The Lioness And The Sheep

Ὥσπερ λεαίνῃ συννέμεσθαι πρόβατον ἡ φύσις οὐκ ἔδωκεν· οὕτως οὐδε τῦφον μοναχικῇ συνοικεῖν ὅλως ἐνδέχεται. Ὁ μὲν γὰρ θηριώδης ἐστὶ καὶ ἀκάθεκτος· ἡ δὲ πάντα εὐπειθῶς τὰ χρηστὰ καταδέχεαι, καὶ τὰ λυπηρὰ καρτερῶς μάλα προσίεται. Εἰ τοίνυν πρὸς ταύτην ἀπεδύσω γυμνάσασθαι, ἐκείνου ἀπόστηθι· μή τί σε δεινὸν διὰ τούτου ἐργάσηται, ὁ ἔναντι Κυρίου τραχηλιάσας, καὶ πάντας ἔχειν ζηλωτὰς τῆς οἰκείας ἐπάρσεως καὶ πτώσεως προθυμούμενος. Ἅγιος Ἰσίδωρος Του Πηλουσιώτου, Βιβλιον Πρῶτον, Ἐπιστολή ΤΞΗ’ Σευηρῳ Source: Migne PG 78.392a

As nature does not allow that a lioness and a sheep may feed together, likewise it is not possible for pride to dwell in the monastic life. For the former is fierce and will hardly be leashed, while the latter meekly receives all that is beneficial into its soul and bravely endures grievous trials. If, then, you have bound yourself with a zeal for imitation to the latter, withdraw from the former, lest that which raises its neck against the Lord do something terrible to you, that which desires that all be imitators of its pride and of its ruin. Saint Isidore of Pelusium, Book 1, Letter 368, to Severus

The Defects Of Anger

Ὁργὴ πὰθος ἐστι μανιῶδες, καὶ τοὺς ἔχοντας γνῶσιν ἐξίστησιν εὐχερῶς, θηριοῖ τὴν ψυχὴν, καὶ πᾶσαν συντυχίαν ἐκκλίνειν ποιεῖ. Ἄνεμος σφοδρὸς οὐ κινήσει πύρψον, καὶ ψυχὴν ἀόργητον οὐ συναρπάζει θυμός. Ὕδωρ κειεῖται ὑπὸ βίας ἀνέμων, καὶ θυμώδης ταράσσεται ὑπὸ λογισμῶν ἀσυνέτων. Μοναχὸς ὀργίλος εἶδέ τινα, καὶ τοὺς ὀδόντας παρέθηξεν. Ὀμίχλης ἀνάδοσις παχύνει ἀόρα, καὶ θυμοῦ κίνησις διάνοιαν ὀργίλου. Ἐσκότισεν ἥλιον ὑποδραμὼν νέφος, καὶ νοῦν λογισμὸς μνησικακίας. Λέων ἐν χωγρεῖῳ ὤν κινεῖ τοὺς στρόφιγγας συνεχῶς, καὶ θυμώδς ἐν κέλλῃ λογισμοὺς ὀργῆς. Τερπνὴ θεωρία, γαληῶσα θάλασσα, ἀλλ' οὐκ ἔστι τερπνοτερα εἰρηνικoς κᾶταστάσεως· γληνώσῃ γὰρ θαλάσσῃ ἐγκολυμβῶσι δελφίνες, εἰρηνικῇ δὲ καταστάει ἐννήχεται νοήματα θεοπρεπῆ. Μακρόθυμος μοναχὸς, ἠσυχάζουσα πηγὴ, καὶ πᾶσι παρέχουσα προσηνὲς ποτὸν, διάνοια δὲ ὀργίλου διὰ παντὸς τετάρακται καὶ οὐκ ἐπιδώσει τῷ διψῶτι ὕδωρ, κἂν ἐπιδώσῃ, τεθολωμένον, καὶ ἄχρηστον, καὶ ὀφθαλμοὶ θυμώδους τεταραγμένοι καὶ ὕφαιμοι, καὶ τῆς ταρασσομένες καρδίας ἄγγελοι. Πρόσωπον δὲ μακροθύμου ὀρθὰ κατεσταλμένον, καὶ ὀφθαλμοὶ προσηνεῖς κάτω βλέποντες. Ἅγιος Νειλος, Περὶ Των Οκτώ Πνευμάτων Της Πονηρίας, Κεφαλ. Θ’, Περὶ ὀργῆς Source: Migne PG 79.1153c-d

Anger is a maddening passion, and it easily estranges the minds of those who are knowledgeable and makes their souls feral so that they refuse all company. A strong wind will not shake a tower, and anger will not carry off a meek soul. Water is disturbed by violent winds, and the angry man by foolish thoughts. An angry monk is as a solitary bee of the forest, he sees someone and he grinds his teeth. Spreading cloud makes the air heavy and the coming of anger weighs down the soul of the irascible man. As the sun is obscured by clouds running beneath it, so is the mind that is mindful of injuries. A lion is continually turning about in his lair, likewise the angry thoughts of a man in his cell. The sight of a tranquil sea is delightful, but nothing is more delightful than a man at peace. Dolphins swim in calm seas, and the thoughts of a peaceful soul swim amid the grace of God. The long suffering monk is a quiet fountain that offers sweet waters to everyone, but the mind that is deeply troubled by anger does not offer water to the thirsty, nor shall it give any, but it spoils its sustenance and offers what is polluted. Eyes disturbed by anger are bloodshot and the voice that comes from the heart is confused, but the face of the long suffering man is rightly composed and his gentle eyes look upon all things kindly. Saint Nilus of Sinai, On the Eight Spiritual Faults, Chapter 9, On Anger

Anger And The Enemy

Positis genibus clamavit dicens: ne statuas illis hoc peccatcum. Ira vide quid noceat. Agnosce inimicam tuam: agnosce cum qua pugnas in theatro pectoris tui. Angustum theatrum; sed Deus spectat: ibi doma inimicam tuam. Vis videre quam sit ista vera tua inimica? Modo ostendo. Oraturus es Deum: ventura est hora ut dicas: Pater noster, qui es in coelis. Venturus es ad illum versum: Dimitte nobis debita nostra. Quid sequitur? Sicut et nos dimittimus debitoribus nostris. Ibi illa inimica stat contra te. Sepit viam orationis tuae: murum erigit, et non est qua transeas. Bene totum dixisti: Pater noster. Cucurrit: Dimitte nobis debita nostra. Et quid postea? Sicut et nos dimittimus debitoribus nostris. En ipsa adversaria contradicit; nec ante velum, sed intus: in ipso secretario cordis tui, ibi tibi clamat, contradicit. Qualis inimica, fratres, quae contradicit? Sicut et nos dimittimus. Non permittitur ut saevias contra inimicum tuum: in istam saevias. Melior est qui vincit iram, quam qui capit civitatem, Scriptura dicit. Quod dixi modo, scriptum est: Melior est qui vincit iram, quam qui capit civitatem. Numquid non bellator imperator quando venit ad aliquos hostes, et invenit civitatem munitam, armatis instructam, optimam, adversantem sibi, si illam ceperit, si illam vicerit, si illam everterit, triumphos quaerit? Sicut autem narrat Scriptura: Melior est qui vincit iram, quam qui capit civitatem. In manu tua est. Non potes illam interimere, potes illam reprimere. Si fortis es, iram vince: et civitati parce. Video vos attentos, scio quam bene accepistis. Deus adsit certaminibus vestris, ut prosit vobis quod tanti Martyris agonem spectastis; ut quomodo vincentem vidistis et vincenti favistis, sic et vos in corde vestro vincatis. Sanctus Augustinus Hipponensi, Sermo CCCXV, In Solemnitate Stephani Martyris Source: Migne PL 38.1431

