Hope And Troubles

Ἡ εἰς τὸ Θεῖον ἐλπὶς , πύργος ἐστὶν ἀῤῥαγής, οὐ τὴν λύσιν μόνον ἐπαγγελλόμενος τῶν δεινῶν, ἀλλ'οὐδὲ παρόντων αὐτῶν ταράττεσθαι συγχωρῶν. Ὁ γὰρ τῶν ἀνθρωπίνων ἀπηλλαγμένος , καὶ τῇ ἄνωθεν ἐλπίδι ἑαυτὸν ἐξαρτήσας, οὐ μόνον ταχίστην ἐπάγεται τῶν δεινῶν τὴν ἀπαλλαγὴν, ἀλλ' οὐδὲ παρόντων αὐτῶν θορυβοῦται καὶ ταράττεται, τῇ προσδοκία τῆς ἱερᾶς ἐκείνης ἀγκύρας ὀρθούμενος. Χρῶ τοίνυν αὐτῇ , καὶ πάντων ἔσῃ κρείττων τῶν λυπηρῶν. Ἅγιος Ἰσίδωρος Του Πηλουσιώτου, Βιβλίον Δεύτερον, Ἐπιστολὴ IZ', Παμπρεπιῳ Διακονῳ Source: Migne PG 78.469b

Hope in God is a firm tower, yet it does not promise the disappearance of wretched things, but rather distress in present things. For he who rids himself of the things of men has suspended himself by hope to things above, but it does not follow that he is freed from all troubles and burdens, rather he is not cast down by the tumults and trials of present things, for he has been renewed and lifted up on the anchor of holy hope. Hold to this and you shall be superior to every distress. Saint Isidore of Pelusium, Book 2, Letter 17, To Pamprepius the Deacon

Bad Prayers

Ἀμαθεῖς τινες καὶ φιλόκοσμοι ἄνδρες προσεοικότες τῇ σῇ ἀθλιότητι ἐμπαθῶς φερόμενοι, ὑγίειαν, καὶ πλοῦτον, καὶ σπατάλην, καὶ ἐχθρῶν ἀνθρώπων ἀπώλειαν δι' εὐχῆς τὸν Κύριον αἰτοῦσιν· εἶτα τῆς τοιαύτης βλαβερᾶς ἀποτυχόντες αἰτήσεως εἰς ἀπιστίαν χωροῦσιν, ἢ μέμφονται τὸν Θεὸν. Ἄλλοι πάλιν ἄλλο τι ἐξαιτοῦντες, καὶ μὴ κομιζόμενοι συμφερόντως, οὐ γὰρ πάντες ἄπερ φιλοῦμεν καὶ ὠφελεῖ· τὸ γὰρ τί προσευξόμεθα, φησὶ, καθ' ὃ δεῖ, οἴδαμεν, γογγύζουσιν εὐθὺς χαλεπαίνοντες, καὶ δυσανασχετοῦντες ἐπὶ τῇ ἀποτεύξει, καίτοι πολλάκις κατεγνωσμένοι τὸν βίον ὑπάρχοντες, ἐτοίμως βούλονται ἐπακούεσθα· ἀρα γὰρ οὐκ ὀφείλεις εὐχαριστεῖν, ὅτι κατηξιώθης, καὶ μόνον ὀρθρίσαι πρὸς τὸν Κτίσαντα πάντα, καὶ συνομιλῆσαι αὐτῷ διὰ τῆς εὐχῆς; ἀλλὰ καὶ μηδ' εὐχαριστῆσαι θέλων, ὀνειδίζεις σὺ, ὁ πηλὸς, τὸν Πλάστην σου; Ἄλλὰ νῦν γοῦν σαυτὸν δοκιμάσας, ἄνθρωπε, γνώριζέ σου τὰ μέτρα. Ἅγιος Νειλος, Βιβλιον Πρῶτον, Ἐπιστολὴ Ν´, Θεοδοριανῳ Source: Migne PG 79.104d-105a

