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

Sabbath Works

Secundum autem modum videndi, legem implevit duobus modis. Primum exteriores quidem legis figuras solvens, interiores autem veritates ejus adimplens. Utputa, in lege praecepit omne opus servile in sabbato quemquam facere non debere, praeterquam quod fit omni animae, scilicet quod est necessarium vitae humanae: hoc figurale est, quia sic Deus in sabbato cessat ab opere. Spiritualiter secuncum Evangelii veritatem, opus servile peccatum est: Quoniam omnis qui facit peccatum, servus est peccati. Omne autem opus bonum non est servile, sed liberale, et pro animae fit libertate, licet videatur ipsum opus in prima facie corporale. Vides ergo quia Christus sabbatis operans adimplevit legem, non solvit: manifestavit, non occultavit? Item in lege fuerat scriptum, lepram tangere non oportere. Hoc figuratum est. Lepra enim intelligitur peccatum. Christus ergo tangens lepram, non solvit legem, sed adimplevit. Mundans enim leprosum, justitiam operatus est, non peccatum. Et per hoc justitiam tetigit, non peccatum, quod est vere lepra Opus Imperfectum in Matthaeum, Homilia X Source: Migne PG 56.687-688

According to the way of seeing, the Law can be fufilled in two ways. First with the exterior figures, which being set aside, then its interior truth is achieved. So in the Law it is commanded that one should do no servile work on the Sabbath, apart from that which is fit for every soul, that is, necessary for human life. 1 This is a figure, because God rested from his work on the Sabbath. 2 Spiritually, according to the truth of the Gospel, the servile work is sin, because everyone who commits sin is a slave to sin, 3 but no good work is slavish, but liberating, and so suitable for the free soul, which same work at first glance may seem corporeal. Do you see, then, that Christ's work on the Sabbath fulfilled the Law and did not flout it, that He revealed and did not obscure? In the Law it was written that one should not touch a leper. This is the figure. But understand leprosy as sin. Christ, therefore, in touching the leper did not flout the law but fulfilled it. For the cleansing of the leper was a righteous work, not a sinful one. And by this He touched on righteousness not sin, which is the true leper. Opus Imperfectum on Matthew, from Homily 10 1 Exod 12.16, Levit 23.7 2 Gen 2.2 3 Jn 8.54

The Sabbath And Freedom

Τὸ ἐν τῷ νόμῳ εἰρημένον, οὐκ ἔστιν ἁπλοῦν, ἀλλ' ἔχει τινὰ διπλόην τοῖς· παχέσι κεκαλυμμένην, τοῖς δὲ λεπτοῖς γεγυμνωμένην. Ἡ ἡμέρα, φησὶν, ἡ ἐβδόμη, κλητὴ ἁγία ἔσται ὑμῖν. Πᾶν ἔργον λατρευτὸν οὐ ποιήσετε ἐν αὐτῇ, πλὴν ὅσα ποιηθήσεται πάσῃ ψυχῇ. Λατρείαν ἐνταῦθα τὴν δουλείαν καλεῖ. Οὐδὲν οὖν, φησὶ τῶν δουλοπρεπῶν, καὶ οἰονεὶ ἀνδραποδιζόντων ὑμᾶς ἀπὸ τῆς πρὸς Θεὸν σχολῆς, ἐργάσεσθε ἐν Σαββάτῳ, ὃ καταφορτίζει ὑμᾶς βάρει ἁμαρτημάτων· ἀνέσεως γὰρ καὶ ἀφέσεώς ἐστιν ἡ ἡμέρα· κὰι οὐ χρὴ συνδέσμοις κακῶν τὸ ἀξίωμα αὐτῆς ἐνυβρίζεσθαι· τὸ δὲ, ὅσα ποιηθήσεται πάσῃ ψυχῇ, χρῆναι ἐργάζεσθαι, ὅσα τῇ ψυχῇ φέρει τὸ κέρδος, ταῦτα πληροῦν ἐνομοθέτησεν, εὐχὴν, προσευχὴν, ἡσυχίαν, νουθεσίαν, εὐποιίαν, σωφροσύνην, ἐγκράρειαν, ἀλήθειαν, ἀγνείαν, καὶ ὅσα τούτοις ὑπὸ πόδας εἴρηται, ἅπερ εἰς τὸν ἔσθω διαβαίνοντα ἄνθρωπον, τῶν ἔξω ἐλευθεροῖ σκανδάλων καὶ περιστάσεων, ἐκνικῶντος τοῦ κρείττονος Ἅγιος Ἰσίδωρος Του Πηλουσιώτου, Βιβλιον Πρῶτον, Ἐπιστολή ΟΑ´ Ἡλιωνι Μοναχῳ Source: Migne PG 78.232a-b

That which is spoken of in the Law does not have a single meaning but a twofold one, and the more weighty part is hidden and the lighter is obvious. It says, 'You shall call the seventh day holy and you shall do no servile work on it.' 1 that is, as much as it shall touch any part of the soul. The servile here is what is slavish. Let there be nothing, then, befitting slavishness. And judge this to be whatever enslaves you apart from leisure for God, putting you to work on the Sabbath, burdening you with the weight of sin. For it is a day of leisure and of freedom, and one must not insult the dignity of it by being bound up in evils, but it commands that one should attend to whatever benefits the whole soul completely, that is, preaching, contemplation, exhortation, good deeds, modesty, continence, truth, chastity, and whatever is said below, which things passing into the inner man delivers him from scandals and trials, since what is better prevails. Saint Isidore of Pelusium, Book 1, Letter 71, to Helion the Monk 1 Levit 23.3

Freedom And Servitude

Cum enim inquit servi essetis peccati, liberi fuistis justitiae. Qualis, quaeso, potest servi addicti esse libertas, nisi quando eum peccare delectat? Liberaliter enim servit, qui sui domini voluntatem libenter facit, ac per hoc ad peccandum liber est, qui peccati servus est. Unde ad juste faciendum liber non erit: nisi a peccato liberatus, esse justitiae coeperit servus. Ipsa vero est vera libertatis, esse justitiae coeperit servus. Ipsa vero est vera libertas, habere recte facti laetitiam: simul et pia servitus, amplecti praecepti obedientiam. Sed ad bene faciendum ista libertas unde erit homini addito et vendito, nisi redimat eum, cujus illa vox est: Si vos Filius liberaverit, tunc vere liberi eritis. Liberi enim a justitia non sunt, nisi arbitrio libertatis; liberi autem a peccato non sunt, nisi gratia Salvatoris. Guillelmus S Theodorici Abbas, Expositio In Epistolam Ad Romanos, Liber III, Caput VI Source: Migne PG 180.610d-611a