On his knees he cried out saying, 'Do not hold this sin against them..' 1 See how anger may harm. Know your enemy, know what you fight in the arena of your breast, It is an arena of strife, but God looks on, there subdue your enemy. You wish to see how this may be your true enemy? There is a way of showing it. When you pray to God, there shall come a time when you say: 'Our Father, who art in heaven.' Then you will come to that line: 'Forgive us our trespasses.' What follows? 'As we forgive those who trespass against us.' There that enemy stands against you. He encircles the path of your prayer. He raises up a wall and there is no way for you to go on. Well you have said, 'Our Father.' It follows, 'Forgive us our trespasses.' And after? 'As we forgive those who trespass against us.' Behold, your enemy disputes with you, not publicly but within, in that secret place of your heart, there he cries out against you, there he disputes with you. What is this enemy that disputes so, brothers? 'As we forgive.' It is not permitted for you to act savagely against an enemy, but against savagery you should be fierce. 'Better is he who conquers anger, than he who takes a city,' Scripture says. 2 What I have just said has been written: 'Better is he who conquers anger, than he who take a city.' Is it not that when an Emperor at war comes against some enemies, and he finds a city defended, and guarded with armed men, and well supplied, and set against him, if he shall take it, if he shall conquer it, if he shall overthrow it, he seeks out how to gain the victory? So Scripture speaks to us: 'Better is he who conquers anger, than he who takes a city.' It is in your hand. You are not able to destroy it, but you can overcome it. If you are strong, overcome anger, and spare a city. I see you are attentive. I know how well you understand. God stands near you in your trials, so that what you have seen of the trial of such a great martyr may be of benefit to you, that as you have seen him conquer, even you choose to conquer, and so in your hearts be victorious. Saint Augustine of Hippo, from Sermon 315, On The Feast Of Saint Stephen 1 Acts 7.60 2 Prov 16.32

The Earth Of The Meek

Beati mites, quoniam ipsi possidebunt terram Hieronymus: Non terram Judaeae, nec terram istius mundi, nec terra maledictam spinas et tribulos afferentem, quam crudelissimus quisque et bellator magis possidet, sed terram quam Psalmista desiderat, dicens: Credo videre bona Domini in terra viventium. Hujuscemodi possessor, et post victorim triumphator etiam in quadragesimo quarto psalmo describitur: Et intente, prospere procede, et regna propter veritatem, et mansuetudinem, et justitiam. Nemo enim terram istam per mansuetudinem, sed per superbiam possidet. Augustinus: Significat enim quamdam soliditatem et stabilitatem haereditatis perpetuae, ubi anima per bonum affectum, tanquam loco suo requiescit, sicut corpus in terra; et inde cibo suo alitur, sicut corpus ex terra: ipsa est requies et vita sanctorum. Mites autem sunt qui cedunt improbitatibus, et non resistunt malo, sed vincunt in bono malum. Rixentur ergo immites, et dimicent pro terrenis et temporalibus rebus: Beati autem mites quoniam ipsi haereditate possidebunt terram, de qua evelli non possint.  Rabanus Maurus, Commentariorum In Matthaeum, Liber II, Cap V Source: Migne PL 107.795b-d

Blessed are the meek, for they shall possess the earth. 1 Jerome: 2 This is not the earth of Judea, not the earth of this world, not the cursed earth that bears thorns and thistles, 3 which the most cruel warmonger delights to possess, but the land which the Psalmist desires, saying, 'I believe I will see the good things of the Lord in the land of the living.' 4 This possessor triumphant after victory is described in the fourty fourth Psalm: 'And look, and go forth prosperously and reign on account of truth and meekness and righteousness.' 5 For none possess this earth because of meekness but because of pride. Augustine: 6 This signifies a certain firmness and stability of the perpetual inheritance, where the soul though its good disposition rests as in its own place, just as the body rests on the earth, and it is nourished from there with its own food, as the body is from the earth. This is the rest and life of the saints. But the meek are those here who give way to wickedness and do not resist the evil man, 7 but overcome evil with good. 8 Let those, then, who are not meek dispute and fight for earthly and temporal things, but 'blessed are the meek,' for by inheritance they shall possess the earth, from which they will not be able to be uprooted. Rabanus Maurus, Commentary On The Gospel of Saint Matthew, Book 5 1 Mt 5.4 2 Jerome Com Mat, chap 5 3 Gen 3.18 4 Ps 26.13 5 Ps 44.5 6 Augustine, Our Lord’s Sermon On the Mount 2 7 Mt 5.39 8 Rom 12.21

Good Conduct

In his ergo state et domini exemplar sequimini, firmi in fide et immutabiles, fraternitatis amatores, diligentes invicem, in veritate sociati, mansuetudine domini alterutri praestolantes, nullum despicientes. Cum possitis benefacere, nolite differre, quia eleëmosyna de morte liberat. Omnes vobis invicem subiecti estote, conversationem vestram irreprehensibilem habentes in gentibus, ut ex bonis operibus vestris et vos laudem accipiatis et dominus in vobis non blasphemetur. Vae autem per quem nomen domini blasphematur. Sobrietatem ergo docete omnes in qua et vos conversamini. Sanctus Polycarpus, Epistola Ad Philippenses Source: Migne PG 5.1013

In these things stand, and follow the Lord as example, firm and immovable in faith, lovers of fraternity, delighting in one another, companions in truth, giving way to one another in the meekness of the Lord, despising no one. When you are able to be of benefit, do not delay, because alms-giving delivers from death. 1 Let everyone be subject to one another, having behaviour that is creditable among the Gentiles, so that from your good works you will receive praise and the Lord will not be blasphemed because of you. Woe to him through whom the name of the Lord is blasphemed. 2 Therefore teach everyone to be sensible, even by the way you conduct yourselves. Saint Polycarp of Smyrna, Letter to the Phillipians. 1 Tob 12.9 2 Rom 2.24, Isaiah 52.5, Ezek 36.22

