Joseph The Slave

Madianitae vendiderunt Joseph in Aegypto Putiphari eunucho Pharaonis, magistro militum. Caeterum quod ad moralem pertinet locum, quia omnes vult salvos fieri Dominus Deus noster, dedit per Joseph etiam iis qui sunt in servitute solatium: attribuit magisterium; ut discerent etiam in ultima conditione posse mores esse superiores, nec ullum statum immunem esse virtutis, si animus se uniuscujusque cognoscat; carnem servituti subditam esse, non mentem; multosque servulos esse dominis liberiores, si in servitute positi a servilibus putent operibus abstinendum. Servile est omne peccatum, libera est innocentia. Unde et Dominus ait: Omnis qui facit peccatum, servus est peccati. Quomodo enim non servus omnis avarus, qui pro exigno pecuniae lucello se ipsum auctionatur? Timet omnia, ne congesta amittat, qui non utenda congessit, majore periculo servaturus quo majora quaesivit. Quomodo non mendicus, cui sunt parva quae possidet? Nam etsi mihi dives videatur, sibi eget: nec testimoniis sua vota solatur, qui quod optat nescit credere. Quomodo autem non et ille servus, qui subditus est libidini? Primum suis ardet incendiis, et pectoris sui facibus exuritur. Quibus recte dicit propheta: Ambulate in lumine ignis vestri, et in flamma quam accendistis. Suscipit omnes metus, insidiatur somno singulorum: ut unius cupiditate potiatur, fit servus omnium. Servit igitur hanc miseram quidem servitutem, qui ipse sibi dominos facit, ipse vult habere quos timeat. Nihil enim tam speciale servitutis est, quam semper timere. Ille vero in quavis conditione servitii semper liber, qui mundi amore non capitur, avaritiae vinculis non tenetur, metu criminis non alligatur, qui securus spectat praesentia, quem futura non terrent. Nonne videtur tibi iste in servitute dominari: ille autem in libertate servire? Serviebat Joseph, regnabat Pharao: beatior hujus servitus, quam regnum illius. Denique tota Aegyptus collapsa esset fame, nisi regnum suum consilio servuli subdidisset. Sanctus Ambrosius Mediolanensis, De Jospeph Patriarca, Caput IV Source: Migne PL 14.649b-650b

The Madianites sold Joseph in Egypt to Putiphar, an eunuch of Pharaoh, captain of the soldiers. 1 Now let us look to the moral of the passage. Because the Lord wishes to save everyone He gives comfort through Joseph to those who are slaves, and adds a teaching, so that they might learn that even in the lowest state it is possible to have better ways and that no state is shut off from virtue, if the soul of a man knows itself, and that it is the flesh that is subject to servitude and not the mind. Many slaves are more free than their masters if set in slavery they think to abstain from servile works. Every sin is slavish and innocence is freedom. Hence the Lord says, 'Everyone who sins is a slave to sin.' 2 For how is every avaricious man not a slave, who for even a tiny profit will put himself up for sale? He fears everything, lest he lose what he has gathered, he who cannot use what he has gathered, and with greater peril he becomes more slavish the more he has sought. How is he not a beggar for whom what he does possess is little? For even if he seems to be rich he is needy in himself. Nor does he soothe his desires with proofs, he who does not know how to believe what he hopes for. And how is he not a slave who is subdued to lust? First he burns with his own flames and then he burns up with the deeds of his heart. To such men the prophet rightly says, 'Walk in the light of your own fire, and in the flame you have kindled.' 3 Fear takes hold of everyone of them, it stalks the sleep of each one of them, the desire of one man makes him a slave of all. He serves in a wretched servitude who makes masters for himself, he who wishes to have what will make him fearful. There is no more certain a slavery than to be always afraid. But he who is a state of slavery is free if he is not seized by the love of the world, and if he is not held by the chains of avarice, and if not bound by the fear of evil, if he can look securely on present things and not be terrified by the future. Does it not seem to you that he rules in slavery and another man with his freedom is a slave? Joseph was a slave, Pharaoh reigned, but more blessed was the servitude of the former than the rule of the latter. Then all Egypt would have been ruined by famine if its ruler had not bowed to the counsel of a slave. Saint Ambrose, On The Patriarch Joseph, Chapter 4 1 Gen 37.36 2 Jn 8.34 3 Isaiah 50.11

Joseph And The Resurrection

Et accesserunt, inquit, ad illum, et dixit: Ego sum Joseph frater vester, quem vos tradidistis in Aegyptum. Nunc ergo nolite moesti esse, neque obis durum videatur, quoniam huc me vendidistis. Ad vitam enim vestram misit me Deus ante vos. Quam fraterna pietas, quam dulcis germanitas, ut etiam parricidale excusaret admissum, dicens divinae illud providentiae fuisse, non impietatis humanae: quandoquidem non ab hominibus oblatus ad mortem, sed a Domino missus sit ad vitam. Quid aliud habet illa Domini nostri Jesu Christi, qui fratres omnes pietate superavit, in cruce positi intercessio pro plebe, dicentis: Pater, dimitte illis; non enim sciunt quid faciunt? Quid aliud illa appellatio sanctitatis in medio discipulorum dicentis: Pax vobis: ego sum, nolite timere? Et cum conturbati et conterriti existimarent se spiritum videre, iterum dixit ad illos: Quid turbatis estis, et quare cogitationes ascendunt in corda vestra? Videte, ecce manus meas, et pedes meos, quia ego sum ipse. Palpate, et videte, quia spiritus carnem et ossa non habet, sicut me videtis habere. Haec ergo jam tunc futura posterioribus temporibus mysteria revelata sunt. Sanctus Ambrosius Mediolanensis, De Jospeph Patriarca, Caput XII Source: Migne PL 14.667c-668a