For when you were servants of sin, you were free from righteousness.... 1 How is it possible, I ask, to be free when enslaved to sin, unless it is a man's delight to sin? He serves freely, who freely performs the will of his master, and because of this he is free for sin who is a slave of sin. Whence a man shall not be free to do what is right unless he has been freed from sin to become a servant of righteousness. This, however, is true freedom, to have joy in acting righteously, and at the same time that service is pious which has embraced the obedience of the commands. But how shall a man bound and sold have this freedom for acting well, unless He frees him whose voice says: 'If the Son has freed you, then truly you are free.' 2 Men are not free from righteousness unless by freedom of the will, and they are not free from sin unless by the grace of the Saviour. William of St Thierry, Commentary on Saint Paul's Letter to the Romans, Book 3, Chapter 6 1 Rom 6.20 2 Jn 8.36

Truth And Freedom

Et vos cognoscetis veritatem, et veritas liberabit vos. Tria dicit, quae faciunt hominem rectum. Primum est rectitudo affectus, et hoc notatur in discipulatu Christi; secundum, rectitudo intellectus, et hoc in cognitione veritatis; tertium, rectitudo effectus per liberationem a culpa, et hoc notatur in liberatione veritatis. Vel: discipuli eritis in via per imitationem; veritatem cognoscetis in animae beatificatione ; et veritate liberabimini ab omni corruptione in animae et corporis felici unione; ad Romanos octavo: Ipsa creatura liberabitur a servitute corruptionis in libertatem gloriae flliorum Dei. Responderunt ei. Tangitur hic secundum, scilicet quomodo liberatio promissa a ludaeis parvipenditur, quia ipsi se liberos reputabant; unde gloriantur de libertate et non curant de liberatione. Propterea dicunt ei: Semen Abrahae sumus et nemini servivimus unquam; et ita liberi sumus per naturam; quomodo tu dicis: Liberi eritis, quasi modo non simus liberi? Ideo dicebant se liberos, quia nati de Abraham per Isaac, qui filius fuit liberae, secundum quod dicitur ad Galatas quarto: Eiice anciliam et filium eius; dictum est de Agar; non enim heres erit filius ancillae cum filio liberae, et tractum est de Genesis vigesimo primo. Respondit eis lesus. Tangitur hic tertium, quia necessitas liberationis ostenditur; et ostendit eos servos, et quod habent opus liberatione et quomodo liberantur. Quod ergo sint servi spiritualiter, ostendit tali ratione: Qui facit peccatum servus est peccati; sed vos facitis peccatum: ergo vos estis servi peccati. Minorem huius rationis tacet, quia infra eam exprimit, et conclusionem tacet; sed proponit maiorem dicens: Amen, amen dico vobis : Qui facit peccatum servus est peccati. Hoc probat beatus Petrus in secundae Canonicae secundo: A quo quis superatus est, huius et servus est. Haec est pessima servitus; unde Augustinus: Miserabilis servitus ! Servus hominis aliquando, sui domini duris imperiis fatigatus, fugiendo requiescit; servus vero peccati quo fugit? Secum trahit malam conscientiam, quocumque eat; quia, quocumque vadit , a se non recedit. Sic patet eos esse servos; et ex hoc probat, quod indigent liberatione, tali ratione: qui non manet in domo in aeternum indiget liberari ab eo qui manet, et per eum potest liberari; sed servus non manet, Filius autem manet: ergo servus per Filium indiget et potest liberari. Sed vos estis servi, ut supra dictum est: si ergo vos Filius liberaverit, vere liberi eritis. Servus non manet in domo in aeternum, Filius manet in aeternum. Augustinus exponit: Qui est servus peccati non manet in domo in aeternum, id est flnaliter, quamvis possit esse de praesenti Ecclesia quantum ad numerum. Tales servi, etsi sint in domo cum bonis , tamen non habent vestem nuptialem; ideo eiiciuntur, secundum illud Matthaei vigesimo secundo: Amice, quomodo huc intrasti, non habens vestem nuptialem? Et post subditur: Proiicite eum in tenebras exteriores. Si ergo Filius vos liberaverit,vere liberi eritis, ille, inquam, Filius solus est liber, quia solus sine peccato; unde in Psalmo: Factus sum sicut homo sine adiutorio, inter mortuos liber. Et ratio redditur infra decimo quarto : Venit princeps mundi huius et in me non habet quidquam. Iste Filius liber, ut nos liberaret, factus est pro nobis quasi servus; ad Philippenses secundo: Humiliavit semetipsum, formam servi accipiens etc. Hic igitur nos liberavit redimendo; Isaiae quinquagesimo secundo: Gratis venundati estis, et sine argento redimemini; quia, sicut dicitur primae Petri primo, non corruptibilibus auro vel argento redempti estis, sed pretioso sanguine quasi Agni immaculati et incontaminati, Christi lesu. Non, inquam, ut iterum simus servi, sed liberi; unde ad Galatas quinto: Vos, inquit, fratres, in libertatem vocati estis, tantum ne libertatem in occasionem detis carnis sed per caritatem spiritus servite invicem Sanctus Bonaventura, Commentarius In Evangelium Ioannem, Caput VIII Source: Here, p773-6