Trials And Relief

Ἀναμνήσθητί μοι ἐνταῦθα, ἀγαπητὲ, τῆς ἀξίας ἦς ἀπήλαυεν ὁ πρωτόπλαστος πρὸ τῆς τῆς παρακοῆς, καὶ λογίζου τοῦ Θεοῦ τὴν ἀγαθότητα. Ἐπειδὴ γὰρ ἡ παράβασις ἐκείνου ἠκρωτηρίασε τὴν δεδομένην ἐξουσίαν, εὗρε δὲ ὁ ἀγαθὸς Δεσπότες ἕτερον ἄνδρα δυνάμενον ἀνακαλέσασθαι τὴν ἀρχαίαν εἰκονα, καὶ διασωζώοντα τῆς ἀρετῆς τοὺς χαρακτῆρας, καὶ πολλὴν περὶ τὰς ἐντολὰς τὴν ὑπακοὴν ἐπιδεικνυμενον, πάλιν εἰς την ἀρχαίαν τιμὴν αὐτὸν ἀνάγει, μονονουχὶ διδάσκων ἡμᾰς δι αὐτῶν τῶν πραγμάτων τῆς ἐξουσίας τοῦ Ἀδὰμ τὸ μέγεθος, ἤν εἶχε πρὸ τῆς παρακοῆς. Ἡ ἀρετὴ τοίνυν τοῦ δικαίου ἐπιλαβομένη της τοῦ Θεοῦ φιλανθρωπίας, ἀνεκαλέσατο τὴν προτέραν ἀρχὴν, καὶ πάλιν τὰ θηρία τὴν ὑποραγὴν ἑπεγίνωσκον. Ἔνθα γὰρ ἂν ἴδῃ θηρία δίκαιον, ἐπιλανθάνεται τῆς οἰκείας φύσεως, μᾶλλον δὲ οὐ τῆς φύσεως, ἀλλὰ τῆς θηριωδίας, καὶ μένεοντα ἐν τῇ φύσει τὴν θηριωδίαν εἰς τὴν ἡμερότητα μεταβάλλει. Καὶ ὅρα τοῦτο ἐπὶ τοῦ Δανιὴλ γινόμενον. Ὑπ γὰρ τῶν λεὸντων κυκλούμενος, ὡσπερ ὑπὸ προβάτων δορυφορούμενος, οὕτως ἁδεως διῆγεν· ἡ γὰρ τοῦ δικαίου παῥῥησία ἐχαλίνου τῶν θηρίων τὴν φύσιν, καὶ οὐκ εἴα τὰ τῶν θηρίων αὐτοὺς ἐπιδείκνυσθαι. Τὸν αὐτὸν δὴ τρόπον ὁ θαυμάσιος οὗτος τὴν μετὰ τῶν θηρίων διαγωγὴν μετ' εὐκολίας ἔφερε, καὶ οὔτε ἡ στενοχωρία, οὕτε ἡ τοῦ χρόνου παράτασις, οὔτε τὸ οὕτως ἐγκεκλεῖσθαι, καὶ μήτε τὸν ἀέρα ἀναπνεῖν ναρκῆσαι αὐτὸν παρεσκεύασεν, ἀλλὰ τῇ πίστει τῇ εἰς τὸν Θεὸν ἂπαντα κοῦφα αὐτῷ ἐφαίνετο, καὶ οὕτω διῆγεν ἐν τῷ χαλεπῷ ἐκείνῳ δεσμωτηρίῳ, ὡσανεὶ ἡμεῖς ἐν λειμῶσι, καὶ δενδρικοῖς τόποις. Τὸ γαρ ἐπιταγμα τοῦ Δεσπότου τὰ δυσχερῆ ῥᾴδια αὐτῷ φαίνεσθαι παρεσκεύατε. Τοιοῦτον γὰρ τῶν δικαίων τὸ ἔθος· ὅταν τι δι' αὐτὸν ὑπομένουσιν, οὐ τῇ ὅψει τῶν γινομένων προσέχουσιν, ἀλλὰ τὴν ὑποθεσιν λογιζόμενοι μετ' εὐκολίας ἄπαντα φέρουσιν. Ἐπεὶ καὶ Παῦλος, ὁ τῶν ἐθνῶν διδάσκαλος, τὰ δεσμωτήρια, τὰς ἀπαγωγὰς, τοὺς καθημερινοὺς κινδύνους, τὰς πολλὰς ἐκείνας καὶ ἀφορήτους θλίψεις ἐλαφρὰς ἐκάλει, οὐκ ἐπειδὴ τῇ φύσει τοιαῦται ἦσαν, ἀλλ' ἐπειδὴ ἡ ὑπόθεσις τῶν γινομένων τοσαύτην αὐτῷ τὴν γνωμην κατεσκεύαζεν, ὡς μηδὲ ἐπιστρέφεσθαι πρὸς τὰ ἐπίοντα δεινά. Ἂκουε γὰρ αὐτοῦ λέγοντος· Τὸ γὰρ παραυτίκα ἐλαφρὸν τῆς θλίψεως ἡμῶν καθ' ὑπερβολὴν αἰώνιον βάρος δόξης ἡμῖν κατεργάζέται. Ἡ προσδοκία, φησὶ, τῆς μελλούσης καταλήψεσθαι δόξης, καὶ τῆς διηβεκοῦς ἐκείνης ἀνέσεως κούφως ἡμᾶς ποιεῖ φέρειν τὰς ἐπαλλήλους ταύτας θλίγεις, καὶ ἐλαφράς αὐτὰκ ἡγεῖσθαι. Εἰδες ὅπως ὑποτέμνεται ὁ πρὸς τὸν Θεὸν πόθος τὴν τῶν δεινῶν ἐπίτασιν, καὶ οὐδὲ αἴσθησιν συγχωρεῖ λαβεῖν τῶν ἐπιόντων; Διά τοι τοῦτο καὶ ὁ μακάριος οὗτος πάντα πράως ἔφερε, τῇ πίστει τῇ εἰς τὸν Θεὸν καὶ τῇ ἐλπίδι τρεφόμενος. Καὶ ἔκελισε, φησὶ, Κύριος ὁ Θεὸς ἔξωθεν αὐτοῦ τὴν κιβωτόν. Ἅγιος Ἰωάννης ὁ Χρυσόστομος, Εἰς Την Γενεσιν, Ὁμιλια ΚΕ’ Source: Migne PG 53.225-226