And they came near to him and he said, 'I am Joseph, your brother, whom you sold off to Egypt. Now do not be troubled, nor let it seem hard to you, because you sold me here, for God sent me before you for your life.' 1 What fraternal piety, what sweet fellowship, that he would even excuse a murderous deed in saying it was a matter of Divine providence and not human wickedness, and that he was not handed over to death by men but sent by the Lord for life. Does this not have something of our Lord Jesus Christ in it, He who exceeded all brothers in piety and who placed on the cross prayed for the people, saying, 'Forgive them, Father, for they do not know what they do?' 2 Does it not have something of that appeal of sanctity which in the midst of the disciples said, 'Be at peace. It is me. Do not be afraid.'? And when they were troubled and thought him a ghost, again He said to them, 'Why are you troubled and why do your thoughts leap up in your hearts? See my hands and my feet, it is me. Touch and see, because a spirit does not have flesh and blood, as you see I have.' 3 Therefore even then the mysteries that were to come to be in later times were already revealed. Saint Ambrose, On The Patriarch Joseph, Chapter 12 1 Gen 45.4-5 2 Lk 23.34 3 Lk 23.38-39

Bringing Forth A Son

Et pariet filium, vocabis nomen ejus Jesum. Non dixit, Pariet tibi filium, sicut ad Zachariam: Ecce Elizabeth uxor tua concipiet et pariet tibi filium: quia mulier, quae ex viro concipit, marito suo filium parit: quia magis illo est, quam de ipsa. Haec autem, quae non de viro conceperat, non filium illi peperit, sed sibi tantummodo. Vide quomodo similitudinem ipsius rei per omnia sequitur, qua facta est in Adam. Sicut enim tunc mulier gustans de ligno, sola seducta est, et peperit mortem; Adam autem non fuit particeps in seductione illius; non enim a diabolo seductus peccavit, sed quia consensit mulieri: sic et modo accipiens Maria de Spiritu sancto, sola credidit, dicens, Ecce jam nunc beatam me dicent omnes generationes. Joseph autem tunc in fide conceptionis illius nihil habuit commune, sed postea tacendo et consentidendo tantum salvatus est. Ideo et in somniis adstitit ei, non palam: ut quemadmodum dormiente Adam creavit mulierem, sic et isti dormienti divintus consignaret uxorem. Opus Imperfectum in Matthaeum, Homilia I Source: Migne PG 56.634

And she shall bring forth a son, and you shall call His name Jesus. 1 The angel did not say to Joseph, 'She shall bear you a son,' as was said to Zachariah, 'Behold Elizabeth your wife shall conceive and bring forth a son for you,' 2 because that woman conceived from a man, and brought forth a son for her husband, but Mary, who did not conceive from a man, did not bring forth a son for Joseph, but for herself alone. See how a likeness in this follows through everything that was done in Adam. As then the woman tasted from the tree, and was alone seduced and brought forth death, and Adam did not participate in her seduction, for he did not sin by the devil's persuasion but consented to the the woman, so Mary receiving the Holy Spirit, alone believed, saying, 'Behold, now all generations shall call me blessed.' 3 And Joseph then in the faith of conception had no share, but later by his silence and consent he was saved. Therefore the angel came to him in his dreams and not openly, so that as from the sleeping Adam woman was created, so even with him asleep the Divine bore witness to his wife. Opus Imperfectum on Matthew, from Homily 1 1 Mt 1.21 2 Lk 1.13 3 Lk 1.48

