Exaltation And Downfall

Kαὶ σύ, Καφαρναούμ, μὴ ἕως οὐρανοῦ ὑψωθήσῃ; ἕως ᾅδου καταβήσῃ ὅτι εἰ ἐν Σοδόμοις ἐγενήθησαν αἱ δυνάμεις αἱ γενόμεναι ἐν σοί, ἔμεινεν ἂν μέχρι τῆς σήμερον. Πλὴν λέγω ὑμῖν ὅτι γῇ Σοδόμων ἀνεκτότερον ἔσται ἐν ἡμέρᾳ κρίσεως ἢ σοί. Ἡ Καπερναοὺμ ὑψώθη διὰ τὸ εἶναι πόλις τοῦ Ἰησοῦ, ἐδοξάζετο γὰρ ὡς δῆθεν πατρὶς αὐτοῦ, ἀλλ' οὐδὲν ὠφελήθη, διὰ τὸ μὴ πιστεῦσαι. Τούναντιον γὰρ καὶ διὰ τοῦτο μᾶλλον κατακέκριται ἕως ᾅδου, ὅτι τοιοῦτον ἔχουσα οἰκήτορα, οὐδὲν ὠφελήθη ἐξ αὐτοῦ. Ἐπεὶ δὲ Καπερναοὺμ ἑρμηνεύται χωρίον παρακλήσεως, βλέπε ὅτι κᾶν ἀξιωθῇ τις γενέσθαι χωρίον τοῦ Παρακλήτου, τοῦ ἁγίου δηλαδὴ Πνεύματος, εἴτα ὑψηλοφρονήσῃ, κιὰ ἐπαρθῇ ἄχρις οὐρανοῦ, καταπίπτει λοιπὰν διὰ τὴν ὑψηλοφροσύνην. Φρίξον οὖν, ὦ ἄνθρωπε. Θεοφύλακτος Αχρίδος, Ἑρμηνεία Εἰς Τὸ Κατὰ Ματθαιον, Κεφαλὴ ΙΑ' Source: Migne PG 123.256b-c

And you, Capernaum, shall you be lifted up to heaven? You shall fall even to hell. For if the miracles that were done in you were done in Sodom, it would have stood to this day. I say this to you, that it shall be less hard for Sodom on the day of judgement than for you. 1 Capernaum was exalted because it was the city of Jesus, it was glorified as His fatherland, but it received no benefit from that because it did not believe, and therefore on the contrary it was condemned, even to hell, because though such wonders were done there, it was not improved by them. But because Capernaum has been interpretated by some to mean 'field of consolation,' let it be observed that if someone merits to be a field of the Paraclete, that is, the Holy Spirit, and thus comes to know high things, and is exalted even to heaven, so he may yet be cast down on account of pride. Be fearful, then, O man. Theophylact of Ochrid, Commentary On The Gospel Of Saint Matthew, Chapter 11 1 Mt 11.25

Struck By Blindness

Percusserunt caecitate... Quoddam genus caecitatis est quod Graece aorasia dicitur, id est, avidentia, qua quaedam videntur, quaedam non videntur. Sodomitae ergo alia videbant, sed ostium Lot videre non poterant. Moraliter Lot justos significat. Sodomitae invidos et detractores designant, qui quoddamodo ostium quaerunt per quod ad Lot irrumpant, quando homines bona facta reprehendere volunt, sed non possunt invenire aditum reprehendendi, quia illo virtutis claustro munito corruptores mentium nihil habent quod reprehendant. Remigius Antissiodorensis, Commentarius In Genesim, Cap XIX Source: Migne PL 131.91c

They struck them with blindness... 1 There is a certain type of blindness which in Greek is named aorasia, that is, inobservance, in which certain things do appear, but others do not. Therefore to the Sodomites some things appeared, but they were not able to find the door to Lot. Morally Lot signifies the righteous man and the Sodomites designate envious men and detractors, who seek the door that they may burst in on Lot, when they wish to denounce a man for good deeds, but they are not able to find way to reprehend because with him concealed by the guard of virtue the corrupt of mind have nothing to denounce. Remigius of Auxerre, Commentary On Genesis, Chap 19 1 Gen 18.11