Remember here, beloved, I beg, how much dignity the first formed had before disobedience, and think on the goodness of God. For after his transgression the virtue given to us diminished, but God then found another man, Noah, whom He was able to restore to the original image, in the guarding of the state of the virtues and manifesting great obedience in the commandments of God, whom again He sends him to the first honour of work, to teach us with works how great was the power of Adam before his disobedience. Thus by the help of the Divine mercy the virtue of the righteous man is restored to its first state, and the beasts are again subject. For when they see the righteous man, they forget their nature, or rather not their nature, but their ferocity, for the innate wildness of their nature is turned into meekness. See how this happened to Daniel, for when he was surrounded by lions, like sheep surrounded, even so he acted fearlessly, 1 and likewise the faith of the righteous man binds the nature of wild creatures, not permitting them to act wildly as they are accustomed to do. In a similar way, this marvellous one who subdues wild creatures with great ease, is not cast down by difficult place, nor long time, nor by such a narrow enclosing that he can hardly breath, but because of faith in God all things seem easy to him, for even if thrown into the darkness of a prison, so we are as in meadows and groves. For when he works the commandments of the Lord difficult things seem easy to him. Such is the way of the righteous man, so that when he suffers on account of God, he does not look to the things that are done, but considering the cause, bears them all easily. Just as Paul, the teacher of the Gentiles, called chains light, and the dragging off before tribunals, and daily dangers, and many difficult afflictions, it was not because they had such a nature, but because of the cause for which they happened, and such was his understanding, that he was not bewildered if such fearful things befell him. Hear what he says: 'For our slight and momentary afflictions are wondrously working a weight of glory in us for eternity.' 2 The hope of glory which we pursue, he says, and the happiness of that eternity, make us endure continual afflictions easily and bear them lightly. You see how love for God diminishes grave troubles, and does not allow us to be afflicted with any sense of them? Certainly, because of this, blessed is he who endures all things meekly, being fed on faith and hope in God. 'And the Lord God closed up,' it is said 'the ark from the outside.' 3 Saint John Chrysostom, On Genesis, from the Twenty Fifth Homily 1 Dan 6.22 2 2 Cor 4.17 3 Gen 7.16

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

The Meek And Evil

Beati mansueti... Mansuetus enim neque irritat malum, neque irritatur a malo, neque adversus eum praevalet causa peccati, neque adversus alterum aliquando ex illo nascitur causa peccandi: sed magis contentus est injuriam pati, quam facere. Nam nisi contentus fuerit homo ut noceatur, numquam potest esse sine peccato: quia sicut et zizaniae numquam sunt minus in agro, sic non sunt minus irritatores in mundo. Ille est ergo vere mansuetus, qui cum nocitus fuerit, nec cogitat malum facere, nec facit. Opus Imperfectum in Matthaeum, Homilia IX Source: Migne PG 56.681

Blessed are the meek... 1 The meek man neither provokes evil nor is he provoked by it, nor does the cause of sin prevail over him, nor against another at any time is there born a cause of sin from him, but he is happier to suffer injury than to do it. For unless a man is happy that he might be harmed, never is it possible to be without sin. As there are never less weeds in the field, so they are not less vexations in the world. This, therefore, is the man who is truly meek, he who, when he shall have been harmed, does not think to do evil, nor does it. Opus Imperfectum on Matthew, from Homily 9 1 Mt 5.4

Inheriting The Earth

Οἱ δὲ πραεῖς κληρονομήσουσι γῆν. Οἱ ἀπὸ Οὐαλεντίνου καὶ τινων ἑτέρων, οἰόμενοι τὸν Σωτῆρα λέγειν τὰ μὴ εἰρημένα ἐν τοῖς παλαιοῖς Γράμμασιν, ἐντεῦθεν ἐλεγχέσθωσαν, ἀκούοντες, ὅτι Μακάριοι πραεῖς, ὅτι αὐτοὶ κληρονομήσουσι τὴν γῆν. Εἴρητο μὲν καὶ πρότερον διὰ Δαβιδ ὑπὸ τοῦ αὐτοῦ Πνεύματος. Οἰκονομικώτερον δὲ λίαν ὁ Δαβὶδ ἀντιπαρεξάγει ταῖς τῶν παρανόμων κολάσεσι τὰ τῶν ἁγίων γέρα. Ἀκονᾷ δὲ διὰ τούτων αὐτοὺς εἰς ἔφεσιν εὐανδρίας πνευματικῆς, δι' ἧς ἂν γένοιτο κατορθοῦν πάντα τρόπον ἀρετῆς. Ταύτῃ τοί φησιν· Οἱ δὲ πραεῖς κληρονομήσουσι γῆν, τὴν ἄνω δηλαδή. Εἰ γὰρ ἐστιν ἐν οὐρανοῖς κατὰ Παῦλον Ἰερουσαλὴμ καὶ Σιὼν ὄρος ἀκόλουθον καὶ γῆν νοεῖν, ἥν κληρονομήσουσιν οἱ νενικηκότες πάθος ὀλέθριον, τὴν ὀργὴν, ἥτις καὶ φρονίμους ἀπόλλυσι. Κατ' ἀρετὴν γὰρ ἐνεργεῖν ἐμποδίζονται. Κατὰ διάμετρον δέ εἰσιν ἀλλήλοις πραότης καὶ ὀργή. Ὅπου γὰρ ὀργὴ, οὐδαμῶς πραότης· καὶ ὅπου πραότης, οὐδαμῶς ἐκεῖ ὀργή. Ὠριγένης, Ἐκλογαί Εἰς Ψαλμους, Ψαλμος ΛϚ' Source: Migne PG 17.125c-128a

And the meek shall inherit the earth... 1 The Valentinians and certain others, who think that the Saviour spoke of nothing which is to found in the Old Testament, are here refuted, hearing that 'blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth.' 2 For David said this before in the Holy Spirit. Very acutely David contrasts the torments of the wicked and the rewards of the saints. He points exactly by the latter that the former should desire a noble spirit, by which every way of virtue may be set right. Because of this he says that 'The meek shall inherit the earth.' Clearly that which is above. For if, as Paul says, Jerusalem and Mount Sion are in heaven, 3 it follows that the earth we should think on is there, which they inherit who have conquered every destructive passion, certainly anger which ruins even the prudent, who acting against virtue hinder themselves. Meekness and anger are utterly opposed to one another. For where there is anger, there can be no meekness, and where there is meekness, there is no anger at all. Origen, Excerpta On the Psalms, from Psalm 36 1 Ps 36.11 2 Mt 5.5 3 Galat 4.25-26

Looking From The Height

Κύκλῳ οἱ ἀσεβεῖς περιπατοῦσαι, κατὰ τὸ ὕψος σου ἐπολυώρησας τοὺς υἱοὺς τῶν ἀνθρώπων. Οἱ μὲν οὖν δυσσεβείᾳ συζῶντες, τὴν θείαν καταλιπόντες ὁδὸν, τῇδε κἀκεῖσε περιπλανῶνται, κυκλοῦν καὶ οἰονεὶ πολιορκεῖν τοὺς ἐπιεκεστέρους πειρώμενοι. Σὺ δὲ ἀπὸ τοῦ τῆς φύσεως ὕψους φαινόμενος τῆς σῆς ἀξιοῖς κηδεμονίας τοὺς ὑπ' ἐκείνων πολεμουμένους, νῦν μὲν ψυχαγῶν ἐν ταῖς θλίψεσι, μετὰ βραχὺ δὲ τελείαν τὴν σωτηρίαν δωρούμενος. Θεοδώρητος Ἐπίσκοπος Κύρρος, Ἑρμηνεία εἰς Τους Ψαλμούς, Ψαλμός ΙΑ' Source: Migne PG 80.944c-d

