειώσαντα τὰ τοῦ ἀνδρός· οὕτω δ' ὑποληπτέον εἶναί τι καὶ μέτρον πνευματικῆς ἡλικίαη, ἐφ' ὅ ἡ τελειοτάτη δύναται φθάσαι ψυχὴ ἐκ τοῦ μεγαλύνειν τὸν Κύριον, καὶ μεγάλη γίνεσθαι. Ὠριγένης, Κατὰ Ματθαιον Ἐξηγητικων, Τομος ΙΓ'

It seems to me that as among the bodies of men there are differences of size, so some are little and others great and others of middling height, and, again, there are differences among the little, as they are more or less little, and it is so with the great, and with those of middle height, so also among the souls of men there are some things which give them the mark of littleness, and other things, one may say, the mark of greatness, and generally, after the analogy of bodily things, other things the mark of mediocrity. But for bodies this is not caused by the action of men but for genetic reasons, that one is short and little, another great, and another is middling, but for souls it is we, our actions of such a kind and habits of such a kind, who give the cause why we are  great or little or middling, and it is we who because we advance in stature increase our size, or because we do not advance are short. And so indeed I understand what is said of Jesus having taken a human soul, 'Jesus advanced.' 1 For as with us, there was an advance of His soul in wisdom and grace, and so also in stature, and the Apostle says, 'Until we all attain to man fully grown, to the perfect measure of the age of fullness,' 2 according to which it should be thought that he is a man who has gone through the things of the child, and has reached the stage of the man, and has left behind the things of the child, and generally, has perfected the things of the man. And so it should be supposed that there is a certain measure of spiritual stature to which the most perfect soul is able to reach by magnifying the Lord, and become great. Origen, Commentary on Matthew, Book 13 1 Lk 2:52 2Eph 4:13

Vanity of Vanities

Vanitas vanitatum, dixit Ecclesiastes: Vanitas vanitatum, et omnia vanitas.  Si cuncta quae fecit Deus, valde bona sunt, quomodo omnia vanitas, et non solum vanitas, verum etiam vanitas vanitatem? Ut sicut in Canticis canticorum inter omnia carmina, excellens carmen ostenditur: ita in vanitate vanitatum, vanitatis magnitudo monstretur. Tale quid in Psalmo scriptum est: 'Verumtamen universa vanitas, omnis homo vivens.' Si vivens homo vanitas est: ergo mortus vanitas vanitatum. Legimus in Exodo, glorificatum vultum Mousi in tantum, ut filii Isreal eum aspicere non possent. Quam gloriam Paulus apostolus ad comparationem evangelicae gloriae, dicit esse non gloriam: Nam nec glorificatum est, inquit, 'quod glorificatum fuit in hac parte, propter exellentem gloriam.' Possumus igitur et nos in hunc modum, caelum, terram, maria, et omnia quae in hoc circulo continentur, bona quidem per se dicere, sed ad Deum comparata, esse pro nihilo. Et quomodo, si igniculum lucernae videns, contentus essem ejus lumine, et postea, orto sole, non cernerem, quod lucebat, stellarum quoque lumina jubare viderem solis abscondi: ita aspiciens elementa et rerum multiplicem varietatem, admiror quidem operum magnitudinem; recogitans autem omnia pertransire, et mundum suo fine senescere, solumque Deum id semper esse quod fuerit, compellor dicere non semel, sed bis: Vanitas vanitatem et omnia vanitas. Sanctus Hieronimus, Commentarius in Ecclesiasten

'Vanity of vanities,' says Ecclesiastes, 'vanity of vanities and everything a vanity.' If everything which God made was very good, how is everything a vanity and not only a vanity but even a vanity of vanities? As by the title the Song of Songs is shown to be of all songs the most excellent so in the title vanity of vanities the greatness of the vanity is shown. So it is written in the Psalm: 'Truly everything is a vanity, every man alive,' and thus a dead man would be the vanity of vanities. We read in Exodus that the glorified face of Moses was such that the sons of Israel were not able to look on him. Which glory, the Apostle Paul said, when compared to the evangelical glory was no glory: 'For it was not glorious,' he said, 'that it was glorious in this way, on account of the greater excellence of glory.' Therefore we are able to say that the sky, earth, seas and everything this globe contains is a certain good but compared to God it is as nothing. It is as when the light of a small flame is seen and one is content with its light but afterward, with the sun rising, one does not see what shone. Or as the light of stars may be seen only when the radiance  of the sun has departed. Thus seeing the elements and the multiplicity of things I admire a certain greatness of the work yet recognising that all of it is transient and the world will come to its end and only God will always be, and so I am compelled to say not once but twice, 'Vanity of vanities and everything a vanity.' Saint Jerome, Commentary on Ecclesiastes