The Clamour of Sin

Clamor Sodomorum et Gomorrhaeorum multiplicatus est... Ut beatus Gregorius dicit, peccatum cum voce est peccatum in actione: peccatum autem cum clamore est peccatum cum liberatate. Quia ergo Sodomitae libere et inverecunde omnem impudicitiam exercebant, imo in pessimis sceleribus laetabantur et exultabant, ideo clamor eroum dicitur pervenisse ad Deum. Descendam et videbo utrum clamorem qui venit ad me opere compleverint. Clamor quidem ad Deum pervenerat, sed non statim puniuntur, nisi Angelus descendisset et vidisset utrum hoc perpetrassent. Mox autem, ut inventum est, absque dilatione misso caelitus igne consumpti sunt. Ubi docemur non facile auditis quorumdam criminibus credere: statim vero, ut res probata fuerit, continuo ultio subsequitur. Quod autem dicere: descendam et video, more nostro Deus loquitur tanquam dubitans et ignorans, cum tamen ipse santam et ratam habeat scientiam. Non delebo propter quinquaginta. Quinquagenarius numerus dicatus est poenitentiae. Unde et quinquagesimus psalmus in poenitentia cantatus est. Quod ergo dicit: Non delebo propter quinquaginta, ostendit potuisse eos ab imminenti interitu liberari, si ad poenitentiam confugere voluissent. Quod autem paulatim descendendo ad decem pervenit, ostendit neminem posse salvari, nisi eum qui crucem Christi ferre eumque sequi studuerit, et decem legis praecepta impleverit. Denarius enim crucem Christi designat, quia decima littera qua denarius numerus exprimitur figuram habet crucis. Remigius Antissiodorensis, Commentarius In Genesim, Cap XVIII Source: Migne PL 131.90c-91a

The clamour of Sodom and Gomorrah is multiplied...1 As the blessed Gregory says, the voice of sin is sin in action, and sin with clamour is sin without restraint. 2 Therefore because the Sodomites were freely and without shame exerting themselves in every sexual perversion, and rejoicing and exulting in the worst evils, so their cry is said to have come to God. I shall descend and I shall see if the clamour which comes to me matches the deed... 3 Certainly the clamour came to God, but punishment was not immediate, until an angel had descended and seen whether they did this. Yet as soon as it was discovered, without the delay of him sent, fire from heaven consumed them. By which we are taught that we should not easily believe what we hear of the wickedness of others, but in the instant the deed is proved, swift punishment follows. And when it is said: 'I shall descend and see,' God speaks in our manner, as hesitant and ignorant, when yet He has unimpaired and certain knowledge. I shall not destroy them for the sake of fifty... 4 The number fifty is spoken for penance. Whence the fiftieth Psalm was sung for penance. That therefore He says: 'I shall not destroy them on account of fifty,' shows that He was able to free them from imminent ruin, if they had chosen to flee to penance. And then proceeding little by little down to ten, He shows that no one can be saved, unless him who shall desire to bear the cross of Christ and follow Him, 5 and who fulfills the the ten commandments of the Law. For a Denarius designates the cross of Christ, since the letter by which the number of the Denarius is expressed is a figure of the cross. 6 Remigius of Auxerre, Commentary On Genesis, Chap 18 1 Gen 18.20 2 Greg Mag In Septem Psalm Poenit 2.3 3 Gen 18.21 4 Gen 18.26 5 Mt 16.24 6 Roman Number 10 is X and the symbol for the Denarius is X