In a circle the impious walk, according to your height you have looked on the sons of men. 1 Those who live impiously have forsaken the Divine way, and wander about here and there, thinking to surround and lay seige to the meek. But you, appearing from the height of nature, have care for those worthy to be assailed by them, now refreshing them in their trials, and a little after rewarding them with eternal salvation. Theodoret of Cyrrhus, Interpretation of the Psalms, from Psalm 11 1 Ps 11.9 Septuagint

The Meek And The Mild

Diriget mites in judicio, docebit mansuetos vias suas. Id est animo pladicos ad promissam facit beatitudinem pervenire. Directus quippe dicitur qui de curvo rectus efficitur. Dicendo autem mites, excludit superbos et elatos; sicut in Evangelio dicit: Beati mites, quia ipsi possidebunt terram. Mansuetos utique, non superbos, qui contra jugum lene et onus leve noxia sibi liberate recalcitrant; sed illos docebit qui sine murmuratione faciunt quae jussa cognoscant. Inter mansuetos enim et mites haec videntur esse distantia: mites sunt qui nulla furoris accensione turbantur, sed in lenitate animi jugiter perservetant; mansueti autem dicuntur, quasi manu consueti, hoc est tolerantes injurias, non reddentes malum pro malo. Cassiodorus, Expositio In Psalterium, Psalmus XXIV Source: Migne PG 70.179b-c

He shall direct the meek in judgement, He shall teach the mild His ways. 1 That is, He shall bring to His promise of beatitude those who are peaceful in their souls. And he says 'direct' because from being crooked they have been made straight. Then saying 'the meek' he excludes the proud and puffed up, as He says in the Gospel: 'Blessed are the meek, because they shall possess the earth.' 2 Certainly the mild are not the proud who cast off the light yoke and burden 3 for freedom for themselves from injury, but He teaches those who without murmuring do what they know He has commanded. There seems to be this difference between the meek and the mild: the meek are those who are not troubled by any flaming up of anger, but in gentleness of soul they persevere under the yoke; those who are mild are accustomed to the hand, that is, they endure injury, and do not return evil for evil. 4 Cassiodorus, Commentary On The Psalms, Psalm 24 1 Ps 24.8 2 Mt 5.4 3 Mt 11.30 4 Mt 5.39

Being Done With Pride

Cum omni humilitate et mansuetudine, cum patientia. Qui terram et cinerem esse se novit, et post paululum in pulverem dissolvendum, numquam superbia elevabitur. Et qui Dei aeternitate perspecta, breve et pene ad puncti instar humanae vitae spatium cogitarit, ante oculos suos semper habebit interitum, et erit humilis atque dejectus. Corruptibile enim corpus aggravat animam, et terrenum hoc tabernaculum, sensum opprimit multa curantem. Propter quod cum omni humilitate dicamus: Domine non exaltatum cor ceum, neque elati sunt oculi mei. Omnis autem humilitas, non tam in sermone, quam in mente est, ut humiles non esse conscientia, noverit, numquam nos vel scire, vel intelligere, vel esse aliquid aestimemus. Mansuetudo quoque illa est, quae nulla passione turbatur: et specialiter ira et furore non rumpitur. Quam qui habuerit, beatitudinem, quae Domini voce promissa est, consequetur: ut possideat terram, id est, imperet corpori suo, domineturque subjecto; et haec sit ejus prima haereditas, in carne non carnaliter vivere. Sanctus Hieronymus, In Epistolam Pauli ad Ephesios, Liber II, Cap IV Source: Migne PL 26.493c-494a

With all humility and meekness, and with patience. 1 He who knows himself to be earth and ashes, and that after a brief time that he must be resolved into dust, shall never be elevated by pride. And he who thinks of how the span of human life appears as a mere point in the sight of Divine eternity, having his death always before his eyes, he shall be humble and lowly. 'For the corruptible body burdens the soul and this terrestrial tabernacle weighs down the mind with many troubles.' 2 On account of which in all humility we say: 'Lord, my heart is not exalted, nor are my eyes lifted up.' 3 For nothing of humility is to be found in a mere word, but it is in the mind, that being humble we are conscious that we know should never think ourselves or understand ourselves or reckon ourselves something. And this is meekness, not to be troubled by any passion, especially the bursting forth of wrath and rage. He who has it is blessed and from it follows what the voice of the Lord has promised: that he shall possess the earth, 4 that is, he shall command his body, and ruling over it, subject it. And this is his primary inheritance, that in the flesh he does not live in the flesh. 5 Saint Jerome, Commentary On The Epistle of Saint Paul to the Ephesians, Book 2, Chap 4 1 Ephes 4.2 2 Wisd 9.15 3 Ps 130.1 4 Mt 5.4 5 Rom 8.9

The Inheritors

Καὶ ἔτι ὀλίγον, καὶ οὐ μὴ ὑπάρξη ἁμαρτωλός.  Διερμηνεύει τὰ ἀνωτέρω λελεγμένα, τὸ μὲν, Ὅτι ὡσει χόρτος ταχὺ ἀποξηρανθήσονται, καὶ ὡσεὶ λάχανα χλόης ταχὺ ἀποπεσοῦνται, διὰ τοῦ, Ἔτι ὀλίγον, καὶ οὐ μὴ ὑπάρξη ὁ ἁμαρτωλός· καὶ ζητήσεις τὸν τόπον αὐτοῦ καὶ οὐ μὴ εὕρῃς· τὸ δὲ Κατατρύφησον τοῦ Κυρίου, καὶ δώσει σοι τὰ αἱτήματα τῆς καρδίας σου, σαφέστερον ᾱποδίδυσι διὰ τοῦ, Οἱ δὲ πραεῖς κληρονομήσουσι τὴν γὴν, καὶ κατατυφήσουσιν ἐπὶ πλήθει εἰρήνης. Πῶς γάρ τις κατατρυφήσει τοῦ Κυρίου παρίστησι, πλῆθος εἰρήνης παρ' αὐτῷ εἶναι λέγων· οὐ πλήθους εἰρήνης ἀπολαύσουσιν οἱ τοῦ Κυρίου κατατρυφήσαντες. Διὰ τούτων δὲ ὁ λόγος σαφῶς ἑτέραν τινὰ γῆν ἀγαθὴν τὴν τοῖς πραέσι δοθησομένην διδάσκει, καὶ τρυφὴν καὶ πλῆθος εἰρήνης εἰς μέλλουσιν ἀναπέμπει ζωήν. Οὐ γὰρ ἠγνόει, ὅτι ὁμοίως τοῐς ἁμαρτωλοῖς κατὰ τὸν παρόντα βίον καὶ οἱ δίκαιοι τελευτήσουσιν, ὡς δύνασθαι καὶ περὶ αὐτῶν λέγεσθαι τό· Ἔτι ὀλίγον, καὶ οὐ μὴ ὑπάρξῃ ὁ δίκαιος, καὶ ζητήσεις τὸν τόπον αὐτοῦ, καὶ οὐ μὴ εὕρῃς· τελευτῶσι γὰρ ὁμοίως τοῖς ἁμαρτωλοῖς καὶ αὐτοί. Οὐκ ἂν δὲ εἰπε περὶ τῆς παρούσης γῆς τόδε· Οἱ παρεῖς κληρονομήσουσι τὴν γὴν, σαφῶς ὁρων τῶν πάντων πραότατον Μωῦσεα, πάλαι ἐξ ἀνθρώπων γενόμενον καὶ τῆς παρούσης γῆς ἀπηλλαγμένον.   Εὐσέβιος ὁ Καισάρειος, Ὑπομνηματα Ἐις Τους ψαλμους. ψαλμος ΛϚ' Source: Migne PG 23.328b-c