Suffering And Blessings

Mακάριοι οἱ δεδιωγμένοι ἕνεκεν δικαιοσύνης, ὅτι αὐτῶν ἐστιν ἡ βασιλεία τῶν οὐρανῶν Τίς οὐκ οἶδεν, ὅσῳ τοῦ ἀγαπᾶσθαι τὸ ἐπιβουλεύεσθαι χαλεπώτερον κέκριται; Τοῦτο µέν τοι πολλάκις τὸ δοκοῦν χαλεπὸν, καὶ τῆς κατὰ τὸν βίον τοῦτον εὐκληρίας πολλοῖς αἴτιον γίνεται, οἷον περὶ τοῦ Ἰωσὴφ ὁ λόγος ἐνδείκνυται· ὃς ἐπιβουλευθεὶς παρὰ τῶν ἀδελφῶν, καὶ τῆς µετ' αὐτῶν συν διαγωγῆς ἀπελαθεὶς, διὰ τῆς πράσεως βασιλεὺς ἀν εδείχθη τῶν ἐπιβεβουλευκότων, οὐκ ἂν ἴσως προελθὼν ἐπὶ τὸ τηλικοῦτον ἀξίωµα, µὴ τοῦ φθόνου διὰ τῆς ἐπιβουλῆς ἐκείνης τὴν βασιλείαν ὁδοποιήσαντος. Ὥσπερ τοίνυν εἴ τις τοῦ µέλλοντος τὴν γνῶσιν ἔχων, προεῖπε τῷ Ἰωσὴφ, ὅτι Ἐπιβουλευθεὶς µακάριος ἔσῃ, οὐκ ἂν ἐκ τοῦ προχείρου πιθανὸς ἔδοξε τῷ ἀκούοντι, πρὸς τὸ παραχρῆµα λυπηρὸν ὁρῶντι· οὐ γὰρ ἂν ᾠήθη δυνατὸν εἶναι κακῆς προαιρέσεως ἀγαθὸν ἀνα δειχθῆναι τὸ πέρας· οὕτω δὴ καὶ ἐνταῦθα ὁ τῶν τυράννων τοῖς πιστοῖς ἐπαγόµενος διωγµὸς, πολὺ κατὰ τὴν αἴσθησιν τὸ ἀλγεινὸν ἔχων, δυσπαράδεκτον ποιεῖ τοῖς σαρκωδεστέροις τὴν διὰ τῶν ἀλγεινῶν αὐτοῖς προκειµένην τῆς βασιλείας ἐλπίδα· ἀλλ' ὁ Κύριος τὸ σαθρὸν ὑπεριδὼν τῆς φύσεως, προαναφωνεῖ τοῖς ἀσθενεστέροις, οἷόν ἐστι τῆς ἀγωνίας τὸ πέρας, ἵνα τῇ τῆς βασιλείας ἐλπίδι τὴν πρόσκαιρον τῶν ἀλγεινῶν αἴσθησιν εὐκόλως καταπαλαίσωσιν. Ἅγιος Γρηγόριος Νύσσης, Εἰς Τους Μακαρισμους, Λόγος Ηʹ Source: Migne PG 44.1296a-b

Blessed are those who suffer persecution for the sake of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. 1 Who does not know how more difficult it is to bear if instead of being loved we are schemed against? Yet often what seems hard becomes a cause of happiness for many even in this life, which is shown in the story of Joseph, he who was plotted against by his brothers and they expelled him from their company, but because of this he became the king of those who had plotted, 1 and perhaps he would not have attained to such great dignity had not the envy of the plotters made a way for that kingdom. If, then, someone who had knowledge of the future had told Joseph, 'You are being plotted against, you will be blessed,' it would not have appeared immediately believable to him who heard, for looking only to present distress, he would not have thought it possible that evil purpose could reach a good end. So here the persecution of the faithful by tyrants, in which there is much material pain, makes it difficult for those who are more worldly minded to admit the hope of the kingdom that is to be brought forth by these pains, but the Lord, looking down on the infirmity of our nature, foretells to the weak what the goal of the struggle is, so that with hope of the kingdom they more easily triumph over the transient feelings of pain. Saint Gregory of Nyssa, On The Beatitudes, from the Eighth Oration 1 Mt 5.10 2 Gen 37-45

Gifts And Meekness

Ὁ Ἰακὼβ τῷ Ἰωσὴφ χιτῶνα ποικίλον ἐποίησε, καὶ ὁ Κύριος τῷ πραεῖ γνῶσιν ἀληθείας χαρίζεται, καθὰ γέγραπται, ὅτι Διδἀξει πραεῖς ὁδοὺς αὐτοῦ. Ἅγιος Μάρκος ὁ Ἐρημίτης, Περὶ Νόμου Πνευματικοῦ Source: Migne PG 65.929b

Jacob made a coat of many colours for his son Joseph, and the Lord gives the gift of the knowledge of the truth to the meek, as it is written, 'He shall teach the meek His ways.' 1 Saint Mark The Ascetic, On The Spiritual Law. 1 Ps 34.9

Slave And Free

Caeterum quod ad moralem pertinet locum, quia omnes vult salvos fieri Dominus Deus noster, dedit per Joseph etiam iis qui sunt in servitute solatium: attribuit magisterium; ut discerent etiam in ultima conditione posse mores esse superiores, nec ullum statum immunem esse virtutis, si animus se uniuscujusque cognoscat: carnem servituti subditam esse, non mentem: multosque servulos esse dominis liberiores, si in servitute positi a servilibus putent operibus abstinendum. Servile est omne peccatum, libera est innocentia. Unde et Dominus ait: 'Omnis qui facit peccatum, servus est peccati. Quomodo enim non servus omnis avarus, qui pro exiguo pecuniae lucello se ipsum auctionatur? Timet omnia, ne congesta amittat, qui non utenda congessit, majore periculo servaturus quo majora quaesivit. Quomodo non mendicus, cui sunt parva quae possidet? Nam etsi mihi dives videatur, sibi eget: nec testimoniis sua vota solatur, qui quod optat nescit credere. Quomodo autem non et ille servus, qui subditus est libidini? Primum suis ardet incendiis, et pectoris sui facibus exuritur. Quibus recte dicit propheta: Ambulate in lumine ignis vestri, et in flamma quam accendistis. Suscepit omnes metus, insidiatur somno singulorum; ut unius cupiditate potiatur, fit servus omnium. Servit igitur hanc miseram quidem servitutem, qui ipse sibi dominos facit, ipse vult habere quos timeat. Nihil enim tam speciale servitutis est, quam semper timere ille vero in quavis conditione servitii semper liber, qui mundi amore non capitur, avaritiae vinculis non tenetur, metu criminis non alligatur, qui securus spectat praesentia, quem futura non terrent. Nonne videtur tibi iste in servitude dominari: ille autem in libertate servire? Serviebat Joseph, regnabat Pharao: beatior hujus servitus, quam regnum illius. Denique tota Aegyptus collapsa esset fame, nisi regnum suum consilio servuli subdidisset. Sanctus Ambrosius Mediolanensis, De Jospeph Patriarca, Caput IV Source: Migne PL 14.649c-650b