Teaching By Examples

Πολυτρόπως δὲ ὅμως ὠφελῶν ὁ παιδαγωγὸς ὁ φιλάνθρωπος τὰ μὲν παρῄνεσεν, τὰ δὲ καὶ ὠνείδισεν, τὸ δὲ καὶ ἄλλων ἁμαρτανόντων τὸ αἶσχος αὐτῶν ὑπέδειξεν ἡμῖν καὶ τὴν ἐπὶ τούτῳ τιμωρίαν ψυχαγωγῶν τε ἅμα καὶ νουθετῶν ἐφανέρωσε, φιλάνθρωπον ἀποτροπὴν τῆς κακίας μηχανώμενος διὰ τῆς τῶν προπεπονθότων ἐνδείξεως· δι' ὧν εἰκόνων σαφέστατα τοὺς μὲν ἔπαυσεν κακῶς διατεθέντας, τοὺς δὲ τὰ ἴσα τολμῶντας ἐκώλυσεν, ἄλλους εἰς ὑπομονὴν ἐθεμελίωσεν, ἑτέρους ἔπαυσε κακίας, τοὺς δὲ καὶ ἰάσατο τῇ τοῦ ὁμοίου θεωρίᾳ μεταθεμένους ἐπὶ τὸ βέλτιον. Τίς γὰρ οὐκ ἄν τι παραφυλάξαιτο, ἑπόμενός τῳ καθ' ὁδόν, εἶτα μέντοι τοῦ προτέρου εἰς βόθρον ἐμπεσόντος, μὴ οὐχὶ ἀποκλῖναι τὸν ἴσον κίνδυνον, τὴν ἀκολουθίαν τῆς ἁμαρτίας φυλαξάμενος; Τίς δὲ αὖθις ἀσκητὴς ὤν, καταμαθὼν τῆς φιλοδοξίας τὴν ὁδὸν καὶ τὸ ἔπαθλον ἰδὼν τὸν πρὸ αὑτοῦ ἀγωνιστὴν εἰληφότα, οὐκ ἐπὶ τὸν στέφανον ἵεται καὶ αὐτός, μιμούμενος τὸν πρεσβύτερον; Πολλαὶ τοιαῦται τῆς θεϊκῆς σοφίας αἱ εἰκόνες· ἑνὸς δὲ ὑποδείγματος μνησθήσομαι καὶ διὰ βραχέων παραθήσομαι· τὸ Σοδομιτῶν πάθος κρίσις μὲν ἀδικήσασι, παιδαγωγία δὲ ἀκούσασιν. Οἱ Σοδομῖται ὑπὸ πολλῆς τρυφῆς ἐξοκείλαντες εἰς ἀσέλγειαν, μοιχεύοντες μὲν ἀδεῶς, περὶ δὲ τὰ παιδικὰ ἐκμανῶς ἐπτοημένοι, ἐπεῖδεν αὐτοὺς ὁ παντεπόπτης Λόγος, ὃν οὐκ ἔστι λαθεῖν ἀνόσια δρῶντας, οὐδὲ ἐπηρέμησεν τῇ ἀσελγείᾳ αὐτῶν ὁ ἄγρυπνος τῆς ἀνθρωπότητος φύλαξ· ἀποτρέπων δὲ ἡμᾶς τῆς μιμήσεως τῆς ἐκείνων, πρὸς σωφροσύνην τὴν αὑτοῦ παιδαγωγῶν, τίσιν τοῖς ἁμαρτωλοῖς ἐπιβαλών, ὡς μὴ τὸ ἀτιμώρητον τῆς ἀκολασίας ἀδείας ἐπιρροὴν προσλάβῃ, καταφλεχθῆναι προσέταξε τὰ Σόδομα, ὀλίγον τι τοῦ φρονίμου πυρὸς ἐκείνου ἐπὶ τὴν ἀκολασίαν ἐκχέων, ὡς μὴ ἀκόλαστον αὐτῶν τὸ λάγνον γενόμενον πλατείας ἀναπετάσῃ κλισιάδας τοῖς εἰς ἡδυπάθειαν φερομένοις. Γέγονεν τοίνυν ἡ Σοδομιτῶν δικαία τιμωρία τῆς εὐλογίστου τοῖς ἀνθρώποις σωτηρίας εἰκών· οἱ γὰρ μὴ τὰ ὅμοια τοῖς κεκολασμένοις ἁμαρτήσαντες οὐ τὴν ὁμοίαν ποτὲ τοῖς ἁμαρτωλοῖς ὑπόσχοιεν δίκην τῷ μὴ ἁμαρτεῖν τὸ μὴ παθεῖν πεφυλαγμένοι. Εἰδέναι γὰρ ὑμᾶς, φησὶν ὁ Ἰούδας, βούλομαι, ὅτι ὁ θεὸς ἅπαξ ἐκ γῆς Αἰγύπτου λαὸν σώσας τὸ δεύτερον τοὺς μὴ πιστεύσαντας ἀπώλεσεν, ἀγγέλους τε τοὺς μὴ τηρήσαντας τὴν ἑαυτῶν ἀρχήν, ἀλλὰ ἀπολιπόντας τὸ ἴδιον οἰκητήριον εἰς κρίσιν μεγάλης ἡμέρας δεσμοῖς ἀιδίοις ὑπὸ ζόφον ἀγρίων ἀγγέλων τετήρηκεν. Κλήμης ὁ Ἀλεξανδρεύς, Ὁ Παιδαγωγός, Λογὸς Τρίτιος, Κεφ' Η' Source: Migne PG 8.631b-616c