'And you will know the truth, and the truth will make you free.' 1 He speaks of three things which make a man right. Firstly the rightness of love, and this is noted in the discipleship of Christ, secondly the rightness of the intellect, and this is the knowledge of truth, and the third is the rightness of the effect in the liberation from fault, and this is noted in the liberation of truth. Or: you shall be disciples in the way by imitation, you shall know the truth in the beatification of your soul, and you shall be freed in the truth from every corruption of soul and body in the blessed union, as in the eighth chapter of Romans: 'This creation shall be liberated from the servitude of corruption in the liberty of the glory of the sons of God.' 2 'They answered Him....' This touches on the second point, that is, the promised freedom weighs little on the Jews because they think themselves free, whence they glory in freedom and do not have care for it. Therefore they say to him: 'We are the seed of Abraham and we have never served anyone, and thus we are naturally free. How do you say we will be free as if we were not free?' 3 Therefore they named themselves free because they were born of Abraham through Isaac, who was the son of the free woman, concerning which it is said in the fourth chapter of Galatians: 'Cast out the slave woman and her son', which is Agar, 'the son of the slave woman shall not inherit with the son of the free woman.' and as it is written in the twenty first chapter of Genesis. 4 'Jesus says to them...' Here the third point is touched upon, because He shows the necessity of liberation, and He shows them to be slaves, and that they have the work of freedom to do, and how they are liberated. Because, then, they are spiritual slaves, He reveals it by such reason: 'He who sins is a slave to sin.' 5 You sin therefore you are slaves to sin. This minor premise is unspoken, because it is expressed within it, and the conclusion is also unspoken, and he sets forth the major, saying, 'Amen, amen, I say to you, He who sins is a slave to sin.' The blessed Peter approves this in the second chapter of the second canonical epistle: 'By what a man is ruled, he is its slave.' 6 This is the worse servitude. Whence Augustus says: 'Wretched servitude. Sometimes the slave of a man, exhausted by the commands of a hard master, finds peace in flight, but where will a servant of sin flee? He drags his evil conscience with him wherever he may go, because wherever he goes, he does not depart from himself.' 7 So it is evident they are slaves, and with this He proves they need liberation, with such reason: he who does not remain in the house forever is in need of being freed by the one who does remain, and by him he is able to be freed, but the slave does not remain, the Son does. Therefore the slave has need of the Son, so that he can be freed. But you are slaves, as was said above, 'If therefore the son has liberated you, truly you will be free.' 8 'The slave does remain in the house forever, the son remains forever.' Augustine explains: 'He who is a servant of sin does not remain in the house forever, that is, until the end, although it is possible for him to be numbered among the present Church. Such slaves, even if there are in a house full of good things, yet do not have the wedding garment, and therefore they are cast out, according to the twenty second chapter of Matthew: 'Friend, how to you come in here without a wedding garment?' And after: 'Throw him out into the outer darkness.' 9 'If therefore the son has liberated you, truly you will be free.' The Son alone, I say, is free, because He alone is without sin, whence it is said in the Psalm: 'I am made like a man without a helper, a free man among the dead.' 10 And the reason he gives later in the fourteenth chapter here: 'The prince of the world comes and in me he finds nothing.' 11 This son is free, so that He might free us, He who was made as a slave for us, according to the second chapter of Philippians: 'He humbled Himself, taking on the form of a slave...' 12 He then frees us with a ransom. In the fifty second chapter of Isaiah: 'You were sold for nothing and without silver you shall be bought,' 13 because as it is said in the first chapter of the first letter of Peter: 'You were not redeemed with corruptible gold or silver but with the precious blood of the immaculate and spotless lamb, Jesus Christ.' 14 And not, I say, that we become slaves again but that we be free, whence in the fifth chapter of Galatians: 'You, brothers, have been called to freedom, only do not let your freedom become an occasion for the indulgence of the flesh, but serve one another in the spirit of love.' 15 Saint Bonaventura, Commentary On The Gospel Of Saint John, Chapter 8 1 Jn 8.32 2 Rom 8.21 3 Jn 8.33 4 Galat 4.30, Gen. 21.10 5 Jn 8.34 6 2 Pet 2.19 7 August Tractates On John 41.4 8 Jn 8.35-36 9 August Tractates On John 41.8, Mt 22.12-13 10 Ps 87.6 11 Jn 14.30 12 Phil 2.7 13 Isaiah 52.3 14 1 Pet 1.18-19 15 Galat 5.13

Captivity And Servitude

Super flumina Babylonis illic sedimus et flevimus... Itaque et hanc corporalem populi captivitatem, referri in exemplum spiritalis captivitatis oportet. Captae enim mentes nostrae sunt corporum saeculique dominatu, captae a daemonibus sunt jure vitiorum, quae imperium in nos summ per diversa ministeriorum genera exercent: dum nos ebrietas possidet, dum luxus subigit, dum avaritia devincit, dum ambitio occupat, dum malevolentia obtinet, dum ira usurpat, dum omnia in nobis regnant haec incentiva vitiorum. Venit enim Dominus, secundum prophetam, captivitatem avertere, cum dicitur. Praedicare captivis remissonem. Venit ligatos solvere, cum ait: Hanc filiam Abrahae, quam ligaverat Satanas decem et octo annis, nonne oportuit solvi in die sabbati? Venit servientes in libertatem deducere, dicens: Amen, dico vobis, quoniam omnis qui fact peccatum, servus est peccati. Servus autem non manet in domo in aeternum, filius manet in aeternum. Si vero Filius vos liberaverit, vere liberi eritis. Capimur ergo et ligamur et servimus, non tam corpore, quam et mente. Et mihi in praesenti psalmo omnis virtus et ratio verborum non tam corporlem captivitatem tractare, quam spiritalem videtur. Ea enim et in querelis et in incolis, et in rebus et in nominibus momenta sunt, ut spiritalem potius captivitaem haec lamentabilis Prophetae querela significet. Sanctus Hilarius Pictaviensis, Tractatus super Psalmos, Tractatus in Psalmum CXXXVI Source: Migne PL 9.778a-c

By the rivers of Babylon where we sat and wept...1 This corporeal captivity of the people should direct as an example of spiritual captivity. For our minds our captive when they are dominated by corporeal and worldly things, when by the vices they are rightly made captive by demons, which exert rule over us through many types of activity: when we are inebriated, when we are subjugated by luxury, when we are conquered by avarice, when ambition seizes us, when malevolence grips us, when wrath rises up in us, when all the provocations of the vices reign in us. And the Lord comes, according to the prophet, to cast aside captivity. 2 He preaches freedom to captives. He comes to undo bonds when He says, 'This daughter of Abraham, whom Satan has bound for eighteen years, should she not be freed on the Sabbath day?' 3 He comes to lead slaves to liberty, saying: 'Behold, I say to you that everyone who commits sin is a slave to sin. A servant does not remain in the house forever, a son remains forever. If the Son has liberated you, truly you shall be free.' 4 Thus we are seized and bound and made slaves, not so much in the body but rather in the soul. And it seems to me that in this Psalm all the force and the reason of the words does not speak so much of corporeal captivity but rather of spiritual servitude. For these sorrowful complaints of the prophet spoken in grief and exile, even the use of things and names, signify rather a spiritual captivity. Saint Hilary of Poitiers, Homilies on the Psalms, from Psalm 136 1 Ps 136.1 2 Isaiah 61.1, Lk 4.18 3 Lk 13.16 4 Jn 8.31-36

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

A Good Example

Sed si benefacientes, patienter sustinetis... Notandum attentius quam summe conditionem servorum glorificet, quos benefacientes et absque culpa, vapulantes a dominis crudelibus et improbis, imitatores esse dominicae passionis affirmat. Audis autem quia passus est pro nobis, et gaudes quia pro te mortuus est, attende quod sequitur: Relinquens vobis exemplum ut sequamini vestigia ejus. Exemplum tribulationum non deliciarum, contumeliarum, flagellorum, dolorum, opprobriorum, spinarum, crucis, vulnerum, mortis. In psalmo scriptum est: Propter verba labiorum turoum ego custodivi vias duras. Propter quae verba labiorum Dei nisi quibus promittit vitam aeternam? Sancta Beda, In Primam Epistolam Sancti Petri, Cap II Source: Migne PL 93.54a-b