There are other things which pertain to the moral of this passage. Because the Lord wishes everyone to be saved, He gave through Joseph a comfort to those who are in a state of servitude, he gave a teaching, that they learn even in this least condition to be greater in conduct, for there is no pure state of virtue if a man does not know his soul. The flesh may be subdued to slavery but not the mind, and many slaves are more free than masters if placed in slavery they think to abstain from slavish works. Every sin is slavish, innocence is freedom. Whence the Lord said, 'Everyone who sins is a slave to sin.' 1 For how is every avaricious man not a slave, who for the least profit of money will even put himself up for sale? He who fears everything, lest it take what he has heaped up, useless things that he hoards, so the greater peril shall be his slavery by the more he has sought. How is he not a beggar to whom whatever he possesses is little? For even if he seems rich to me, he is poor to himself, nor shall the witnesses of his vows free him, he who because of his desire does not know how to believe. How is he not a slave who is conquered by lust? First he burns with his own flame and he kindles the torch of his own heart. Concerning which the prophet rightly said: 'Walk in the light of your fire and in the flame which you have kindled. 2 All sorts of fear seize him and his sleep is troubled by every one of them, so that having one desire, he is made a slave of many things. Thus he who is a slave in this miserable state of servitude, who makes masters for himself, let him fear what he wishes to have. Nothing is a greater mark of slavery than always to be fearful. Truly anyone who is in any state of slavery may be free who is not snared by the love of the world, and is not held by the chains of avarice, who is not bound by fear because of crime, who may securely look at the present, who is not terrified by the future. Does it seem to you this one in servitude rules and that one in freedom serves? Joseph served, Pharaoh ruled, happier was the servant than his king. Certainly all Egypt would have fallen into famine unless he had given his kingdom to the counsel of a slave. Saint Ambrose, On The Patriarch Joseph, Chap 4 1 Jn 8.34 2 Isaiah 50.11

Doubting Dreams

Denique in puero adhuc refulsit divina gratia. Siquidem somniavit quod cum alligasset, ut sibi videbatur per visum, manipulos cum fratribus suis, surrexerit manipulus ejus, et steterit erectus: conversi autem fratrum manipuli, adoraverint manipulum summ. In quo utique futura resurrectio Domini Jesu revelata est, quem et Hierosolymis cum vidissent, undecim adoravere discipuli, et omnes sancti cum resurrexerint, adorabunt, fructus bonorum operum praeferentes, sicut scriptum est: Venientes autem venient cum exsultatione, tollentes manipulos suos. Unde fratres, licet somnii fidem per invidiam derogarent, interpretationem tamen ejus propriis sermonibus exprimentes, responderunt ei: Numquid regnando regnaturus es nobis, aut dominando dominaturus es nobis? Regem enim venturum visio illa significabat, quem omnis caro generis humani inflexo adoraret genu.Vidit autem aliud somnium, et narravit illud patri suo et fratribus suis, eo quod sol et luna et undecim stellae adorarent eum. Unde objurgavit illum pater ejus dicens: Quid ergo erit hoc visum quod somniasti? Numquid venientes ego et mater tua et fratres tui adorabimus te super terram? Quis est ille quem parentes et fratres adoraverunt super terram, nisi Christus Jesus, quando eum Joseph et mater cum discipulis adorabant, Deum verum in illo corpore confitentes, de quo solo dictum est: Laudate eum, sol et luna; laudate eum, omnes stellae et lumen? Objurgatio autem partris quid significat, nisi duritiam populi Israel, ex quibus Christus secundum carnem, quem hodieque Deum esse non credunt, nec volunt aodrare quasi Dominum, quia ex se natum cognoscunt? Audiunt itaque responsa ejus, sed non intelligunt: legunt ipsi quod eum sol et luna laudant, et nolunt credere de Christo Jesu dictum esse. Itaque Jacob typo fallitur alieno: sed suo amore non fallitur. Pietas in eo paterna non errat: sed erraturae plebis affectus exprimitur. Sanctus Ambrosius Mediolanensis, De Jospeph Partiarcha, Caput II Source: Migne PL 14.643c-644b