Some uneducated folk and lovers of the world, bearing a resemblence to you in your troubles, ask in prayer from the Lord for health and wealth and luxury and the ruin of enemies, and since these petitions are vain, they lead them to faithlessness, or reproof of God. Others again asking for something and not being able to receive it profitably, for not everything which we love is useful, and we know it is said we should pour out prayers for what is needful, instantly grumble, bearing it ill, and become disillusioned because they are refused, even though it is often things which will ruin the life they lead that they so eagerly wish to be heard for. Should it not be that you should pray only that with the dawn you come to the Creator of all things, and speak as one with Him in prayer? 1 Is it possible that, unwilling to give thanks, you, the clay, reprove your Creator? Now, my man, look to yourself, and know your measure. 2 Saint Nilus of Sinai, Book 1, Letter 50, to Theodorian 1 cf Ps 5.4-5 2 cf Isaiah 45.9, Rom 9.21

Troubling Thoughts

Ἀδελφός τις ἦλθε πρὸς τὸν ἀββᾶν Ποιμένα, καὶ λέγει αὐτῷ· Ἀββᾶ, πολλοὺς λογισμοὺς ἔχω, καὶ κινδυνεύω ἀπ' αὐτῶν. Καὶ ἐκφέρει αὐτὸν ὁ γέρων εἰς τὸν ἀέρα, καὶ λέγει αὐτῷ· Ἄπλωσον τὸν κόλπον σου, καὶ κράτησον τοὺς ἀνέμους. Ὁ δὲ εἶπεν· Οὐ δύναμαι τοῦτο ποιῆσαι. Καὶ λέγει αὐτῷ ὁ γέρων· Εἰ τοῦτο οὐ δύνασαι ποῆσαι, οὐδὲ τοὺς λογισμοὺς δύνασαι κωλῦσαι ἐλθεῖν· ἀλλὰ σόν ἐστι τὸ ἀντιστῆναι αὐτοῖς. Ἀποφθέγματα Των Ἁγίων Γερόντων, Παλλαδιος Source: Migne PG 65.329a

A brother came to Father Poemen and said to him, 'Father, I have many thoughts that trouble me.' The elder took him outside and said to him, 'Expand your chest and catch the winds.' And he said, 'I cannot do that.' The elder said to him, 'If you cannot do that, nor shall you be able to stifle thoughts, but it is for you to stand against them.' Sayings of the Desert Fathers, Palladius of Galatia

Cares And Contemplation

Sollicitudo etenim necessario turbat, sicut scriptum est, Sollicita es, et turbaris ergo plurima: cura vero gravat. Unde est illud Domini: Ne graventur corda nostra crapula et ebrietate, et curis hujus saeculi. Sollicitudo male sustollit, cura pejus deprimit, acedia pessime dissolvit. Mens enim in otio acediosa fructum actionis perdit, et contemplationis lucem minime invenit. Porro depressa curis, in altum se nequaquam erigit, turbata serena esse nequit. Cor enim quod tranquillim non est, serenum esse nullatenus potest, sin autem serenum, nec perlucidum. Cor vero contemplantis perlucere oportet, tanquam speculum, aut aquam limpidissimam et quietem, ut in ipso, ac per ipsum, sicut in speculo, per speculum, videat mens suam ad imaginem Deo imaginem. Ad hoc ergo cor mundandum est Deum speculari cupientis, non solum a noxiis ac superfluis, sed etiam necessariis cruis: et excitandum lectione, meditatione, oratione. Beati enim mundicordes, quoniam ipsi Deum videbunt: quod ipse nobis prestare dignetur. Isaac, Cisterciensis Abbas, Sermo XXV Source: Migne PL 194.1774b-c

Indeed worry does trouble one, as it has been written: 'You are worried and therefore troubled by many things.' 1 but care is a burden. Whence our Lord's warning: 'Do not let your hearts grow dull with revelry and drunkenness and with the cares of this world. 2 Worry wickedly occupies, worldly care is a worse burden, listlessness is the worst ruin. A soul in listless leisure loses the fruit of its action and never finds the light of contemplation. A mind oppressed by cares can no more raise itself on high than a troubled mind can know peace. A heart which is not tranquil is far from being peaceful, and equally far from being bright with light. But a contemplative heart must be as bright as a mirror, like some still stretch of clear water, so that in it and through it, as in a mirror, the mind may see itself, 3 an image in the image of God. The heart, therefore, which desires the sight of God must be cleansed, not only from harmful and unneeded cares, but even necessary ones. It must be ever stimulated by reading and meditation and prayer. 'Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God,' 4 which may He deign to grant to us. Isaac of Stella, from Sermon 25 1 Lk 10.41 2 Lk 21.34 3 1 Cor 13.12 4 Mt 5.8