Capturing Pupils

Συνδήσασθαι πάντα τρόπον ἐμηχανήσατο· πάντας λόγους στρέφων, καὶ πάντα κάλων, τοῦτο δὴ τὸ τοῦ λόγου, κινῶν, καὶ πάσας τὰς δυνάμεις αὐτοῦ προχειριζόμενος· ἐπαινῶν μὲν φιλοσοφίας ἐραστὰς, μακροῖς τοῖς ἐπαίνοις καὶ πολλοῖς τοῖς τε προσήκουσι· τούτους μόνους ζῇν ὅντως τὸν λογικοῖς προσήκοντα βίον, λέγων, τοὺς ὀρθῶς βιοῦν ἐπιτηδεύοντας, ἑαυτούς τε γινώσκοντας, πρῶτον οἴτινές εἰσι, κὰπειτα τὰ ὅντως ἀγαθὰ ἂ μεταδιώκειν ἄνθρωπον χρὴ καὶ τὰ ἀληθῶς κακὰ ὦν ἀποτρέχειν δεῖ ψέγωεν δὲ τὴν ἀμαθίαν, καὶ πάντας τοὺς ἀμαθεῖς· πολλοὶ δὲ οὖτοι ὅσοι θρεμμάτων δίκην τυφλώττοντες τὸν νοῦν, οὐδ' αὐτὸ τοῦτο ὅπερ εἰσὶν ἐγνωκότες, ὥσπερ ἄλογοι πεπλανημένοι, ἀγαθὸν ἢ κακὸν ὅ τί ποτέ ἐστιν, ὅλως οὔτε εἰδότες αὐτοὶ, οὐτε μαθεῖν θέλοντες, ὡς ἐπὶ ἀγαθὸν ᾄττουσι καὶ ἐπτόηνται, χρήματα καὶ δόξας καὶ τιμὰς τὰς ἀπὸ τῶν πολλῶν καὶ τὴν τοῦ σώματος εὐεξίαν· αὐτά τε περὶ πολλοῦ καὶ τοῦ παντὸς τιθέμενοι, καὶ τῶν τεχνῶν ὅσαι ταῦτα ἐκπορίζεσθαι δύνανται, καὶ ρῶν βίων ὅσοι ταῦτα παρέξονται, στρατιὰς καὶ τὴν δικανικὴν καὶ ἐκμάθησιν τὴν τῶν νόμων· ταῦθ' ἄπερ ἡμᾶς ἀνέσειε, μάλιστα λέγων καὶ μάλα τεχνικῶς, τοῦ κυριωτάτου, φησὶ, τῶν ἐν ἡμῖν λόγον ἀμελήσαντας. Οὐκ ἔχω νῦν ἐγὼ λέγειν, ὅσας τοιαύτας ἐξήχει φωνὰς, προτρέπων φιλοσοφεῖν· οὐ μιᾶς ἡμέρας μόνης, ἀλλὰ καὶ πλειόνων ὅσωεν αὐτῷ προσήειμεν τῶν πρώτων, βεβλημένοι μὲν ὥσπερ τινὶ βέλει τῷ παρ' αὐτοῦ λόγῳ καὶ ἐκ πρώτης ἡλικίας, ἥν γάρ πως καὶ ἡδείᾳ τινὶ χάριτι καὶ πειθοῖ καὶ τινι ἀναγκῃ μεμιγμένος, στρεφόμενοι δέ πως ἔτι καὶ λογιζόμενοι· καὶ φιλοσοφεῖν μὲν προσκαρτερήσαντες οὐδέπω πάντη πεπεισμένοι, ἀφίστασθαι δὲ πάλιν οὐκ οἶδ' ὅπως, οὐ δυνάμενοι· ἀεὶ δὲ ὥσπερ ὑπό τισιν ἀνάγκαις μείζοσι τοῖς λόγοις αὐτοῦ πρὸς αὐτὸν ἐλκόμενοι.   Ἅγιος Γρηγόριος ὁ θαυματουργός, Εἰς Ὀριγένην Προσφώνητικος

He strove by all means to associate us with him, turning to all arguments, and putting every rope in motion, as the saying goes, and bringing all his powers to bear. He praised the lovers of philosophy with many long speeches, praising those only who live truly a reasonable life, those who pursue an upright life and knowledge of themselves, saying first what sort of persons they are and then the things that are truly good which man should pursue and then the the things that are truly evil which one should flee, and ignorance and all the unlearned, the many who are blind in their minds like cattle, not knowing who they are, like those who wander lacking reason,  knowing not what is good and what is evil, nor do they wish to know, but for their good they strive for riches and glory and glory and honour from the crowd, and the comforts of the body, for they place great value on all such things, or even deem them worth everything, and also the arts by which these things can be acquired, and the ways of life which bring them: the military, the juridical, and the study of law. With pressing and skilful words he said to us that such things would ruin us when we have no care for the reason which should be master of us. I cannot tell now all the speeches like this with which he inclined us to philosophy, nor was it only for a day but for many days that he dealt with us so, as often as we went to him from the first, and we were transfixed as by a shaft by his reasoning from the beginning, for he was possessed of a mix of sweetness and grace and persuasiveness and restraint, and though we still wavered and pondered the matter, not being fully persuaded to be attached to philosophy, yet we were not able to draw ourselves away, for we were always drawn towards him, as by some necessity, by the greatness of his reasons. Saint Gregory Thaumaturgus, Oration to Origen