But helping in many ways, the Teacher, the lover of mankind, partly exhorts, partly reproaches, and by the sins of others He shows us their baseness, and the punishment consequent upon it, openly warning and by love striving to turn us from evil, by the exhibition of those who have suffered before, by which examples He openly checked those inclined to wickedness, and hindered those venturing similar things, and others He established in endurance, and others He held from evil, and others He healed by the contemplation of likeness, bringing them over to what is better. For who, when following a man on the way, when the former tumbles into a pit, would not guard against similar danger, by taking care not to follow him in his fall? And again what athlete, who has learned the way to glory, and has seen the competitor before him receiving the prize, does not set himself for the crown by imitation of the elder one? Such images of Divine wisdom given are many, but I will recall one instance, and expound it in a few words. The ruin of the Sodomites is judgment to those who have done wrong, instruction to those who hear. The Sodomites having been by much luxury brought into licentiousness, practicing adultery without shame, and burning with love for boys, the All-seeing Word, from whose notice those who commit impieties cannot be hidden, nor did the sleepless guard of mankind ignore their licentiousness, 1 but dissuading us from the imitation of them to His own temperance, stuck at these sinners, lest lust being unavenged and fearlessness run rampant, so ordered Sodom to be burned, pouring forth a little of the prudent fire of chastisement, lest by lack of chastisement, lust throw wide the gates to those rushing into voluptuousness. So did the just punishment of the Sodomites become an image of the salvation which is well arranged for men. For those who have not sinned like those who are punished, will never receive a like punishment, but guarding against sinning have a guard against suffering. Jude says: 'For I wish you to know, that God, having once saved the people from the land of Egypt, destroyed those who did not believe, and the angels who held not to their original state, but left their own habitation, He has reserved to the judgment of the great day, in everlasting chains under darkness of the savage angels.' 2 Clement of Alexandria, The Teacher, Book 3, Ch 8 1 Gen 18-19 2 cf Jude 5-6

Sins And Agreement

Sublato enim malitiae semine, nequitiae fructus arescent; non enim dat arbor fructus, cujus excisae sunt radices. Nam ideo et Moyses Sodomae et Gomorrhae gesta memoravit, exitiumque non tacuit, ut timorem poneret hujus rei vitandae. Non ergo hoc vitium et contaminatio dehonestatae vitae ab eo admittitur, qui in animo cogitat Deum. Sunt quidam qui se reos non putant, si non operantur quae mala sunt, assentiant autem facientibus. Assentire autem est, si, cum possit reprehendere, taceat: aut audiens has fabulas, aduletur. Sciens enim impurus et malignus non ignorari quae agit, et minime se vitari, sed etiam honori esse, gloriatur forte se talem: nec confundi potest in his, quando videt faveri sibi, et obsecundari ab iis, qui non sunt tales; et ita est, ut qui fomitem praebeant delictis illorum: ideoque dignum est ut pari crimine rei habeantur. Sunt iterum alii, qui non solum faciunt mala, sed etiam consentiunt facientibus;; ut non solum faciant, sed et talibus consentiant. Duplex ergo horum est nequitia: non enim tam mali sunt, qui faciunt, et facientibus contradicunt; scientes enim nefaria, non illa vindicant: illi vero tam nequissimi sunt, qui et faciunt, et consentiunt facientibus, ut nec Deum timeant sed increscere cupientes mala, ideo haec minime vindicant, ut suadeant non illa esse vitanda. Ambrosiaster, In Epistolam Ad Romanos, Caput I Source: Migne PL 17.63b-c

If the seed of wickedness is removed, the fruit of evil withers, for the tree gives no fruit if its roots have been severed. Thus Moses recorded the deeds of Sodom and Gomorrah and was not silent about their end, 1 that he instill fear concerning what is to avoided. Therefore this vice and pollution of a shameful life is not allowed in one who thinks on God in his soul. There are some who think themselves not guilty if they do not do evil things, even though they agree with those who do them. One agrees, if when one is able to correct, one is silent, or if hearing the tales of what they do, one smiles. For when a foul and wicked man knows that others are not ignorant of what he has done, and that he will not be shunned at all because of it, but indeed he will be esteemed, he may glory that he is such a person, nor can he be troubled by these things when he sees he has favour and friendship with those who do not do such things, and so it is that they who give excuse for wrongdoing are rightly equally guilty of the criminal act. There are then others, who not only do evil things, but even agree with those who do them, that not only do they do such things but agree with them. 2 The iniquity of such is therefore twofold, for not only are they evil who do such things and dispute with the doers of them, for they know it is wrong and they do not defend them, but they are much worse who do these things and agree with those who do them, for they fear not God but desire to increase evil, and so they do not at all reprove these things in order that they might persuade that these things are not to be avoided. Ambrosiaster, Commentary On The Epistle of Saint Paul To The Romans, Chapter 1 1 Gen 19.24-25 2 Rom 1.32