Then in boyhood he shone with Divine grace. He had a dream that he was bound, so that it seemed to him in his vision that he was a sheaf with his brothers, and his sheaf rose up, and it stood erect, and the sheaves of his brothers turned to his and they adored his sheaf. 1 In which is the future resurrection of the Lord Jesus revealed, which seeing in Jerusalem the eleven disciples adored, and all the saints shall adore when they have risen, bringing before them the fruit of good works, as it is written, 'Coming in exultation, bearing their sheaves ' 2 Whence the brothers, on account of envy refusing to have faith in the dream, giving their own interpretation of the matter, responded to him, 'Shall you rule over us, and shall you have dominion over us?' 3 For the vision of the coming king signified Him whom all flesh on bended knee shall adore. And he saw another dream, and he told it to his father and his brothers, in which the sun and the moon and the eleven stars adored him. Whence his father rebuked him, saying, 'What, then, is the dream that you have dreamed? Shall I and your mother and your brothers come and adore you upon the earth? 4Who is this whom parents and brothers shall adore on the earth, unless Jesus Christ, when Joseph and his Mother adored Him along with the disciples, confessing the true God in the flesh, concerning which, to mention one thing alone, it is said, ' Praise him, sun and moon, praise him all you stars and light'? 5 And what does the rebuke of the father signify unless the hardness of the people of Israel, from whom Christ was according to the flesh, and whom even today do not believe Him to be God, nor are willing to adore him as Lord, whom they know as born from them? So they hear his reply, but they do not understand. They read that the sun and the moon praise him and they cannot credit it is spoken about Jesus Christ. Thus Jacob is a deceived by an incorrect type, but his love is not deceived. His paternal piety does not err, but the erring thought of a people is here expressed. Saint Ambrose, On The Patriarch Joseph, Chap 2 1 Gen 37.7 2 Ps 125.6 3 Gen 37.8 4 Gen 37.10 5 Ps 148.3

The Merit Of Temperance

Passionum autem velut duces naturales delectatio et dolor, quas sequuntur caeterae. Illae enim complectuntur universas, quarum utraque non solum corporis, sed etiam secundum animam passiones sunt. Et quia diximus subesse his alias passiones, ante delectationem concupiscentia, post delectationem gratulatio est: ante dolorem autem est timor, post dolorem tristita. Commotio autem animi communis passio, et delectationis et doloris est. Transcurram alias, id est, superbiam, avaritiam, ambitionem, contentionem, invidiam, quae sunt secundum animam passiones: transcurram etiam inexplebilem vorandi libidinem, effusionemque luxuriae atque lasciviae, quae vitia nexa sunt corpori, et secundum illud operantur. Meritoque temperantia quam maxime istarum passionum restinguit ardorem, quae primum sobrietate atque moderamine animum temperat, mentem informat, deinde etiam deliciarum abstinentia restringit habenas corporalis ferocitatis. Ideo lex recidit ciborum licentiam, epularum copias, non solum ut resecaret luxuriam, verum tractationi rationis aperiret, quae irritamenta gulae caeterasque recideret cupiditates, corporeas passiones motusque cohiberet. Temperantia est igitur correctionis praevia, disciplinae magistra. Ab hac profectus Jacob sanctus, primatus a fratre quos non habebat, accepit, ejusque praelatus assensu docuit in reliquum in temperantes proprio sibi viles esse judicio. Ab hac profectus Joseph, et calorem juventutis edomuit, et tentatum adulterinis animum illecebris rectae rationis inductione firmavit. Denique quamvis fortis esset et validus, tamen tractatu rationis fulcire se maluit, dicens uxori domini sui: Si dominus meus non scit praeter me aliquid in domo sua, et omnia quaecunque habet, dedit in manus meas, neque subtractum est a me quidquam praeter te quae uxor illius es: et quomodo faciam verbum hoc malum, et peccabo coram Deo. Haec est igitur rectae rationis tractatio quam Graeci λογισμὸν nuncupant, qua mens sapientiae intenta solidatur. Pulchra enim ratio, quod nec beneficiis domini esse deberet ingratus, nec occultum posset esse peccatum, quod, Deo teste, commmitteret, quem latere non posset. Sanctus Ambrosius Mediolanensis, De Jacob et Vita Beata, Lib I Source:  Migne PL 14 630-31

Pleasure and pain are the natural leaders of the passions, which the rest follow. For they indeed embrace everything, both of them not only the passions of the body, but also of the soul. And indeed we have said that there are other passions attendant to these, before pleasure desire, after pleasure happiness, before pain fear, after pain sorrow. A common commotion, then, of the soul is a passion, and it is of pleasure or pain. I shall pass over other things, that is, pride and avarice and ambition, contention, envy, which are passions according to the soul; I shall even pass over devouring insatiable lust, and the flood of luxury and lascivity, which are vices bound to the body and which work according to it. With merit temperance greatly extinguishes the fire of these passions, first soothing the soul with sobriety and moderation, then shaping the mind, and then with abstinence it binds back the corporeal wildness from such pleasures. Thus the law curtails licence in foodstuffs, 1 excess in feasting, not only that it bind back lust, but that it open up the practice of reason, which the distractions of gluttony and the rest of the desires occlude, and it represses the disturbances of corporeal passions. Temperance is therefore the beginning of correction, a teacher of discipline. By this the holy Jacob profited, receiving the birthright which he did not have from his brother, whose assent to the exchange teaches how vile the judgement is when there is a lack of temperance. 2 And by this Joseph profited, taming the heat of youth and strengthening the soul to right reason in the snare of adultery. Then, although he was robust and healthy, he preferred to support himself by the counsel of reason, saying to the wife of his master, 'If my master does not know without me the things of his house and everything which he has, if he has given it into my hands and nothing is withheld from me, apart from you who are his wife; how then might I agree to this evil proposal and sin before God?' 3 This, then, is that management of reason which the Greeks name 'logismos', which fortifies the mind with wisdom. Reason is beautiful, that it can neither be ungrateful for the goods of the Lord, nor is it able to hide what is at fault, which, with God as witness, should it commit, it would not able to conceal. Saint Ambrose, from On Jacob and the Good Life, Book 1 1.Levit 11.4,23 2 Gen 25.35 3 Gen 39.7-9