Barking and Blasphemy

Εἰ βλάψει κύων ὑλακτῶν γίγαντα δυσμαχώτατον, βλάψει καὶ τὸν ἀληθῆ πιστὸν πνεῦμα τῆς βλασφημίας, παρενοχλοῦν τῇ ψυχῇ. Ἅγιος Νειλος, Βιβλιον Πρῶτον, Ἐπιστολὴ ΤΙΓ' Θεσσαλιῳ Διακονῳ Source: Migne PG 79.196d

If a large dog harms by wearing one down grievously with his barking, so truly the spirit of blasphemy harms the faith, exhausting the soul. Saint Nilus of Sinai, Book 1, Letter 313, to Thessalius Deacon

Prayer And Tribulation

Decima utilitas tribulationis est, quod orationes tuas facit exaudiri, et offerri ante Deum ; quia non est consuetudo in conspectu Dei quod repellat orationem tribulati, sed eam potius exaudiat. Unde Salomon, Deprecationem laesi exaudiet Dominus. Ideo enim multoties Deus verberat homines et tribulaliones eis immittit, ut eos misericordiam postulare compellat, ut aperiat os eorum ad petendum eum in tribulatione, quia clausum ilbid habuerunt in prosperitate. Unde Augustinus: Deus immittit tribulationes aliquibus, ut excitentur in tribulatione, et petant illud a Deo quod ipse vult illis conferre. In persona talium dicit Psalmista : Ad Dominum cum tribularer clamavi, et exaudivit me. Et si forte contingat quod tu Deum in prosperitate invoces, ut prosperitas te totaliter dormire non faciat, tamen te somnolentum aliquando reddit, ita clamor tuus in prosperitate non fit ita efficax sicut in adversitate. Et si forte adeo adversitas occupaverit cor tuum, quod non sit ita intentum orationi in adversitate sicut in prosperitate, tamen ipsa adversitas orationem pretiosiorem facit. Si vero tantum tribulatio te oppresserit, quod non potes aperire os ad clamandum ad Dominum, tribulatio tamen orat pro te, dum tu patientiam habes : Dicit enim magister Petrus Lombardus de Lazaro, quod quot habebat vulnera, tot habebat ora clamantia ad Deum : quia quando Lazarus ore suo tacebat, vulnera sua pro se clamabant. Unde Dominus dicit ad Cain de Abel fratre suo quem occidit: Vox sanguinis fratris tui clamat ad me de terra. Sic ergo patet quod tribulatio orationem pretiosiorem reddit et acceptabiliorem. Tribulationes enim sunt quasi solutio pro una bullata littera liberationis sese. Unde Job dicit: Quis mihi det ut veniat mihi petitio mea, et quod expecto tribuat mihi Deus ; qui coepit, ipse me conterat, solvat manum suam et scindat me, et haec mihi sit consolatio, ut affligens me dolore non parcat. Nota, quod Job, qui possessiones suas, filios et filias amiserat, percussus est vulnere pessimo a planta pedis usque ad verticem, afflictus ab amicis, vituperatus ab uxore, tamen videbatur quod Deus parum eum affligeret, nec in alio consolationem quaerebat, nisi tantum in hoc quod Deus ei non parceret. Sed si quaeris, quid pertinet ad liberationem afflictionis suae ; ad hoc responderi potest, quod afflictio ejus est solutio litterarum suarum. Sicut quando pauper bibit vinum in taberna, et non habet unde solvat escotum suum, petit ut verberetur, et sic dimittatur. Si autem, in quo erat ipsius Job consolatio quando petebat affligiat hoc responderi potest secundum quod Deus aliquibus in praesenti non parcit, ut in futuro parcat eis. Consolatio Job in hoc erat, quod in praesenti tribulatione sciebat se evasurum futurara. Consolare ergo, quia si in praesenti fueris afflictus, patienter sufferens in futuro parcet tibi Deus. Nam dicitur quod non judicabit Deus bis idipsum. Unde Job, qui petebat ne sibi parceret Deus in praesenti, alibi petit ut sibi parcat Dominus in futuro, dicens: Parce mihi Domine, nihil enim sunt dies mei. Ut ergo in futuro parcat tibi Deus, sustine in praesenti tribulationem ; quia tribulatio animam sanat, sicut dicit Job, ipse vulnerat et medetur; vulnerat enim corpus, immittendo tribulationem, sed sanat animam. Petrus Blenensis, De Utilitate Tribulationum Source: Migne PL 207.1003b-1004c