The Fates Of Cities

Tu, Capharnaum, inquit, nunquid in coelum exaltaberis? Usque ad infernum descendes... Sed in Graeco habet: Et tu, Capharnaum, quae usque in coelum exaltata es, usque in infernum descendes. Sed videtur duplex intelligentia. Vel ideo ad inferna descendes, quia contra praedicationem meam superbissime restitisti, vel quia exaltata usque ad coelum, meo hospitio et meis signis atque virtutibus, tantum habens privilegium majoribus plecteris suppliciis, quia his credere noluisti. Legitur namque quod Capharnaum juxta stagnum fuerit Genezareth in Galilaea gentium, et in finibus Zabulon et Nepthalim: villa quidem pulcherrima, sed quantum videtur in comminatione ejus Jerusalem culpatur quod rea sit, sicut et alibi ad eam dicitur, quia justificata est soror tua Sodoma ex te, ut appareat ejus turpitudo deliciarum, et nimiae elationis superbia, atque foeditas vitiorum. Unde ait: Quia si in Sodomis factae fuissent virtutes quae factae sunt in te, mansissent usque in hunc diem... Ubi primum notandum est quia scelera et flagitia hominum nonnunquam vitam minuant impraesentiarum. Ac si dicatur de eis: si non peccassent et contra Deum non egissent, mansissent utique usuqe in hunc diem, scilicet in quo loquebatur. Verumtamen quod ait, forte, ac si dubitantis adverbium, non quod Dominus quidpiam dubitaret, sed ut liberi arbitrii daretur locus et facultas manendi si peccare noluissent, cum fidem ex signis et prodigiis suscepissent. Nam salus omnis ex fide est. Et ideo ubi tot miracula visa sunt, debuisset non solum gestorum visio vocare ad metum, et ad fidem rapere, verum ipsa, licet a longe, auditio invitare. Sed infelices Judaei inter quos facta sunt talia, et quibus praenuntiata sunt haec eximia, quorum immantis peccatorum facit, ut non solum Tyriis et Sidoniis levia sint peccata, verum etiam Sodomorum et Gomorrhaeorum, quia forte illis credendi fuisset affectus, si talium virtutum contemplatio contigisset. Et quod magis est, quia non usque adeo peccaverunt, necdum percepta lege divina. Tamen in his omnibus ostenditur differentia suppliciorum in futuro, sicut et diversa qualitas meritorum Sanctus Paschasius Radbertus Corbeiensis, Expositio In Evangelium Matthaei, Liber VI Source: Migne PL 120.447c-448a

You, Capernaum, He said, will you be exalted to heaven? You shall fall into hell... ' 1  In the Greek this reads: 'And you, Capernaum, who have been exalted to heaven, even into hell you will fall.' There seems a twofold understanding here. Either into hell you shall fall because you have proudly resisited my preaching, or being exalted to heaven by my residence and signs and wonders, because you did not believe, so you have only the priviledge of greater punishments. It is said that Capernaum is along the lake from Gennesaret, in the Galilee of the Gentiles, and on the borders of Zabulon and Nepthali, and was a most fair town, but by the threat directed at it, it seems as Jersualem reproved because of its guilt, as in another place it was said to it: 'your sister Sodom is justifed because of you.' 2 So will appear the vileness of its faults, and the pride of its excessive elation, and the filth of its vices. Whence it is said: Because if in Sodom these wonders had been done which have been done among you, it would have remained until today...1 Where first let it be noted that the crimes and outrages of men may sometimes diminish this present life. As if it were said concerning them, 'If they had not sinned and not done what they did against God, they would have remained until today,' certainly that time in which He speaks. However, because this expresses, 'perhaps', as if indictating doubt, this is not because the Lord was at all uncertain, but because a space is given to the operation of free will, by which they would have remained if they had not sinned, when they received faith from signs and wonders. For all salvation is from faith. And therefore when all the miracles were seen, not only sight should have called to awe and to the seizing of faith, but even by hearing it should have drawn from afar. But the woeful Jews, among whom such things were done, and to whom these extraordinary things were foretold, had such a great heap of sins, that not only were the sins of Tyre and Sidon slight, but even so the sins of Sodom and Gomorrha, because perhaps they would had been touched by belief if they had contemplated such wonders. And what is more, they had not sinned so gravely because they lacked the commandments of the Divine law. And in all these things is shown the differences of punishment in the future, as there are even different types of reward. Saint Paschasius Radbertus, Commentary On The Gospel of Saint Matthew, Book 6 1 Mt 11.23 2 Ezek 16.52