But if doing good, you patiently endure...1 It must be noted with all attention how he highly glorifies the the state of slaves, who doing good and lacking fault, are beaten by their cruel and immoral masters, affirming them to be imitators of the Lord's passion. And you who hear that He suffered for us, and rejoice that He died for us, look to what follows: Leaving to you an example, that you follow in His steps. 2 An example of tribulations not pleasures, of contumely, of whippings, of sorrow, of shame, of thorns, of the cross, of wounds, of death. In the Psalm it is written: 'Because of the words of your lips I have kept the hard ways.' 3 And because of what words of the Lord, unless the promise of eternal life? Saint Bede, Commentary on the First Letter of Peter, Chap 2 1 1 Pet 2.20 2 1 Pet 2.21 3 Ps 16.4

Labours Of Old

Ideo et sancti antiqui et martires laboraveunt, et se morti exposuerunt pro salute fratrum, et animas posuernt ut dictum est, et etiam se vendiderunt infidelibus, ut eos converterent et decuerent ad devotionem et unionem caritatis. Sicut narratur de Serapione, qui et Sindonius dicebatur in libro qui dicitur paradisus patrum: Quod se vendidit paganis precio xx. solidorum, et eis servivit donec Cristianos eos fecit. Cunque recederet pecuniam dedis eis, et cum dicerent ut eam pauperibus daret, respondit: vos eam dater quia vestra vestra est, ego alienas peccunias non do pauperibus. Ibidem legitur: Quod alius vendidit se uni de primatibus civitatis, quem cognovit Manicheum esse, servivitque ei donec eum convertit. Sic et alii sancti laboraverunt et sustinuerunt pro salute fratris. Sicut et Paulus qui ait ii Corinthios ultimo: Ego libentissime impendam et superimpendar pro animibus vestris. Mirum ergo est, qui se dicunt habere caritatem perfectam, qui nec fratribus mala patientibus compatiuntur, nec proficientibus gaudent, nec egenis subministrant de suis superfluitatibus necessari, de quibus verificatur quod ait apostolus. Habentes quidem spem caritatis virtutem autem abnegantes, ii. Thimoteum iii: De his et pertinentibus ad predicat debet predicator diumus conferre cum fidelibus et cetera. Johannes Gallensis, Communiloquium sive Summa Collationum, Quinta Distinctio, Captitulum Tercium, Secunde Partis Source: here, p115

So the saints and martyrs of old laboured, even exposing themselves to death for the salvation of their brothers, and laying down their souls, as it is said, and even selling themselves to the faithless, that they might convert them and lead them to the devotion and piety of love. So it is told of Serapion, who was called Sindonius, in the book which is called the Paradise of the Fathers. He sold himself to pagans for the price of twenty solidii and he was their slave until he made them Christians. And when he left, he refused the money paid by them, and when they said that he should give it to the poor, he replied: 'You give what is yours, I do not give another's money to the poor.' In the same place it may be read that another fellow sold himself to a certain great man of a city whom he knew to be a Manichee, and he was his slave until he converted him. So even the saints laboured and suffered for the salvation of their brothers. So even Paul says in the last chapter of the second letter to the Corinthians: 'I will most glady spend and be spent for your souls.' 1 It is a wonder, then, that they say they have perfect love who neither suffer evils with their brothers who suffer, nor take joy in their improvement, nor attend to the needs of the poor from their abundance, which things the Apostle confirms when he says. 'Having the hope of love but denying the power of it.' 2 Concerning these things and things related to them the preacher should spend much time in speech with the faithful. John of Wales, The Communiloquium, Fifth Distinction, Third Chapter, of the Second Part 1 2 Cor 12.15 2 cf 2 Tim 3.5

Useful Things

Obsecro te, pro meo filio, quem genui in vinculis, Onesimo quondam tibi inutili, nunc vero tibi mihique perutili, quem remisi ad te. Tu autem illum sicut mea viscera suscipe: quem ego volueram apud me ipsum retinere, ut pro te mihi ministraret in vinculis Evangelii: sed citra tuum consilium nihil volui facere; ut non velut ex necessitate bonum tuum esset, sed voluntarium. Non magnum est humilem inclinare se, laudabile vero sublimem virum humiliare se; ideo Apostolus rogat eum, cui imperandi habet potestatem, ut in omnibus forma sit ad profectum meritorum. Onesimum ergo profugum recurrentem ad divinum auxilium, cum esset in custodia urbis Romae, baptizavit Apostolus, videns in illo utilitatis spem. Quem sic commendat, ut suum animum in illo significet idoneum ex inutili factum tam saecularibus, quam divinis obsequiis. Ambrosiaster, In Epistolam Beati Pauli Ad Philomenem Source: Migne PL 17.505c-d

'I beg you, for my son, whom I bore in chains, for Onesimus who was once useless to you, now however most useful to you and to me, whom I return to you. Receive him as my own heart, he whom I wished to keep with me, that as he served me in chains for the Gospel, so he do you, but without your consent I would do nothing, for not from necessity is your good, but from freedom.' 1 It is not a great thing for a humble man to bow, but it is praiseworthy for a great man to humble himself; therefore the Apostle asks him, a man who has the power to command, that in everything he conduct himself for the increase of his merits. Thus the fugitive Onesimus' return is for Divine aid, he whom the Apostle baptized when he was in prison in Rome, seeing in him hope of usefulness. Whom he commends as his own soul, signifying that he has been made useful from uselessness, as being brought from worldly things into Divine service. Ambrosiaster, Commentary On The Epistle of Saint Paul To Philemon 1 Philemon 10-14

Receiving A Friend

Si ergo habes me socium, assume illum sicut me. Tantum se affectum habere circa Onesimum ostendit, ut tunc Philemonem, quem superius laudat, participem suum dicat, si istum sic susceperit, sicut Apostolum. Hoc est enim quod dixit Salomon: Servo sapienti liberi servient. Quod dictum terrori est Philemoni, ut saltem vel hac causa assumeret eum, si charitate flecti non posset. Ambrosiaster, In Epistolam Beati Pauli Ad Philomenem Source: Migne PL 17.506a-b