Chains and Spirit

Ἐταπείνωσαν ἐν πέδαις τοὺς πόδας αὐτοῦ σίδηρον διῆλθεν ἡ ψυχὴ αὐτοῦ μέχρι τοῦ ἐλθεῖν τὸν λόγον αὐτοῦ τὸ λόγιον κυρίου ἐπύρωσεν αὐτόν.    Τοὺς πόδας αὐτοῦ μόνους ἐταπείνωσαν, ἐν πέδαις τῆς ψυχῆς αὐτοῦ οὐ συνδεθείσης ἀλλ' εξω τοῦ σιδήρου γεγενημένης. ο σοι γὰρ δεσμοῖς περιβαλλόμενοι ἀγεννῶς τὴν περίστασιν φέρουσιν, καμφθεῖσαν ὑπὸ τοῦ σιδήρου τὴν ψυχὴν εχουσι. τοῦτο δὲ ὑπέμεινεν οὐκ εἰς απαν. Περιορίζει γὰρ τῆς περιστάσεως τὸ τέλος, εἰπὼν αὐτὴν κεκρατηκέναι μέχρις ου διῆλθεν ὁ τοῦ θεοῦ λόγος· καθ' ον ἐκ τοῦ δεσμωτηρίου μετασταλεὶς κηδεμὼν καὶ τροφεὺς πάντων κεχειροτόνητο. Tοῦ λογίου τοῦ Κυρίου πυρώσαντος ἐπὶ τῷ ζέειν τῷ πνεύματι καὶ ἐξημμένον αὐτὸ ἐχειν τῷ θείῳ φωτί, μεθ' ο καὶ τηρεῖν δυνατὸν παραίνεσιν λέγουσαν Τὸ πνεῦμα μὴ σβέννυτε. Δίδυμος Αλεξανδρεύς, Εἰς Ψαλμους, Ψαλμος ΡΔ'

'And they humbled his feet in chains, and iron passed through his soul, until came His word, the speech of the Lord inflaming him.' 1 Only his feet they humbled in chains, his soul was not conquered, it was beyond becoming iron. For whoever is bound in chains, they must necessarily loose heart, and so they have an inflexible soul like iron. But here that does not happen, for an end to captivity is declared when it said that he was imprisoned until the word of God came, which liberated from chains, and made him a carer and nourisher of all. The fiery word of the Lord having come to him, he blazed with the Spirit, and it bound him fast to the Divine light, which is possible with him who holds to that exhortation, 'Do not extinguish the Spirit.' 2 Didymus the Blind, from Commentary on the Psalms, Psalm 104 1 Ps 104. 18-19 2 1 Thes 5. 19

Evil Beginnings, Good Ends

Fortisan enim ideo discessit ad horam a te, ut aeternum illum reciperes. Jam non sicut servum, sed plus servo, fratrem charissimum, maxime mihi: quanto magis autem tibi, et in carne, et in Domino. Nonnumquam malum occasio fit bonorum, et hominum prava consilia Deus vertit ad rectum. Quod dico manifestius exemplo fiet. Joseph fratres, sui zeli stimulis incitati, Ismaelitis viginti auries vendiderunt. Hoc initium et patri, et fratribus, et omni Aegypto bonorum omnium fuit. Denique ipse postea ad fratres: Vos, inquit, cogitastis de me mala: et Deus cogitavit de me bona. Simile quid et in Onesimo possumus intelligere, quod mala principia occasiones fuerint rei bonae. Si enim dominum non fugisset, numquam venisset Romam ubi erat Paulus vinctus in carcere. Si Paulum in vinculis non vidisset, non recepisset fidem in Christum. Si Christi non habuisset fidem, numquam Pauli effectus filius, in opus Evangellii mitteretur. Ex quo paulatim, et per gradus suos, reciprocante sententia, ideo minister Evangelii est factus Onesimus, quia fugit a domino. Pulchre autem addens, fortisan, sententiam temperavit. Occulta sunt quippe judicia Dei, et temerarium est quasi de certo pronuntiare quod dubium est. 'Fortisan,' inquit, 'ideo discessit': cute, timide, trepidanter, et non toto fixo gradu: ut si non posuisset forsiten, omnibus servis fugiendum esset, ut apostolici fierent. Quod autem, 'ad horam', junxit, horam pro tempore debemus accipere. Ad comparationem enim aeternitatis, omne tempus breve est. Ut aeternum illum reciperes. Nullus aeternus dominus servi sui: potestas quippe ejus, et utriusque conditio, morte finitur. Onesimus vero qui ex fide Christi factus aeternus est, aeterno Philemoni, quia in Christum et ipse crediderat; spiritu libertatis accepto, jam non servus, sed frater coepit esse de servo, frater charissimus, frater aeternus: aeterno et ipsi Apostolo dominoque suo, cui Onesimum ut carnis ante conditio: ita postea spiritus copulat. Et tunc quidem quando erat ei subjectus in carne, non erat ei junctus in Domino; nunc autem ei et in carne junctus est, et in Domino. Ex quo intelligimus servum qui crediderit Christo, duplici domino suo lege constringi, ut ei et carnis necessitate jungatur ad tempus, et in aeternum spiritu copuletur. Sanctus Hieronymus, Commentariorum In Epistolam Beati Pauli Ad Philemonem Source: Migne PL 26.613c-614b