Penances For Sodomites

Si quis fornicatus fuerit, sicut Sodomitae fecerunt, si episcopus, vigniti quinque annos poeniteat: quinque ex his in pane et aqua, ex omni officio deponatur, peregrinando finiat dies vitae suae. Presbyter quindecim annos poeniteat, quinque ex his in pane et aqua, superiori sententia deponatur. Diaconus et monachus duodecim annos, tres in pane et aqua, et deponatur. Theodorus Cantuariensis Archiepiscopus, Ex Poenitentiali Romano Source: Here

If someone fornicates in the manner that the Sodomites did, if he is a bishop, he shall do penance for twenty five years, five of them on bread and water, and he shall be removed from all his offices, that he may end his days a wanderer. If he is a presbyter he shall do penance for fifteen years, five of these on bread and water, and he shall removed from his position as the above. If he is a deacon or monk he shall do penance for twelve years, three on bread and water, and he shall lose his position. Saint Theodore of Tarsus, From the Roman Penitential

Lot And The Sodomites

Quod ait Sodomitis Loth, Sunt mihi duae filiae quae nondum noverunt viros, producam illas ad vos, utimini ilis quomodo placuerit vobis, tantum in viros istos ne faciatis iniquum; quoniam prostituere volebat filias suas hac compensatione, ut viri hospites ejus nihil a Sodomitis tale paterentur: utrum admittenda sit compensatio flagitiorum vel quorumque peccatorum, ut nos faciamus mali aliquid, ne alius gravius malum faciat; an potius peturbationi Loth, non consilio tribuendum sit quia hoc dixerit, merito quaeritur. Et nimirum periculosissime admittitur haec compensation: si autem pertrubationi humanae tribuitur, et menti tanto malo permotae, nullo modo imitanda est. Sanctus Augustinus Hipponensi, Quaestionum In Heptateuchum, Liber Primus Source: Migne PL 34.559

Lot said to the Sodomites: 'I have two daughters who have not yet known men, I shall give them to you and you may do to them what pleases you, only do no wickedness to these men,'  1 because he wished to prostitute his daughters in exchange for his guests suffering such a thing from the Sodomites, it is reasonably asked whether it should be admitted there may be a exchange of crimes, or any sin, so that we do some evil, lest we do a worse evil, or rather if what Lot said was because of his distress and must be attributed to his loss of reason. Certainly most perilous it is to admit the exchange, but even if we attribute it to human distress and a mind being overthrown by such evil, it is in no way to be imitated. Saint Augustine of Hippo, Questions on The Heptateuch, Book 1 1 Gen 19.8

Sodom And The Mountains

Ardentem quippe Sodomam fugere est illicita carnis incendia, vel mundi desideria declinare. Altitudo vero montium speculatio est perfectorum; sed quia multi sunt justi, qui mundi quidem illecebras fugiunt, sed tamen in actione positi, contemplationis apicem subire nequeunt, hoc est, quod exiit quidem Lot de Sodomis, sed tamen ad montana non pervenit, quia licet jam damnabilis vita relinquitur, sed adhuc celesitudo speculationis subtilier non tenetur. Sanctus Isidorus Hispalensis,Mysticorum Expositiones Sacramentorum Seu Quaestiones In Vetus Testamentum, In Genesin, Caput XV Source: Migne PL 83.246a-b

Certainly the flight from blazing Sodom 1 is as from the lawless fires of the flesh, or the spurning of worldly desires. However the height of the mountains is the contemplation of those perfect; but because there are many who are just, who certainly flee the snares of the world, but are fixed in deeds, they are not able to come to the peak of contemplation. That is, Lot certainly went out from the Sodomites but he did not come to the mountains, because though he forsook the damned life, yet did not yet achieve the rarefied contemplation of heaven. Saint Isidore of Seville, Expositions of Sacred Mysteries or Questions on the Old Testament, On Genesis, Chap 15 1 Gen 19.1-29