'If, therefore, you have me as a friend, receive him as you would me.' 1  Such affection he shows for Onesimus  that he asks Philemon, whom he praised above, to be a sharer in it, by receiving Onesimus like an Apostle. For it is as Solomon said: 'Free sons shall serve the wise slave.' 2 Which is spoken to trouble  Philemon, that at least for that reason he should receive him, if he is not able to be inclined by love. Ambrosiaster, Commentary On The Epistle of Saint Paul To Philemon 1 Philemon 17 2 Sirach 10.25

Sons Of Promise

Nos autem, fratres, secundum Isaac promissionis filii sumus. Apostolum et similes ei secundum Isaac promissionis esse filios, nulla intellgentiae difficultas est. Sed quia Origenes hunc locum edisserens, ita Apostoli posuit exemplum: 'Vos autem, fratres, secundum Isaac promissionis filii estis, quaeritur quomodo Galatas, quos stultos appellarat, et incoepisse dixerat spiritu, carne finire, nunc secundum Isaac filios repromissionis vocet? Dicimus itaque Apostolum ideo eos appellare secundum Isaac filios repromissionis, quia non penitus eorum desperet salutem, et rursum eos ad spiritum quo coeperant aestimet reversuros, fiantque filii liberae. Qui si carne fuerint consummati, filii sunt ancillae. Sanctus Hieronymus, Commentariorum in Epistolam ad Galatas, Liber II, Cap IV Source: Migne PL 26.392a-b

We are, brothers, the sons of the promise, as Isaac. 1 That the Apostle and those like him are the sons of promise as Isaac is not difficult to understand. But since Origen also writes on this passage concerning the Apostle, when he says, 'You are, brothers, the sons of the promise, as Isaac,' and asks how the Galatians, whom the Apostle has called foolish, and whom he has said have begun in the spirit to end in the flesh, are now sons of promise according to Isaac, we say that the Apostle calls them sons of promise according to Isaac because he has not utterly despaired of their salvation, and again that he judges that they have begun to turn back to the spirit, and to become sons of the free woman. Those who, if they had reached the end of the flesh, would have been sons of the slave girl. Saint Jerome, Commentary on the Letter to the Galatians, Book 2 Chap 4 1 Gal 4.28

Freedom And Slavery

Unusquisque in ea vocatione, in qua vocatus est, in ipsa permaneat. Hoc firmat, quod supra dixit. 'Servus vocatus es. Non sit tibi curae: sed  et si potes liber fieri, magis utere.' Hortatur ut bene serviens de Dei timore carnali domino, dignum se faciat libertate, ne audiens forte: Servus vocatus es? Non tibi sit curae;' negligentior esset circa bonos actus carnalis domini, et doctrina Christi blasphemaretur, et nec ille Deum prometetur, qui in his terrenis bene serviens, meritum sibi collocat apud Deum: quia dixit Dominus: Qui in minimo fidelis est, et in magno.' Qui enim in Domino vocatus est servus, liberatus est Domini. Ereptus enim a peccatis, quae vere servos probant, libertus fit; hic enim omnino servus est, qui imprudenter agit, sicut et veteribus placuit, qui omnes sapientes liberos appelarunt, imprudentes autem omnes servos. Unde et Saloman: Servo, inquit, sapienti liberi servient. Hic ergo qui credit, etsi servus sit ad tempus, quia rem facit prudentem, ut credat in Christum, libertus fit Domini. Si ergo peccata servos faciunt, sicut Cham filius Noe peccati et imprudentiae causa factus est servus; cum quis accipit remissionem peccatorum, libertus efficitur. Ambrosiaster, In Epistolam Beati Pauli Ad Corinthios Primam, Caput VII Source: Migne PL 17.220c-d

'Each one in the vocation in which he is called, let him remain.' 1 Here he confirms that which he said above, 'You are called and a slave? Let it not worry you; but if you can make yourself free, better it would be.' 2 He exhorts that by serving well a carnal lord in the fear of God, a man will be made worthy to gain his freedom, lest perhaps hearing, 'Are you are a slave? Let it not worry you,' there be neglect for good deeds for a carnal lord and the teaching of Christ be blasphemed, and he not merit God, he who serving well in worldly things will be with merit gathered to God, because the Lord said, 'He who is faithful in the least of things, is so in the greatest.' 3 For he who is a slave and has been called to the Lord is freed in the Lord. 4   For seized from sin, which truly proves one a slave, he is made free. For he is an utter slave, who acts imprudently, as it pleased the men of old to name everyone wise a free man and all the foolish slaves. Whence Solomon says, 'Free born sons will be servants of the wise servant.' 5 He, then, who believes, even if he be a slave for a time, because he acts prudently, believing in Christ, is made free in the Lord. If therefore sins make slaves, so Ham the son of Noah, by reason of sin and imprudence, was made a slave, and when someone receives forgiveness for sin, he is liberated Ambrosiaster, from the Commentary On The First Epistle of Saint Paul To The Corinthians, Chapter 7 1 1 Cor 7.20-21 2 1 Cor 7.21 3 Lk 16.10 4 1 Cor 7.22 5 Sirach 10.28