The tenth usefulness of tribulation is that it makes your prayers heard and to be offered before God, because it is not the way of God to dismiss the prayer of one who is troubled, but rather He more keenly attends to it. Whence Solomon says, 'The Lord shall hear the prayer of the wounded.' 1 Therefore as many times as God strikes men and sends tribulations upon them, it is so that they be driven to ask for His mercy, that they open their mouths to seeking Him in tribulation which have been closed in prosperity. So Augustine says, 'God sends tribulations on some that He rouse them by tribulation and that they seek from God that which He wishes to give them.' The Psalmist speaks of such things, saying, 'I cried out to the Lord when I was troubled and He hearkened to me.' 2 And if perhaps it happens that you call on God in prosperity, if your prosperity has not utterly lulled you to sleep, yet only sometimes and drowsily do you turn to it, and so your cry in prosperity is not as efficacious as it is in adversity. And if perhaps adversity has occupied your heart to such an extent that you are not as intent on prayer in adversity as in prosperity, yet the adversity makes the prayer more precious. If, however, tribulation oppresses you so, that you do not open your mouth to cry out to the Lord, yet tribulation prays for you as long as you endure. For the master Peter Lombard said concerning the beggar Lazarus that as many were his wounds, so as many were the cries to God from his mouth, for even when the mouth of Lazarus was silent, his wounds cried out for him. 3 Whence the Lord says to Cain concerning Abel his brother whom he murdered, 'The voice of the blood of your brother cries out to me from the earth.' 4 So, then, it is obvious that tribulation offers a more precious and more acceptable prayer. For tribulations are as the revealing of the words of release from a  sealed letter. Whence Job says, 'Who shall give to me that my petition may come to me and that what I hope God gives to me, that what He has begun, He crush me with, dissolving all my strength and tearing me apart, and that this be my consolation, that afflicting me with suffering, He give no quarter.' 5 Note that Job who lost his possessions and his sons and his daughters, and was struck with the wost of wounds, from the sole of his foot to the top of his head, and was afflicted by his friends, and abused by his wife, yet perceived that God had afflicted him but lightly, nor did he seek consolation in anything else, unless that in this God not spare him. But if you ask, how his affliction pertains to his liberation, to this one is able to say that his affliction is the opening of his letter. As when a poor man drinks wine in a tavern, and has no money to pay his bill, and so he seeks to be beaten and cast out. Or indeed one may say that Job's consolation when he sought to be afflicted is that those who God does not spare in the present, He shall in the future. The consolation of Job was in this, that in present tribulation he knew that he would escape future chastisement. Therefore be comforted, that in the present afflicted, patiently suffering, in the future God shall be merciful to you. For it is said that God will not judge us twice for the same thing. Whence Job, who prayed that God not spare him in the present, sought that God be merciful to him in the future, saying, 'Spare me, O Lord, my days are nothing.' 6 And so that in the future God spare you, endure present tribulation, because tribulations heal the soul, as Job said, 'He wounds and He heals'; 7 for He wounds the body in the sending of tribulation, but He heals the soul. Peter of Blois, On The Usefulness of Tribulations 1 Sirach 35.16 2 Ps 119.1 3 Lk 16.19-31 4 Gen 4.10 5 Job 6.8-10 6 Job 7.16 7 Job 5.18

Storms And Faith

Et ascendente eo in naviculam, secuti sunt eum discipuli. Et ecce tempestas magna facta est in mari, et reliqua. Navem discipulis introgessis tempestas oritur, mare commovetur, navigantes turbantur, Ipse vero somno consopitus timentium metu excitatur, oratur ut opem afferat. Et increpitis iis quod modicae essent fidei, vento et mari tranquillitatem imperavit, cum admiratione hominum praeceptis ejus ventum et mare obedisse. Igitur secundum haec ecclesiae, intra quas verbum Dei non vigilaverit, naufragae sunt: non quod Christus in somnum relaxatur, sed quod somno nostro consopiatur in nobis. Maxime autem illud accidit, ut a Deo praecipue in periculi metu et vexatione speremus. Atque utinam vel spes sera confidat sese periculum posse evadere, Christi intra se virtute vigilante. Perpetuam autem nobis objurgationis suae recordationem reliquit, dicens: Modicae fidei, quid timidi estis? Metum scilicet motuum saecularium, cum quibus Christi fides vigilet, nullum esse oportere. Sanctus Hilarius Pictaviensis, In Evangelium Matthaei Commentarius,  Cap VIII Source: Migne PL 9.958c 959a