Lot's Flight

Καὶ κατέστρεφεν τὰς πόλεωις ταύτας, καὶ πασαν τὴν περίχωρον, καὶ πάντας τοὺς κατοικοῦντας ἐν ταῖς πόλεσι... Καὶ ἀπέβλεψεν ἡ γυνὴ αὐτοῦ εἰς τὰ ὁπίσω, καὶ ἑγένετο στήλη ἁλός... Ὁ Κύριος οὐ μόνον τοὺς ἀσεβεῖς ἀπόλλυσιν, ἀλλὰ καὶ τὰς τροφὰς αὐτῶν οὔσας Σοδομιτικὰς, καὶ ἐπιβλαβεῖς· ἐν αἷς ἐστι καὶ ἄμπελος Σοδόμων ἡ ἄμπελος αὐτῶν καὶ ἡ κληματὶς αὐτῶν ἐκ Γομόῥῥας. Ἂμα τε εἰς τὴν πόλιν ἀπεσώθη, καὶ τὸ πῦρ ἐπεφέρετο ταῖς πόλεσι, σημεῖον τῆς μελλούσης συντελείας. Στήλη οὐχ ἁπλῶς ἐγένετο, ἀλλὰ μάλιστα στήλη ἁλὸς, διὰ τό· Ὑμεῖς ἐστε τὸ ἅλας τῆς γῆς. Ἔφαρμόσῃ δὲ τῇ στήλῃ τοῦ ἁλὸς τό· Ἐὰν δὲ τὸ ἅλας μωρανθῇ; Οὐκ ἀθρόως ἀναβαίνει εἰς τὸ ὄρος κατὰ τὰ εἰρημένα αὐτῷ, ἀλλὰ πρῶτον εἰς Σηγὼρ γίνεται, καίτοιγε μὴ θαῥῥήσας ἑαυτῷ περὶ τοῦ ἀναβῆναι εἰς τὸ ὄρος. Ὠριγένης, Εἰς Την Γενεσιν Source: Migne PG 12.13c-d

And he overthrew these cities and all the land around and all the inhabitants of the cities... And his wife looked behind and became a pillar of salt... 1 The Lord does not only destroy the impious but even their sustenance, which is Sodomitical and noxious, even the vine, concerning which it is said, 'Theirs is the vine of the vine of Sodom, and theirs the branch from Gomorrah.' 2 And then he made his way to safety into a city, even as fire fell on the cities, a sign of the future judgement. And it is not written simply 'a tower' but 'a tower of salt', concerning which: 'You are the salt of the earth.' 3 And certainly a tower of salt befits, 'If the salt has lost its flavour,' He does not make haste to go to the mountains as he was bidden but first he goes to Segor, for he does not yet feel confident concerning the ascent of the mountain. Origen, On Genesis, Fragment 1 Gen 19.25-26 2 Deut 32.32 3 Mt 5.13

The Blindness of the Sodomites

Sodmitae ergo angelos conantur violenter irrumpere, cum homines ad Deum tentant per sacri ordinis officia propinquare. Sed hi profecto caecitate percutiuntur, quia justo Dei judicio in tenebras interiores cadunt; ita ut nec ostium invenire praevaleant, quia a Deo peccando divisi, unde ad eum revertuntur ignorant. Qui enim per humilitatis, sed per arrogantiae, et tumoris anfractus ad Deum accedere gestiunt, patet profecto, quia unde ingressionis aditus pateat non agnoscunt; vel etiam quia ostium Christus est, sicut ipse dicit: 'Ego sum ostium.' Qui Christum peccatis exigentibus amittunt, quasi intrare coelestium civium habitaculum non possint, ostium non invenient.In reprobum ergo sensum traditi sunt, quia dum reatus sui pondus in propriae mentis statera non trutinant, gravissimam plumbi massam, poenarum inanium levitatem putant. Quod ergo illic dicitut: Percusserunt eos, qui foris erant caecitate. hoc Apostulus manifeste declarat, cum dicit, 'Tradidit eos Deus in reprobum sensum,' et quod illic subjungitur, 'Ut ostium invenitre non possent. Sanctus Petrus Damianus, Liber Gomorrhianus

Therefore as the Sodomites try to break in violently upon the angels, so it may be with men who attempt to draw near to sacred office. But these are certainly struck with blindness by the just judgement of God and they fall into interior darkness so they are not able to discover the door, because they are separated from God by sin, whence they are ignorant where to turn for it. Indeed those who not though humility but by arrogance and conceited twisting ways try to come near God do not know the way of access, though it certainly be obtainable, or even that Christ is the door, for as he said, ' I am the door.'  By pressing sins they have lost Christ and they are not able to enter a dwelling of the celestial city, for they have not found the entrance. Thus they are given to a depraved mind because while guilt weighs on their mind they dare not weigh the scales with such a large mass of heavy lead and they think lightly of empty punishments. Whence it is said, 'They struck those who were outside with blindness.' This also the Apostle declares openly when he says, ' God has given them over to a depraved mind' and by this they are ruled so that the they are not able to find the door. Saint Peter Damian. Book of Gomorrah