A Plea For A Slave

Κατέλαβέ τις τὴν ἐσχατιὰν, ἤν οἰκοῦμεν, νεώτερος, καὶ ἐντυχὼν τῷ τὴν θύραν φυλάσσοντι, πρὸς ἐμὲ γενέσθαι ἠξίωσεν. Ὡς δὲ ἐτοίμη ἡ ἡμετέρα συνήθεια πάντας οἴκοι προσίεσθαι, καὶ δεξιᾶς μεταδιδόνια ὁμιλίας καὶ ἀναπαύσεως, εἰσεκλήθη, καὶ πρηνὴς σπουδαίως ἐπ' ἐδάφους ἐγένετο, οὐδὲν εἰπὼν πρὸ κλαῦσαι πολλά· ἐπειδὴ δὲ εγὼ καὶ χειρὶ ἀντελαβόμην, καὶ συμβαλέσθαι τὰ ἐν δυνάμει ὑπεσχόμην, καὶ ὅς τις εἴη, καὶ ὅτου χρῇζει ἠρόμην, οἰκέτης μὲν ἔφη εἴναι ὑμέτερος, πταίσματι δὲ ἐξ ἀγνοίας ἐμπεπτωκέναι κρείττονι, ὡς ἐνόμισε, μεταγνώσεως καὶ τὸ μὲν πρώτῳ ἐξέπληξεν· οὐ γὰρ οἴμαι οἰκέτην ἔχειν τὸν φιλόχριστον Εἴρωνα, εἰδότα τὴν χάριν τὴν πάντας ἐλευθερώσασαν. Το δεύτερον δὲ ἠνίασεν, ἐπειδὴ πᾶν ἁμάρτημα παρὰ τῶν πραξάντων, καὶ δευτερούμενον ἐφιέναι ἀλλήλοις παρὰ Χριστοῦ ἐκελεύσθημεν, καὶ διδάξαντος, καὶ ποιήσαντος οὕτως. Διδάξαντος μὲν, Ἐὰν μὴ ἀφῆτε παραπτώματα τοῖς ἀνθρώποις, οὐδε ὑμῖν ἀφήσει ὁ Πατὴρ ὑμῶν ὁ οὐράνιος τὰς ἁμαρτίας ὑμῶν· ποιήσαντος δὲ ἐν τῷ τὴν πόρνην καὶ τὸν τελώνην Ματθαῖον καὶ Σαμαρείτιδα καὶ Παράλυτον, καὶ αὐτον Πέτρον τὸν τοῦ θιάσου μαθητῶν κορυφαῖον, οὐ μόνον σωματικῶν, ἀλλὰ καὶ ψυχικῶν ἁμαρτημάτων καὶ νοσημάτων. Εἰ οὖν Χριστὸν θέλεις μιμήσασθαι, τὰ μεγάλα συγχώρει τοῖς πταίουσιν ἁμαρτήματα. Τὰ γὰρ βραχέα καὶ ὡς  κοινὰ παρορῶσιν οἱ πλείονες, καὶ παρεκλήσει χαρίζονται. Τὰ δὲ μείζονα, μόνοι οἱ μεγάλην ἔχοντες πρὸς Θεὸν τὴν συνείδησιν, καὶ μεγάλους μεσθοὺς παρ' αὐτοῦ τῶν λαμπρῶν πράξεων περιμένοντες. Ἅγιος Ἰσίδωρος Του Πηλουσιώτου, Βιβλίον Πρῶτον, Ἐπιστολή ΡΜΒ' Εἴρων Σκολαστικῳ Source: Migne PG 78. 277 b-c

There came down to our remote spot in which we dwell a young man who asked the guard of the gate that he be admitted to me. And as it is our custom to have our dwellings prepared to admit all for converse or rest, so without delay he came in, and instantly casting himself down, before any speech, he wept profusely, whence I offered my hand and promised him that I would do for him all that was in my power, and asking who he might be, and what he wanted done by me, he said that he was your slave who in ignorance had fallen into sin, which, I thought, his awareness of surpassed, and at first I was amazed. For I did not judge that the Christ loving Eiron who knows that grace liberates all, had a slave. Then I was grieved. Certainly every sin, even those ones which are repeated, Christ commands that others must forgive others. For so He taught and so He did. The Lord, I say, spoke these words, 'Unless you forgive men their sins, neither shall your Father in heaven forgive you.' 1 So He forgave the whore,2 and the tax collector Matthew, 3 and the Samaritan woman 4 and  the paralytic, 5 and Peter himself, the head of the Apostolic brotherhood, releasing not only bodies but even souls from faults and afflictions. If, then, you wish to imitate Christ, forgive the grave sins of those in fault. For little things are commonly overlooked by many and they please the pleader. Greater things are only for those who have great understanding with God, and from Him expect great rewards for glorious deeds. Saint Isidore of Pelusium, Book 1, Letter 142, To Eiron the Advocate 1 Mt 6.15 2 Lk 7.37 3 Mt 9.9 4 Jn 4.3- 5 Mt 9.2

Master And Slave

Fortisan enim idcirco secessit ad horam, ut in aeternam illum reciperes: non jam velut servum, sed pro servo delictum fratrem, maxime mihi; quanto autem magis tibi et in carne et in Domino? Onesimus, offenso domino proprio, confugit longa peregrinatione ad Apostolum; ut ostenderet se non ad hoc recessise, ut delicti esset obnoxius, sed ut obliteratis peccatis, utilis reverteretur in tantum, ut non solum domino suo aequalis fieret meritis, sed et ipsi magistrio frater. Et ne Philemon aliquod, ut assolet, quasi dominus adversum servum, fastidium inflationis pateretur, humiliat illum, cum dicit illum fratrem et in carne et in Domine; ut subalata humanae conditionis causa, quia omnes ex uno sumus Adam, fratres nos cognoscamus: maxime cum fides accedit media, quae omnem superbiam amputat. Sanctus Ambrosius Mediolanensis, in Epistolam ad Philemon Migne PL 17 505-506

Perhaps then he had withdrawn from you to this time that in eternity you might receive him, not now as a slave, but for a slave a brother, and as much as it is so to me, how much more to you in the flesh and in the Lord? 1 Onesimus, to his own lord's offense, fled by long journey to the Apostle, that he show himself not to have withdrawn, as one guilty of a crime, but that with sin removed, he be turned to use, not only to his lord becoming of equal merit, but even a brother to that same master. And lest Philemon, as is the custom, as a lord against his servant, suffer to be puffed up with some contempt, he humbles him, when he says that he is a brother both in the flesh and in the Lord, asserting the state of the human condition, that all being from the one Adam we know ourselves brothers, and much more so having the same share of faith which cuts off all pride. Saint Ambrose, On the Epistle To Philemon 1 Philemon 15-16

Slaves Of Satan

Affligit Pharao filios Israel luto et latere. Israel similitudo est populi nostri. Pharao autem est diaboli, qui imposuit jugum gravissimum servitutis ex luto et latere operari; id est, terrenis et lutulentis operibus incubare, admistis etiam paleis, hoc est, levibus et irrationabilibus factis, ut his vitiroum actibus populum Dei comprimere, et pectora omnium muro incredulitatis posset occludere, ut nemo esset, qui regnum ejus aut disperderet, aut vinceret. Sanctus Isidorus Hispalensis,Mysticorum Expositiones Sacramentorum Seu Quaestiones In Vetus Testamentum, In Exodum, Caput III Source: Migne PL 83.287a-b

The Pharaoh afflicts the sons of Israel with mud and bricks. Israel is a figure for our people, Pharaoh of the devil, he who imposes a heavy yoke of servitude with the labour of mud and bricks, that is, he oppresses with worldly and defiling work, sending us even to straw, that is, fatuous and irrational deeds, that with these deeds of vice he oppress the people of God and enclose their hearts within a wall of disbelief, that there be none who might destroy or conquer his kingdom. Saint Isidore of Seville, Expositions of Sacred Mysteries or Questions on the Old Testament, On Exodus, Chap 3