Perhaps therefore having him separated from you to this hour was that you could receive him forever. Now not as a servant but more than a servant, a beloved brother, greatly so to me, and more so may it be to you, even in the flesh, and in the Lord.1 Not infrequently evil may be an occasion for good and the depraved plans of men God turn to the right. What I say may be made more clear be an example. The brothers of Joseph, incited by the goad of envy, sold him to the Ishmaelites for twenty gold. 2 This beginning was a cause of great good to his father and his brothers and every Egyptian. In the end he said to his brothers, 'You plotted evil to me and God thought of good for me.' 3 In similar fashion we may understand the matter of Onesimus, that evil beginnings were a cause of good things. If indeed he had not fled his master, he would not have come to Rome where Paul was in chains in prison. If he had not seen Paul in chains, he would not have received faith in Christ. If he had not faith in Christ, he would not have become a son of Paul, sent about the work of Evangelisation. From which little by little, and in steps, receiving wisdom, Onesimus was made a servant of the Gospel, because he fled his master. Wisely adding, 'perhaps', he restrained the meaning. For the judgements of God are hidden and it is reckless to pronounce with certainty on what is doubtful. 'Perhaps,' he said 'having him separated from you'. Be cautious, then, take care, be fearful, not every step is visible, for perhaps it should not be that every servant should flee that they become Apostles. For indeed 'to this hour' it is joined, and to the hour of the time we should attend. In comparison with eternity, all time is brief. That eternity which you may receive. No master is eternal for a slave, since death ends his power, as it does his position. Onesimus who by faith in Christ was made eternal is with Philemon forever, for in Christ he also believed, receiving it in a spirit of liberty, now not a servant, but becoming a brother from a servant, a beloved brother, an eternal brother, eternal with the Apostle and his master, he who was that to Onesimus in the condition of the flesh, that after the spirit bind together. Formerly when he was subject to him in the flesh, he was not joined to him in the Lord, now in the flesh he is joined, and in the Lord. From which we understand that the servant who believes in Christ is bound to his master by a double law, that in time he is bound to him by the necessity of flesh, that in eternity he be joined by the spirit. Saint Jerome, Commentary on the Epistle to Philemon 1 Philemon 15.16 2 Gen 36 3 Gen 45.8

The Genealogies Of Christ

Quem ad istam mortalitatem nobiscum participandam quia descendentem voluit significare Matthaeus, ideo et ipsas generationes ab Abraham usque ad Ioseph et usque ad ipsius Christi nativitatem descendendo commemoravit ab initio Evangelii sui  Lucas autem non ab initio, sed a baptismo Christi generationes enarrat nec descendendo, sed ascendendo, tamquam sacerdotem in expiandis peccatis magis signans, ubi eum vox de caelo declaravit, ubi testimonium Ioannes ipsi perhibuit dicens: Ecce qui tollit peccata mundi. Ascendendo autem transit et Abraham et pervenit ad Deum, cui mundati et expiati reconciliamur. Merito et adoptionis originem ipse suscepit, quia per adoptionem efficimur filii Dei credendo in Filium Dei. Per carnalem vero generationem Filius Dei potius propter nos Filius hominis factus est. Satis autem demonstravit non se ideo dixisse Ioseph filium Eli, quod de illo genitus, sed quod ab illo fuerit adoptatus, cum et ipsum Adam filium dixit Dei, cum sit factus a Deo, sed per gratiam quam postea peccando amisit tamquam filius in paradiso constitutus sit. Quapropter in generationibus Matthaei significatur nostrorum susceptio peccatorum a Domino Christo, in generationibus autem Lucae significatur abolitio nostrorum peccatorum a Domino Christo. Ideo eas ille descendens enarrat, iste ascendens. Quod enim dicit Apostolus: Misit Deus Filium suum in similitudinem carnis peccati. Haec est susceptio peccatorum; quod autem addit: Ut de peccato damnaret peccatum in carne, haec est expiatio peccatorum. Proinde Matthaeus ab ipso David per Salomonem descendit, in cuius matre ille peccavit; Lucas vero ad ipsum David per Nathan ascendit, per quem prophetam Deus peccatum illius expiavit. Ipse quoque numerus, quem Lucas exsequitur, certissime prorsus abolitionem indicat peccatorum. Quia enim Christi aliqua iniquitas, qui nullam habuit, non est utique coniuncta iniquitatibus hominum, quas in sua carne suscepit, ideo numerus penes Matthaeum excepto Christo est quadragenarius. Quia vero iustitiae suae Patrisque nos expiatos ab omni peccato purgatosque coniungit, ut fiat quod ait Apostolus: Qui autem adhaeret Domino unus spiritus est ideo in eo numero, qui est penes Lucam, et ipse Christus, a quo incipit enumeratio, et Deus, ad quem pervenit, connumerantur et fit numerus septuaginta septem, quo significatur omnium prorsus remissio et abolitio peccatorum. Quam etiam ipse Dominus per huis numeri mysterium evidenter expressit dicens remittendum esse peccanti non solum septiens, sed etiam septuagiens septiens  Sanctus Augustinus Hipponensis, De Consensu Evangelistarum Libri Quatuor, Lib II