'And a little while and the sinner shall not be.' 1  Here is expounded what was said above, that is: 'Because as grass they will suddenly burn up and like herbs of grass suddenly wither,' 2 and so: 'And a little while and the sinner shall not be, and you shall seek his place and you will not find it,' 1 but: 'Delight in the Lord and He shall give to you the petitions of your heart,' 3 and to this openly answers: 'The meek even shall inherit the earth and delight in an abundance of peace.' 4 For someone who delights in presence of the Lord, it says, has the fullness of peace from Him, his being the abundance of peace of those who delight in the Lord. By these things, then, it is taught that another good earth will be given to the meek, who shall receive in the future life an abundance of peace. For he is not ignorant that in this life the righteous and the sinner must die, so that concerning these matters he would also be able to say: 'A little while and the righteous shall not be and you shall seek his place and not discover it.' For they also die even like sinners. Neither does he speak of this earth when he says that the meek shall inherit the earth, for he clearly knows that Moses, the most meek of all men of old, was taken from the midst of men and this earth. Eusebius of Caesarea, Commentary on the Psalms, from Psalm 36 1 Ps 36. 10 2 Ps 36.2 3 Ps 36.4 4 Ps 36.11

Humility And Meekness

Cum omni humilitate et mansuetudine et patientia. Et tolerantiam multam ponit, ne efferantur, ne superbi sint. Primo posita humilitas, deinde mansuetudo. Humilitas animi dejectio est. Frenum superbiae et immanitatis mansuetudo est. At vero quae sequitur patientia, in eo quod tolerant, si quid adversi evenerit. In prioribus, ne vereantur pati, duo posita, humilitas et mansuetudo. In his quae sequuntur, si passi fuerint, quales sint patientia, inquit. Deinde quod subjungit cum omni magnanimitate. Haec enim magnanimitas in hoc est, ut non solum patientier feras, sed erecto animo semper sis. Denique hoc subjungit, ut si passus fueris patienter, et magnanimiter feras sufferentes omnia quaecumque acciderint portantes invicem in charitate. Potest et ad sufferentes invicem in charitate, referri. Potest tamen integer esse sensus qui sequitur: Solliciti servandae unitatis spiritus in vinculo pacis. Ut spiritus unitatem servetis, aut unum spiritum servetis servandae pacis et in vinculo pacis, hortor vos ut soliciti sitis. Dat tamen rationes quare unitatis spiritus in vinculo solliciti esse debent: Unum corpus, inquit, et unus spiritus. Quia unum corpus est tota Ecclesia et unus spiritus, Ita ut et vocati estis in una spe vocationis vestrae. Et hoc argumentum est ad unitatem spiritus servandam in vinculo pacis, quod ita et isti vocati in una spe: non enim diversam spem habent, sed unam omnes, qui vocati sunt, promissorum Dei. Quae autem promissa sunt, notum est omnibus. Victorinus Afrus, In Epistolam Pauli ad Ephesios, Liber Primus, Caput IV Source: Migne PL 8.1271b-1272a

With every humility and meekness and patience. 1 And much endurance he proposes, lest they are made wild, lest they become proud. First he proposes humility, then meekness. Humility is a lowering of the soul. Meekness is the bridle on pride and brutality. Then what follows is patience, by which they endure, if adverse things should befall. Initially, then, lest they fear to suffer, two things he proposes, humility and meekness. Following these things, if they were to suffer, so they would be patient, he says. Then he continues 'with every magnanimity'. 2 And this magnanimity here is so that not only you suffer patiently, but you always do so with an upright soul. Then he adds, that if you were to suffer patiently, and endure magnanimously, suffering everything which befalls: 'bearing with one another in charity.' 1 And it is possible that 'suffering one another in love,' is all that is referred to. It is possible, however, that the sound sense is in what follows: 'Being anxious to maintain the unity of the spirit in the bond of peace.' 3 That you attend to the unity of the spirit, or that you attend to the one spirit in the guarding of peace in the bond of peace, I exhort you that you be anxious to do so. Now let reasons be given why they should be anxious for the unity of the spirit in the bond of peace. 'One body,' he says, 'and one spirit.' 4  Because one is the body of all the Church and one is the spirit. 'Thus you have been called into the one hope of your calling.' 4 And this is the argument for the guarding of the unity of the spirit in the bond of peace, that thus they are called in one hope, not having different hopes, but there is one for all who are called regarding the promises of God. For those things which are promised are known to all. Victorinus Afrus, On the Letter of Saint Paul to the Ephesians, Book One, Chapter 4 1 Ephes 4.2 2 Vetus Latina 3 Ephes 4.3 4 Ephes 4.4

Food And Labour

Ἤδεται ὁ ἡμέτερος Κύριος Σωτὴρ καὶ Χριστὸς τοῖς ἐπαινετοῖς ἔργοις ἡμῶν καθεκάστην ἡμέραν, καὶ νύκτα τρεφόμενος. Βρῶμα γὰρ ἔχω φαγεῖν, ἔλεγε τοῖς ἀποστόλοις, ὅπερ ὑμεῖς οὐκ ἐπιστασθε νῦν, μετὰ δὲ ταῦτα γνώσεσθε, τῆς τῶν Σαμαρειτῶν πόλεως τῶν τότε πιστευσάντων, καὶ τῆς τῶν μετὰ τοῦτο μυρίων ἐθνῶν χριστιανισάντων σωτηρίαν τὴν ἐδωδὴν προαινιττόμενος τοῖς οἰκείοις φοιτηταῖς, Καὶ γὰρ ὁ Ἠσαῗας προανεφώνει περὶ Χριστοῦ, ὅτιπερ βούτυρον καὶ μέλι φάγεται. Ὁ ἐν ἀρχῇ μὲν τὸν Ἀδὰμ πλαστουργήσας, ὕστερον δὲ ὡς παιδίον, καὶ ὡς ἄνθρωπος ὀφωεὶς Χριστὸς Ἰησοῦς ὁ Θεὸς καὶ οὐρανοῦ, καὶ γῆς, καὶ πάντων ὁρατῶν, Διὰ βουτύρου καὶ μέλιτος το τρόφιμον τῇ ψυχῇ καὶ τὸ γλυκὺ, καὶ προσηνὲς ὑπεμφαίνων τῆς τῶν Χριστιανῶν καλλίστης ἐργασίας. Ἐαν καλὰ πράττῃς ἔργα, καὶ μιμῇ τὸ πρᾶον τοῦ Ἰησοῦ, ἔθρεψας αὐτὸν βουτύρῳ καὶ μέλιτι· ἐὰν δὲ ὀργίλος μένῃ, καὶ φαύλων ἐργάτης πράξεων, λέξει εὐλόγως καὶ περὶ σοῦ Ἰησοῦς, ὅτι Ἔδωκεν οὗτος εἰς τὸ βρῶμα μου χολὴν, καὶ εἰς τὴν δίψαν μου ἐπότισέ με ὄξος. Ἅγιος Νειλος, Βιβλιον Πρῶτον, Ἐπιστολὴ ΣΝ' ΣΝΑ' Τευκρῳ Διακονῳ Source: Migne PG 79.176a-b