The Spirit and Distinction

Cum autem quis semel Christum indutus fuerit, et missus in flammam, Spiritus sancti ardore canduerit, non intelligitur aurum sit an argentum. Quamdie calor massam sic possidet, igneus color est, et omnis diversitas generis, conditionis et corporum aufertur istiusmodi verstimento. Non est enim Judaeus, neque Graecus. Pro Graeco Gentilem accipere debemus, quia Ἕλλην, et Graecum et Ethnicum utrumque significat. Nec Judaeus idcirco melior est, quia circumcisus est; nec Gentilis ideo deterior, quia praeputium habet; sed pro qualitate fidei, vel Judeaus, vel Graecus melior, sive deterior est. Servus quoque et liber, non conditione separantur, sed fide, quia potest et servus libero esse melior, et liber servum in fidei qualitate praevertere. Masculus similiter et femina, fortitudine et imbecillitate corporum separantur. Caeterum fides pro mentis devotione censetur, et saepe evenit ut et mulier viro cause salutis fiat, et mulierem vir in religione praecedat. Cum autem ita se res habeat, et totat diversitas generis, conditionis et corporum. Sanctus Hieronymus, Commentariorum in Epistolam ad Galatas, Liber II

When someone shall have put on Christ and the fire is sent and he blazes with the heat of the Holy Spirit, it is not to be thought that there is gold and silver there. However much heat one has, the color of fire is the same, and every difference of type, condition and body is removed by this vestment. There is neither Jew nor Greek. For Greek we are to understand Gentile, because 'Hellene' here means both Greek and Foreigner. Nor is a Jew better because he is circumcised, nor is a Gentile worse because he has a foreskin, but by the quality of faith either a Jew or a Greek is better or worse. The slave and the freeman should not be separated by status but by faith because in faith the slave is able to be better than the freeman and the freeman is able to be surpassed by the slave. So it is with male and female. Strength and weakness of body separate them. But when devotion of the faithful mind is reckoned often it is found that the woman is the cause of the salvation of the man and the man is surpassed by the woman in piety. And so it is with this and with every difference of type, condition and body. Saint Jerome, Commentary on the Letter to the Galatians, Book 2  1 Gal 3. 11-12  2 Hab 2.4  3 Philip. 3.6  4 Jn 9.25

The End of Captivity

Ita ait: 'Dum avertit Dominus captivitatem plebis suae.' Captivitas proprie gentium est, qui in corde suo dixerant: 'Non est Deus;' qui 'trepidaverant ubi non erat timor,' qui spem inopis confuderunt et illuserant, quia Dominus spes ejus est; qui in generatione justa Dominum habitaturum negaverant, capti religionibus daemonum, superstitionibus temporum, officiis creaturae. Haec captivitas apellitur, hoc servitium adimitur. Sed Isreal erit ille qui credit, Israel erit ille qui Deum oculis cordis adspiciet: quia Israel Deum videns est, qui post captiviatem aversam hoc Dei salutare cognoscit. Laetatur Jacob, laetatur et Israel captivitae aversa, libertate concessa, Deo contemplato, Abraham et Jacob patribus per adoptionem familiae nuncupatis. In his ergo laetemur, et in his exstultemus, scientes per nostram redemptionem ob unius poenitentis salutem esse in coelis gaudia angelorum; et cum coelestis laetitia pro nobis sit, oportet in Christo gaudia nostra esse perpetua. Sanctus Hilarius Pictaviensis,Tractatus super Psalmos, Tractatus in Psalmum XIV

Thus he says, ' When the Lord ends the captivity of his people.' 1 Captive indeed are the people who have said in their hearts, 'There is no God,' 2 who fear where there is no fear, 3 who have confused hope as worthless and mock it because the Lord is his hope, who have refused to dwell with God in the generation of the righteous, who have been captured by the religions of the demons, by the superstitions of the times, by the ways of creatures. This is the captivity that is cast off, this is servitude that is removed. For Israel shall be he who believes, Israel shall be he who sees God with the eyes of the heart, because Israel sees God, he who after captivity, turning away from it in revulsion, knows the salvation of God. Jacob rejoices, and Israel, turning away in disgust from captivity, granted freedom, contemplating God, with the Abraham and Jacob, named fathers, through adoption of the family, rejoices. In this, therefore, we rejoice, and in these things we delight, knowing by our redemption that the angels rejoice on account of the penitence of one to be saved, and that when there is joy in the heavens for us, there should be our joy forever in Christ. Saint Hilary of Poitiers, Homilies on the Psalms, Psalm 14 1 Ps 14.7   2 Ps 53. 1  3 Ps 53. 6

Standing Fast

State et nolite iterum jugo servitutis contineri. Et ex hoc ostenditur, quia non stet qui jugo inhaereat servitutis. Et quia is qui a Christo liberatate donatus est, tamdiu fuerit sub jugo, quamdiu spiritum servitutis habuerit in timore, et Legis initia sit secutus. Quod autem ait, state, firmam et stabilem in Christo hortatur fidem, ut Ecclesiae Galatiae fixo in Salvatore permaneant pede. De quo et in alio loco justus loquitur: Statuit super petram pedes meos, pro eo quod est, super Christum: ne scilicet circumferantur omni vento doctrinae, et in diversa rapiantur. Unde et ad stantes dicitur: Et qui stat, videat ne cadat. Et in alio loco: State, viriliter agite, confortamini, ut stent cum eo, quem Stephanus a dextris Patris stantem vidit in martytio perseverans. Sanctus Hieronymus, Commentariorum in Epistolam ad Galatas, Liber III, Cap V

Stand fast and refuse to be placed again under the yoke of servitude 1 And from this it is shown that he does not stand fast who adheres to the yoke of servitude. And even this man who was gifted liberty by Christ, for as long as he was beneath the yoke, so long he had the spirit of slavery in fear, and the beginning of the law he followed. And so he says, stand fast, exhorting firm and stable faith in Christ, that the church of the Galatians remain with fixed foot with the Saviour. Concerning which in another place it is said: He stood my feet upon the rock. 2 that is, upon Christ, lest they be blown away by every wind of doctrine and seized in diverse ways. 3 Whence to those who stand fast he says, 'And he who stands, let him look, so that he does not fall.' 4 And in another place, 'Stand, act manfully, be strong,' 5 that they stand with Him who Stephen saw standing at the right hand of the Father while he persevered in martyrdom. 6 Saint Jerome, Commentary on the Letter to the Galatians, Book 3, Chap 5 1 Gal 5.1 2 Ps 39.3 3 Eph 4. 14 4 1 Cor 10.12 5 1 Cor 16.13 6 Acts 2