Sin and Toleration

Peccata quamvis magna et horrenda, cum in consuetudinem verterint, aut parva aut nulla esse creduntur, usque adeo ut non solum non occultanda verum etiam praedicanda ac diffamanda videantur, quando, sicut scriptum est: Laudatur peccator in desideriis animae suae, et qui iniqua gerit bene dicitur. Talis in divinis libris iniquitas clamor vocatur, sicut habes apud Isaiam prophetam de vinea mala: Expectavi, inquit, ut faceret iudicium, fecit autem iniquitatem, et non iustitiam sed clamorem. Unde est et illud in Genesi: Clamor Sodomorum et Gomorrhaeorum multiplicatus est, quia non solum iam non apud eos puniebantur illa flagitia, verum etiam publice veluti lege frequentabantur. Sic nostris temporibus ita multa mala, etsi non talia, in apertam consuetudinem iam venerunt, ut pro his non solum excommunicare aliquem laicum non audeamus, sed nec clericum degradare. Unde cum exponerem ante aliquot annos Epistolam ad Galatas, in eo ipso loco ubi ait Apostolus: Timeo vos ne forte sine causa laboraverim in vobis, exclamare compulsus sum: Vae peccatis hominum, quae sola inusitata exhorrescimus; usitata vero, pro quibus abluendis Filii Dei sanguis effusus est, quamvis tam magna sint ut omnino claudi contra se faciant regnum Dei, saepe videndo omnia tolerare, saepe tolerando nonnulla etiam facere cogimur, atque utinam, o Domine, non omnia quae non potuerimus prohibere faciamus. Sanctus Augustinus Hipponensis, Enchiridion de Fide, Spe et Charitate, Cap LXXX

Sins, although grave and horrible, when men become accustomed to them, are looked upon as trivial, or they are judged not to be sins at all, and this goes so far that such sins are not merely concealed but are vaunted and spread aboard, and so, as it is written, 'The sinner is praised in the desires of his own heart and he speaks well of him who openly carries his iniquity.'1 Such iniquity is called in Scripture called a cry, as in the Prophet Isaiah, who speaking of the evil vineyard says, 'I looked for judgment to be done, but there was iniquity; for righteousness, but there was a cry.' 2Whence also it says in Genesis: 'The cry of Sodom and Gomorrah has grown,'3 because in these places outrages were not only not punished, but were openly committed, as if by law. And so in our own times there are many forms of sin, though not just the same, are now so openly and habitually done, that for doing them we not only dare not excommunicate a layman but we dare not even degrade a clergyman. So it was that a few years ago when I was expounding the Epistle to the Galatians, at that very place where the apostle says, 'I fear for you, lest perhaps I have bestowed labor upon you in vain,'4 I was driven to exclaim, 'Alas for the sins of men, for it is only when we do not do them that we shudder at them. When we are accustomed to them, though the blood of the Son of God was poured out to wash them away, though they are so grave that the kingdom of God is shut against them, by familiarity all things are tolerated, and by habitual toleration we are compelled to do them. But may it be, O Lord, that we may not come to practise all that we have not the able to prohibit.' Saint Augustine of Hippo, Handbook on Faith, Hope and Charity 1 Ps 10.3   2 Is 5.7 3 Gen 18.20  4 Gal 4.11

The Cainites

Caiani propterea sic appellati quoniam Cain honorant dicentes eum fortissimae esse virtutis. Simul et Iudam traditorem divinum aliquid putant, et scelus eius beneficium deputant, asserentes eum praescisse quantum esset generi humano Christi passio profutura, et occidendum Iudaeis propterea tradidisse. Illos etiam qui schisma facientes in primo populo Dei terra dehiscente perierunt et Sodomitas colere perhibentur. Blasphemant legem et Deum legis auctorem, carnisque resurrectionem negant. Sanctus Augustinus Hipponensis, De Haeresibus ad Quodvultdeum Source: Migne PL 42.29

The Cainities are so named because they honour Cain saying that he was the strongest in virtue. Likewise they think the traitor Judas divine and consider his crime a benefit, asserting that he was as much foretold for the human race as was the passion of Christ, and that this is why he handed Jesus over to the Jews. They hold to the reverence of those who first made division among the people of God, those for whom the earth opened and they were destroyed, 1 and they also revere the Sodomites. They speak evil of the Law and God the author of the Law and they deny the resurrection of the flesh. Saint Augustine of Hippo, On Heresies, To Quodvultdeus 1 Num 16.1-40