And when He went into the boat, the disciples followed. And behold a great storm arose in the sea... 1 When the disciples enter the boat the storm arises, the sea is disturbed, the sailors are troubled. He, however, sunk in sleep is roused by the fear of those distressed, and asked to bring help. And chiding them for being of little faith, He orders the wind and the sea to be calm, and to the wonder of men the wind and the sea are obedient to His commands. Therefore according to this the Churches who do not watch over the word of God are made shipwrecks; not that Christ is sunk in sleep, but because our sleep lulls Him to sleep in us. For the most part it happens that we hope in God amid the fear and the troubles of danger. And that our hope be confident in being able to escape dangers, let it have the watchful virtue of Christ. He has left for us an admonishment that we be mindful, saying. 'O men of little faith, why are you fearful?' 2 Certainly there should be no fear of worldly disturbances in those for whom the faith of Christ is vigilant. Saint Hilary of Poitiers, Commentary on the Gospel of Saint Matthew, Chapter 8 1 Mt 8.23 2 Mt 8.26

The Averted Face

Ἀπέστρεψας δὲ τὸ πρόσωπόν σου, καὶ ἐγενήθην τετραγμένος. Ἔως μὲν ὅτε, φησὶν, αἱ ἀκτῖνες τῆς ἐπισκοπῆς σου ἐπέλαμπόν μοι, ἐν εὐσταθεὶ καταστάσει καὶ ἀταράχῳ διῆγον· ἐπειδὴ δὲ ἀπέστρεψάς σου τὸ πρόσωπον, τὸ ἐμπαθὲς καὶ τεθορυβημένον τῆς ψυχῆς ἀπηλέγχθη. Ἀποστρέφειν δὲ λέγεται τὸ ἑαυτοῦ πρόσωπον ὁ Θεὸς, ὅταν ἐν τοὶς τῶν περιστάσεων καιροὶς ἐκδότους ἀφίῃ τοὶς περισμοῖς, ἐπὶ τὸ γνωσθῆναι τὸ εὔτονον τοῦ ἀγωνιζομένου. Ἐὰν οὖν ἡ εἰρήνη ἡ ὑπερέχουσα πάντα νοῦν φρουρήσῃ τὰς καρδίας ἡμῶν, δυνάμεθα τὴν ταραχὴν καὶ τὴν σύγχυσιν τῶν παθῶν διαφυγεῖν. Ἐπεὶ οὖν ἀντίκειται τῷ μὲν θελήματι τοῦ Θεοῦ ἡ ἀποστροφὴ, τῷ δὲ κάλλει καὶ τῇ ὡραιότητι καὶ τῇ δυνάμει ἡ ταραχή· εἴη ἂν ἡ ταραχὴ αἶσχος καὶ ἀσθένεια ψυχῆς, ἐκ τῆς ἀπὸ Θεοῦ ἀλλοτριώσεως ἐγινομένη. Εὐχώνεθα οὖν ἀεὶ επιλάμπειν ὑμῖν τὸ πρόσωπον τοῦ Θεοῦ, ἵνα ἐν καταστήματι ὦμεν ἱεροπρεπεῖ καὶ πρᾶοι, καὶ παντὶ τρόπῳ ἀτάραχοι ἐκ τῆς πρὸς τὰ καλὰ ἑτοιμότητος. Ἡτοιμάσθην γὰρ, φησὶ, καὶ οὐκ ἐταράχθην. Ἅγιος Βασίλειος ὁ Μέγας, Ὁμιλία Ἐις Τους Ψαλμούς, Εἰς Τον ΚΘ' Ψαλμον  Source: Migne PG 29 492

'You averted your face and I was troubled.' 1   For while, he says, the rays of your sight illuminate me, I am established in a stable and peaceful state, but after you have averted your face trouble and tumult seizes my soul. Thus it is said that God averts his face when one is abandoned and exposed in the time of trials, and so he would know strength for the struggle. If, then, that peace which surpasses all understanding 2 guards our soul, we are able to avoid the confusion of the tumults of passion. Since when we are opposed to the will of God there is the confusion of the beauty and glory of virtue, which confusion is the deformity and weakness of the soul coming from alienation of God. Let us pray then that the face of God shall always shine upon us, that in holy and religious state we be, meek and in all things peaceful, with a soul prepared for good things, for 'Prepared I am, he says, 'and I am not troubled.' 3 Saint Basil of Caesarea, Homilies on the Psalms, from Psalm 29 1 Ps 29.6 2 Philipp 4.7 3 Ps 118.60