Achieving Humility

Εἰ γὰρ Παῦλος οὐκ ἐπῃσχύνθη καὶ τέκνον καλέσαι, καὶ σπλάγχνον, καὶ ἀδελφὸν, καὶ ἀγαπητὸν, πῶς ἂν ἡμεῖς ἐπαισχυνθῶμεν; Καὶ τί λέγω, Παῦλος; ὁ Παύλου Δεσπότης οὐκ ἐπαισχύνεται τοὺς ἡμετέρους δούλους ἀδελφοὺς αὑτοῦ καλεῖν, καὶ ἡμεῖς ἐπαισχυνούμεθα; Ὅρα, πῶς ἡμᾶς τιμᾷ· ἀδελφοὺς ἑαυτοῦ καλεῖ τοὺς ἡμετέρους δούλους, καὶ φίλους, καὶ συγκληρονόμους. Ἰδοὺ ποῦ κατέβη. Τί οὖν ποιήσαντες ἡμεῖς, τὸ πᾶν ἠνυκότες ἐσόμεθα; Οὐδὲν ὅλως δυνησόμεθα, ἀλλ' ὅπου δ' ἂν ταπεινοφροσύνης ἔλθωμεν, τὸ πλέον αὐτῆς ὑπολέλειπται. Σκόπει γάρ· Ὅπερ ἂν ποιήσῃς σὺ, περὶ τὸν ὁμόδουλον ποιεῖς, ὁ δὲ σὸυ δεσπότης περὶ τοὺς σοὺς δούλους πεποίηκεν. Ἄκουσον, καὶ φρίξον· Μηδέποτε ἐπαρθῇς ἐπὶ ταπεινοφροσύνῃ. Τάχα γελᾶτε τὸ λεχθὲν, εἰ ταπεινοφροσύνη ἐπαίρει· ἀλλὰ μὴ θαυμάσητε· ἐπαίρει, ὅταν μὴ γνησία ᾖ. Πῶς καὶ τίνι τρόπῳ; Ὅταν διὰ τὸ ἀποδέξασθαι ἀνθρώπους γένηται, καὶ οὐχὶ Θεὸν, ὅταν πρὸς τὸ ἐπαινεῖσθαι καὶ μεγαλοφρονεῖν· καὶ γὰρ τοῦτο διαβολικόν. Ὥσπερ γὰρ πολλοὶ διὰ τὸ μὴ κενοδοξεῖν κενοδοξοῦσιν· οὕτω καὶ διὰ τὸ ταπεινοῦσθαι ἐπαίρονται διὰ τὸ μέγα φρονεῖν. Εἰ μνημονεύει τῆς παραγγελίας τοῦ Χριστοῦ τῆς λεγούσης· Ὅταν πάντα ποιήσητε, λέγετε, ὅτι Ἀχρεῖοι δοῦλοί ἐσμεν· καὶ πάλιν τοῦ Διδασκάλου τῆς οἰκουμένης λέγοντος· Ἐγὼ ἐμαυτὸν οὐ λογίζομαι κατειληφέναι. Ὁ πείσας ἑαυτὸν, ὅτι οὐδὲν μέγα κατώρθωσεν, ὅσα ἂν ποιήσῃ, οὗτος μόνος ταπεινοφρονεῖν δύναται, ὁ μὴ πρὸς τὸ τέλος ἥκειν νομίζων. Πολλοὶ ἀπὸ ταπεινοφροσύνης ἐπήρθησαν. Ἀλλὰ μὴ ἡμεῖς τοῦτο πάθωμεν. Ἐποίησάς τι ταπεινόν; μὴ φρονήσῃς μέγα, ἐπεὶ τὸ πᾶν ἀπώλεσας. Τοιοῦτος ἦν ὁ Φαρισαῖος· ἐπήρθη, ἐπειδὴ ἐδίδου τοῖς πένησι τὰς δεκάτας, καὶ τὸ πᾶν ἀπώλεσεν. Ἀλλ' οὐχ ὁ τελώνης οὕτως. Ἄκουε Παύλου πάλιν λέγοντος· Οὐδὲν ἐμαυτῷ σύνοιδα, ἀλλ' οὐκ ἐν τούτῳ δεδικαίωμαι. Ὁρᾷς, ὅτι οὐκ ἐπῆρεν αὐτὸν, ἀλλὰ παντοίως συνέστελλε καὶ ἐταπείνου, καὶ ταῦτα εἰς τὴν ἄκραν κορυφὴν ἀνεληλυθώς; Ἅγιος Ἰωάννης ὁ Χρυσόστομος, Ὑπομηνα Ἐις Την Προς Φιλημονα Ἐπιστολην, Ὀμιλια Β'

For if Paul was not ashamed to call a slave his son, his heart, his brother, his beloved, surely we ought not to be ashamed. And why do I say Paul? The Master of Paul is not ashamed to call our servants His brethren; and are we ashamed? See how He honors us. He calls our servants His own brethren, and friends, and fellow heirs. See how far he has descended. What, then, having done, shall we have accomplished our whole duty? We are not able to do it, but to whatever point of humility we have come, the greater part of it is left behind. For see that whatever you do, you do to a fellow servant, but your Master has done it to your servants. Hear and shudder! Never be exulted on account of humility! Perhaps you laugh at the expression, as if humility could puff up? But do not wonder, it does puff up when it is not genuine. How and in what way? When it is done to gain the favor of men, and not of God, when it is done for praised and pride, and this is diabolical. As many by not being vainglorious are vainglorious, so by humbling themselves they are elated by thinking highly of themselves. For instance, a brother has come, or even a servant, and you have received him, you have washed his feet, and immediately you think highly of yourself. 'I have done,' you say, 'what no other has done. I have achieved humility!' How then may one continue in humility? If one remembers the command of Christ, which says, 'When you shall have done all things, say, We are unprofitable servants.' 1 And again the teacher of the world, says, 'I count not myself to have apprehended.' 2 He who has persuaded himself that he has done no great thing, however much he may have done, he alone is able to be humble, he who does not think that he has achieved perfection. Many are elated on account of their humility, but let not us be so affected. Have you done something humble? Think not highly of it, otherwise all will be lost. Such was the Pharisee, he was puffed up because he gave his tenth to the poor, and so he lost it all. 3 But not so the publican. Hear Paul again saying, 'I know nothing by myself, but I am not by that justified.' 4 Do you see that he does not exalt himself, but by every means abases and humbles himself, and that when he had arrived at the very summit? Saint John Chrysostom, Second Homily on Philemon 1 Lk 17:10 2 Philip 3:13   3 Lk 18:12  4 1 Cor 4:4