Our Lord Saviour and Christ takes joy in the labours of our praise on which He feeds night and day. 'For I have food for eating, He says to the Apostles, which you now do not know of now,' 1 and after would be known, in the city of the Samaritans when those among them believed, 2 and after them the endless number of peoples, who were given the name of Christ, foretelling the bread of salvation of our support. Indeed Isaiah gives prophecy concerning Christ, 'Butter and honey he shall eat,' 3 He who before this fashioned Adam and after as a little infant and man was seen, Jesus Christ, God of heaven and of earth, and all things visible. Butter and honey is the nourishment of the soul, and indicates nothing but the sweet and meek good works of Christians. Thus if you do good works and emulate the meekness of Christ, you shall feed Him with butter and honey; but if you are bloated with anger and turned to depraved deeds, not without reason did Christ speak of you, saying, 'They gave me gall for my bread, and for my drink they poured out vinegar. ' 4 Saint Nilus of Sinai, Book 1, Letters 250 and 251, to Teucer the Deacon 1 Jn 4.32 2 Jn 4.39-42 3 Isai 8.15 4 Ps 68.22

Friendship And Communication

Quanqum mihi multorum sim conscius peccatorum et quotidie in oratione flexis genibus loquar: Delicta juventutis meae et ignorantias meas ne memineris: tamen sciens dictum esse eb Apostolo: Ne inflatus superbia incidat in judicium diaboli: et in alio scriptum: Superbis Deus resistit; humilibus autem dat gratiam, nihil ita a pueritia conatus sum vitare quam tumentem animum et cervicem erectam, Dei contra se odia provocantem. Novi enim magistrum et Dominum et Deum meum in carnis humilitate dixisse: Discite a me, quia mitis sum et humilis corde: et ante per os David cecinisse: Memento, Domine, David, et omnis mansuetudinis ejus. Et in alio loco legimus: Ante gloriam humiliabitur cor viri; et ante ruinam elevatur. Itaque obsecro te, ne me putes sumptis litteris tuis ante tacuisse; et aliorum, vel infidelitatem, vel negligentiam in me referas. Quid enim causae erat, ut provocatus officio, tacerem et amicitias tuas meo silentio repellerem, qui altro soleo bonorum appetere necessitudinem, et me eorum ingerere caritati? Quia meliores sunt duo, quam unus: et si alter ceciderit, ab altero fulcietur. Funiculus triplex non facile rumpitur, et frater fratrem adjuvans, exaltabitur. Scribe igitur audacter; et absentiam corporum, crebro vince sermone. Nec doleas, si hoc non habeas quod formiculae, et muscae, et serpentes habent, id eas, carnis oculos: sed illum te oculum habere laetare, de quo in Cantico dicitur Canticorum: Vulnerasti me, soror mea sponsa, uno de oculis tuis; quo Deus videtur; de quo a Moyse dicitur: Transiens videbo visionem hanc magnam. Denique quosdam etiam mundi Philosophos legimus, ut totam cogitationem ad mentis  cogerent puritatem, sibi oculos eruisse. Et a Propheta dicitur: Intravit mors per fenestras vestras. Et Apostoli audiunt: Qui viderit mulierem ad concupiscendum eam, jam moechatus est eam in corde suo. Unde praecipitur eis, ut levent oculos, et videant candidas segetes, quae paratae sunt ad metendum. Quod autem precaris, ut nostris monitis Nabuchodonosor et Rapsaces et Nabuzardan et Holofernes in te occidantur, nunquam nostra auxilia postulares, si in te viverint. Sed quia illi mortui sunt, et cum Zorobabel, et cum Jesu filio Josedee Sacerdote magno, cum Ezra quoque, et Neemia ruinas Jerusalem aedificare coepisti; nec mittis mercedes in pertusum sacculum, sed thesauros tibi in coelestibus paras, idcirco nostras appetis amicitias, quos Christi famulos arbitraris. Sanctam filiam meam Theodoram, sororem beatae memoriae Lucinii, per se commendatam, meo sermone commendo, ut in coepto itinere non lassetur; ut ad Terram sanctam multo per eremum labore perveniat: ut non putet perfectam esse virtutem exisse de Aegytpo; sed per innumerabiles insidias ad montem Nabo, et ad Jordanem fluvium pervenire: ut accipiat secundum in Galgala circumcisionem: ut illi Jericho corruat, sacerdotalium tubarum subversa clangoribus: ut juguletur Adonisedee: ut Hai, et Azor pulcherrimae quondam corruant civitates. Sanctus Hieronymus, Epistula LXXVI, Ad Abigaum Source: Migne PL 22.689-690