The Work of an Empress

Ἐἰκε δέ καὶ ἀλλην ἀφορμὴν ὠφελείας ὁ Βασιλεύς. Ἡ γὰρ τοῦ γάμου τὸν ζυγὸν μετ’ αὐτοῦ δεξαμένη, τῶν θείων αυτῷ συνεχῶς ἀνεμίμνησκε νόμων, ἑαυτὴν τούτους πρῶτον ἀκριβῶς ἐκπαιδεύσασα. Οὐ γὰρ ἑπῆρεν αὐτὴν τῆς βασιλείας ἡ δυναστεία, ἀλλὰ τὸν θεῖον πλέον ἐπύρσευσε πόθον. Τῆς γάρ εὐεργεσίας τὸ μέγεθος μεῖζον τὸ περὶ τὸν εὐεργέτην εἰργάζετο φίλτρον. Αὐτίκα γοῦν καὶ τῶν τὸ σῶμα πεπηρωμένων, καὶ ἀπαντα τὰ μέλη λελωβημένη, παντοδαπὴν ἐποιεῖτο φροντίδα, οὐκ οἰκέταις, οὐδὲ δορυφόποις ὑπουργοῖς κεχρημένη, ἀλλ’ αὐτουργός γιγνομένη, καὶ εἰς τὰς τούτων καταγωράς ἀφικνουμένη, καὶ ἐκαστῳ τὴν χρείαν πορίζουσα. Οὐτω καὶ τῶν ἐκκλησιῶν τοὺς ξενῶνας περινοστοῦσα τοὺς κλινουπετεῖς δι’ ἐαυτῆς ἑνοσήλευεν, ἀῦτη καὶ χύτρας ἀπτομένη, καὶ ζωμοῦ γευομένη, καὶ τρύβλιον προσφέρουσα, καὶ ἄρτον κλῶσα, καὶ ψωμοὺς ὀρέγουσα, καὶ κύλικα ἀποκλύζουσα, καὶ τάλλα πάντα ἐργαζομένη, ὄσα οἰκετῶν καὶ θεραπαινίσων ἔργα νενόμισται. Καὶ τοῖς τὴν αὐτοργίαν ἐπέχειν πειρωμένοις ἐπέλεγεν, ὡς Τὸ μὲν χρυσίον διανέμειν τῇ βασιλείᾳ προσήκει· ἐγὼ δὲ ὑπὲρ αὐτῆς γε βασιλείας τὴν αὐτουργίαν τᾡ δεδωκότι προσφέρω.   Θεοδωρητος Ἐπισκοπος Κυρρος, Ἐκκλησιαστίκη Ἱστορία

And the Emperor had another occasion for improvement, for Flacilla, she given to the yoke of marriage with him, often reminded him of the Divine laws, a matter in which she had first carefully educated herself. For she was not exalted by the royal power, but she was rather inflamed by it with longing for the Divine; the magnitude of the greatness given to her making the love for Him who gave it all the greater. To the maimed and the mutilated she directed her attention, and not requiring assistance from her household and guards, she herself went to the resting houses, bringing what each one there needed. She also went around the guest chambers of the churches and herself nursed those laying therein, herself handling pots and pans, tasting soup, bringing in bowls, breaking bread, offering morsels, washing cups, and doing all such work which is proper to servants and maids. And to those who attempted to stop her doing these things she would say, ' As it befits a sovereign to hand out gold; I, on account of the sovereign power that has been given me, bring my service to He who gave it.' Theodoret of Cyrrhus, Ecclesiastical History

The Great Work Of Man

Εἶπεν ὁ ἀββᾰς ᾽Αντώνιος τῷ ἀββᾷ Ποιμενι, ὅτι αὕτη ἐστὶν ἡ μεγάλη ἐργασια τοῦ ἀνθρωπου, ἴνα τὸ σφάλμα ἑαυτοῦ ἐπάνω ἑαυτοῦ βαλῃ ἐνώπιον τοῦ θεοῦ, και προσδοκήσῃ πειρασμον ἓως ἐσχάτης ἀναπνοῆς.  ᾽Αποφθεγματα των ἀγιων γεροντων, Παλλαδιος Source: Migne PG 65.77

Father Anthony said to Father Poemen, 'This is the great work of man, that he takes his faults on himself in the presence of God and expects trials until the last breath.' Sayings of the Fathers, Palladius of Galatia