Because Matthew wished to note this descent for the sharing of mortality with us, he has mentioned the generations from Abraham to Joseph and to the birth of Christ Himself in descending order, and at the beginning of his Gospel. Luke, on the other hand, narrates the generations not at the beginning but at Christ’s baptism, and not in descending but in ascending order, as if designating Him a priest for the expiation of sins, where the voice from heaven announced Him, and where John himself named him, saying: 'Behold he who takes away the sin of the world.'1 Moreover, in the ascending order he passes Abraham and arrives at God, to whom, cleansed and atoned for, we are reconciled. Of merit, too, the origination of adoption He has taken up in Himself, for through adoption we are made the sons of God by believing in the Son of God. Indeed, for us, by carnal generation, the Son of God was pleased to be made the son of man. And the author shows clearly that he did not call Joseph the son of Heli because he was sired by him but because he was adopted by him, for he has also called Adam a son of God, who was made by God, but who by grace was as a son in paradise established, which afterwards he lost by sin. Thus the genealogy of Matthew signifies Christ's taking of our sin upon Himself, while genealogy of Luke signifies the abolition of our sins by the Lord Christ. Therefore the one details the names in descending order and the other in ascending order. For when the Apostle says, 'God sent His own Son in the likeness of the flesh of sin,'2  this is the taking upon of sins, and when he adds, ' for sin, to condemn sin in the flesh,' this is expiation of sins. Accordingly Matthew descends from David through Solomon, by whose mother he sinned; while Luke ascends to the same David through Nathan, the prophet by whom God took away his sin. Furthermore, the number which Luke follows does most certainly best indicate the taking away of sins. For as in Christ, who Himself had no sin, there is assuredly no iniquity allied to the iniquities of men which He took up in His flesh, the number adopted by Matthew makes forty without Christ. For by cleansing us of all sin and purging us He joins us to His own and His Father’s righteousness, that it might be as the Apostle’s said: 'But he that is joined to the Lord is one spirit'.3 In the number used by Luke is Christ Himself, with whom the enumeration begins, and God, at whom it ends; and the sum is seventy seven, which signifies the thorough forgiveness and abolition of all sins. And this the Lord Himself also clearly expressed through the mystery of this number when He said that the sinner should be forgiven not only seven times, but even seventy seven times. Saint Augustine of Hippo, On The Agreement of the Evangelists 1 Jo 1.29  2 Rom 8.3  3 1 Cor 6.17

Prayer and Anger

Memoria praeceptorum uiam orationibus sternit ad caelum, ne prius ascendamus ad altare Dei quam si quid discordiae uel offensae cum fratribus contraxerimus resoluamus . Quale est enim ad pacem Dei accedere sine pace? Ad remissionem debitorum cum retentione? Quomodo placabit Patrem iratus in fratrem, cum omnis ira ab initio interdicta sit nobis? Nam et Ioseph dimittens fratres suos ad perducendum patrem Et ne, inquit , irascimini in via. Nos scilicet monuit, alias enim uia cognominatur disciplina nostratum, ne in uia orationis constituti ad Patrem cum ira incedamus. Exinde aperte Dominus amplians legem iram in fratrem homicidio superponit: ne uerbo quidem malo permittit expungi; et iam si irascendum est, non ultra solis receptum , ut apostolus admonet. Quam autem temerarium est aut diem sine oratione transigere, dum cessas fratri satisfacere, aut orationem perseuerante iracundia perdere.  Tertullianus, De Oratione

The memory of His precepts stretches out for our prayers the way to heaven, that we do not step up unto God's altar before we be rid of whatever of discord or offense we have contracted with others. What sort of deed is it to approach the peace of God without peace? To seek remission of debts while retaining them? How will anger against a brother be pleasing to the Father, since from the beginning all anger is forbidden us? When Joseph sent off his brothers to bring their father, he said, 'And be not angry in the way.'1 He warned us, evidently, for our discipline is also called the Way, that in the way of prayer, we do not go to the Father with anger. After, the Lord, amplifying the Law, openly adds the prohibition of anger against a brother to that of murder. Not even by an evil word does He permit it to be discharged; and if one must be angry, it must not be maintained beyond sunset, as the Apostle admonishes. But how inconsiderate it is either to pass a day lacking prayer, while you refuse to make satisfaction to your brother, or else, by perseverance in anger, to destroy prayer. Tertullian, On Prayer 1 Gen 45.24