Although I am conscious of many sins and every day I say in prayer on bended knees, 'Remember not the sins of my youth nor my transgressions,' 1 yet because I know that it has been said by the Apostle: 'Let a man not be lifted up with pride lest he fall into the condemnation of the devil,' 2 and that it is written in another passage: 'God resists the proud but gives grace to the humble,' 3 there is nothing from my boyhood that I have endeavoured to avoid more than a bloated mind and a stiff neck, which always provoke against themselves God's revulsion. For I know that my teacher and Lord and God has said in the lowliness of the flesh: 'Learn from me, for I am meek and lowly in heart,' 4 and that before this He sang through the mouth of David: 'Lord, remember David and all his meekness.' 5 Again we read in another passage, 'Before glory the heart of a man shall be humble, and before ruin he shall be elated.' 6 Thus I implore you not to think that having received your letter I have been silent, nor attribute to me the dishonesty and negligence of others. For what reason would I, who am obliged to respond, be silent and by my silence repel your friendship, I who am accustomed to desire relations with the good and even to throw myself on their charity? Better are two than one, for if one falls, the other will lift him up, a three fold cord is not easily broken, and a brother who helps his brother shall be exalted. 7 Write to me, therefore, boldly, and conquer absence of bodies by frequent words. You should not grieve that you are destitute of those bodily eyes which ants, flies, and creeping things have, but rather you should rejoice that you have that eye of which it is said in the Song of Songs, 'You have ravished my heart, my sister, my spouse, with one of your eyes,' 8 which is the eye with which God is seen and of which Moses speaks of when he says: 'I will now turn aside and see this great sight.' 9 Then we even read that some of the philosophers of this world have plucked out their eyes to drive all their thoughts to the depths of the mind. 10 And a Prophet says: 'Death has entered through your windows.' 11 And the Apostles hear: 'Whoever looks on a woman to lust after her has already committed adultery with her in his heart.' 12 Thus they are commanded to lift up their eyes and to look on the white fields, for they are ready for harvest. 13 You bid me by my exhortations to slay in you Nebuchadnezzar and Rabshakeh and Nebuzaradan and Holofernes, but our help you would never request were they alive in you. They are dead within you, but with Zerubbabel and Joshua the son of Josedech the high priest, 14 and Ezra and of Nehemiah you have begun to build up the walls of Jerusalem. Nor do you put your wages into a bag full of holes, 15 but you lay up for yourself treasure in heaven, 16 and so if you seek my friendship, it is because you judge that I am a servant of Christ. My holy daughter Theodora, the sister of Lucinius of blessed memory, commends herself, and with this word of mine I commend her, that she not grow weary of the path on which she has entered, that she will come to the Holy Land only by much toiling through the wilderness, that she should not think that the work of virtue is perfected when she has come out from Egypt, but she must pass through snares innumerable to come to Mount Nebo and the River Jordan, 17 that she must receive circumcision again at Gilgal, that Jericho must fall before her, overthrown by the blasts of priestly trumpets, 18 that Adoni-zedec must be slain, that Ai and Hazor, once fairest of cities, must both fall.  St Jerome, Letter 76, To Abigaus 1 Ps 24.7 2 1 Tim 3.6 3 Jam 4.6 4 Mt 11.29 5 Ps 131.1  6 Prov 18.12  7 Eccl 4.9  8 Song 4.9  9 Exod 3.3  10 cf Democritus, Aulus Gellius Attic Nights 10.17 11 Jerem 9.21  12 Mt 5.28  13 Jn 4.23  14 1 Esd 3  15 Haggai 1.6  16 Mt 6.20  17 Numb 33.47-48  18 Josh 6.20

Inheriting The Good

ἡ ψυχὴ αὐτοῦ ἐν ἀγαθοῖς αὐλισθήσεται καὶ τὸ σπέρμα αὐτοῦ κληρονομήσει γῆν   Ἡ ψυχὴ τοῦ εὐλαβοῦς, τῶν ἀγαθων περαιτέρω μὴ γενομένη, ἐν αὐτοῖς  αὐλίζεται, ἐνεργοῦσα αὐτὰ ἀεὶ· διὸ καὶ καθόλου τεύξεται τὸ σπέρμα ἔχειν κληρονομοῦν τὴν γῆν, οὐ τὴν ὑπὸ πόδας, ἀλλὰ τὴν τῶν πραίων. Δίδυμος Αλεξανδρεύς, Εἰς Ψαλμούς, Ψαλμος ΚΔ' Source: Migne PG 39.1301a

'His soul tarries among good things and his seed shall inherit the earth.' 1 The prudent soul does nothing but good things and so in this way it tarries in them, always doing such things, whence it shall come to be that his seed will inherit the earth, not that earth which is beneath the feet, but the earth of the meek. Didymus the Blind, Commentary on the Psalms, from Psalm 24 1 Ps 24.11

Earth And Knowledge

Οἱ δὲ πραεῖς κληρονομήσουσι γῆν, κ τ. ἐ. Ἡ γῆ νῦν γνῶσιν σημαίνει· ὡς γὰρ ἐν τόπῳ τῇ θεωρίᾳ λέγεται εἶναι ὁ νοῦς. Καὶ κατατρυφήσουσιν ἐπὶ πλήθει  εἰρήνης. Τρυφὴ δικαίου πλήθος εἰρήνης, πλῆθος  δὲ εἰρήνης ἐστὶν ἀπάθεια ψυχῆς μετὰ γνώσεως τῶν ὄντων ἀληθοῦς. Ὠριγένης, Εἰς Ψαλμους, Ψαλμος ΛϚ' Source: Migne PG 12.1317b

But the meek shall inherit the earth...1 The earth here means knowledge, for the mind in contemplation is spoken of as a place. 'And they shall rejoice in an abundance of peace.' 1 The righteous shall rejoice in an abundance of peace, which abundance of peace is the imperturbability of the soul by its knowledge of true things. Origen, Excerpta On the Psalms, from Psalm 36 1 Ps 36.11

Defeating A Vice

Ὅταν δὲ πάλιν ὑπὸ θυμοῦ καὶ τῆς ὀξυχολίας ταράττῃ, συμπάθειαν ἀναλαβοῦ, καὶ δούλωσον πρὸς τοὺς ἀδελφοὺς, καὶ εἰ δυνατὸν, νίπτε τοὺς πόδας αὐτῶν συνεχῶς ἐν ταπεινοφρονήματι, καὶ συγχωρησιν ζήτει παρὰ παντὸς ἀνθρώπου, καὶ τοὺς ἀσθενοῦντας συνεχῶς ἐπισκέπτου, τήν τε γλῶσσαν κίνει πρὸς ψαλμῳδίαν, καὶ τάχιστα τοῦ πάθους ἀπαλλαγήσῃ. Άγιος Ιωάννης ο Δαμασκηνός, Των Ὀκτώ Τῆς Πονηρίας Πνευμάτων Migne PG 95 81

When passion and anger again trouble you, take up meekness and be at the service of your brothers, and if possible, in all humility give yourself to the frequent washing of feet, and seek how you may be of use to every man, and be a continual carer of the sick, and give your tongue to the Psalms, and in a brief time you shall be delivered from the vice. Saint John of Damascus, from On The Eight Wicked Spirits

Pondering Positions Of Judgement

Τὸ πρᾶον καὶ ἥμερον, καὶ περιβολῆς καὶ σκέπης ἐπίκουρον πρόνατον, ἐκ δεξιῶν στήσεσθαι Θεοῦ, ὁ θεῖος λέγει χρησμός· τὸν δὲ τραχὺν καὶ παμφάγον καὶ ἄγριον, ἐξ εὐωνύμων βληθήσεσθαι ἔριφον. Τὰς τοιάασδε πολιτείας δηλῶν, κατάλληλον ἑαυταῖς κληρουμένας κατάστασιν. Θατέραν τοίνυν στυγήσαντες, τῆς ἑτέρας ἀπρὶξ ἀντισχώμεθα. Ἅγιος Ἰσίδωρος Του Πηλουσιώτου, Βιβίον Α', Ἐπιστολὴ ΣΠΗ' Ἑρμινῳ Κομητι

Divine Scripture tells that we should be meek and gentle and clad in that vestment and covering that we stand at the right side of God, while the bitter and devouring and wild goats are placed on the left side. 1 With such states being clearly manifested what position one would inherit should be pondered. Then hating one side, let us cleave firmly to the other.   Saint Isidore of Pelusium, Book 1, Letter 288, To Count Herminos 1 Mt 25.32-33