Care and Nourishment

Sed inter ista inimici jacula imperterritus manet, nobisque portum securitatis fidum tutumque demonstrat. Sequitur enim, 'Jacta in Dominum cogitationem tuam, et ipse te enutriet: non dabit in aeternum fluctionem justo. Ademit nobis etiam in Evangelis Dominus sollicitudinis necessitatem, dicens: Nolite solliciti esse de crastino; sufficit enim diei malitia sua. Quaerite primum regnum Dei et justitiam ejus et omnia praestabuntur vobis: omnem scilicet curam in promerendo Dei regno et justitia collocandam. Jactanda ergo super eum cura est: ipse enim enutriet, secundum illud: Super aquam refectionis enutruvit me. Enutriens autem non relinquet in fluctibus istius saeculi, sicuti enutritus Jacob omnem tempestatem et odiorum et durae servitutis evasit dicens: Deus qui enutrivit me a juventute mea. Ipse enim vitae auctor est, ipse cibi largitor, non terreni tantum, sed etiam spiritalis. Sanctus Hilarius Pictaviensis,Tractatus super Psalmos, Tractatus in Psalmum  LIV

But among these attacks of the enemy he remains fearless, showing to us that complete faith is a secure port. For it follows, 'Cast your thoughts on the Lord and He shall nourish you; He shall not give the righteous into eternal flux.' 1 And in the Gospel the Lord takes away from us the necessity of worry, saying. 'Do not be anxious about tomorrow, for the day's evil suffices for itself. Seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness and all things shall be given to you.' 2 For every care should be for the gaining of God's kingdom and the gathering of righteousness. Cast, then, all your care on Him, for He shall nourish you according to which, 'Over refreshing waters He led me'. 3 And nourishing He does not abandon one to the waves of this world, just as the nourished Jacob escaped every storm and hate and hard servitude, saying, 'God has nourished me from my youth.' 4 He is the author of life, He is the giver of bread, not only of the earth, but even of the spirit. Saint Hilary of Poitiers, Homilies on the Psalms, from Psalm 54 1 Ps 54.23 2 Mt 6 34,33 3 Ps 22.2 4 Gen 48.15

Grace and Deeds

Quatuor sunt perturbationes, quibus genus vexatur humanum, duae praesentis, et duae futuri: duae bonorum, et duae malorum. Aegritudo, quae Graece dicitur λύπη, et gaudium, quod illi χάραν vel ἡδονὴν, vocant: quamquam ἡδονὴν voluptas a plerisque dicatur: alterum mali, alterum boni. Excedimusque mensuram, si gaudeamus super his, quae non debemus, divitiis, potentia, honoribus; inimicorum infelicitate, vel mortibus: aut e contrario praesentium malorum dolore cruciemur, adversis, exsiliis, paupertate, languore, et mortibus propinquorum, quod Apostolus fieri prohibet; et rursum si cupiamus ea quae arbitramur bona, haereditates, honores, prosperitates omnium rerum, et corporum sanitatem, et caetera quorum praesentia gaudio fruimur: et metuamus illa, quae putamus adversa; quibus ad perfectum carere juxta Stoicos, Zenonem videlicet, et Chrysippum, possibile est: juxta Peripateticos autem et difficile et impossibile est: cui sententiae omnis scripturae sanctae consentit auctoritas. Unde et Josephus Machabaeorum scriptor historiae, frangi et regi posse dixit perturbationes animi, non eradicari, et quinque Tusculanarum quaestionum Ciceronis libri, his disputationibus referti sunt. Pugnant enim, juxta Apostolum, adversum nos fragilitas corporis, et spiritalia nequitiae in coelestibus. Manifesta sunt, dicente eodem, opera carnis et opera spiritus, et haec sibi invicem adversantur, ut non quae volumus, illa faciamus. Si non quod volumus, facimus, sed quod nolumus, illud operamur: quomodo dicitis, Posse hominem sine peccato esse, si velit? Ecce Apostolus, omnesque credentes, quod volunt, implere non possunt. Charitas operit multitudinem peccatorum, non tam praeteritorum quam praesentium, ne ultra, Dei in nobis manente charitate, peccemus. Quamobrem de muliere peccatrice dicitur: Dimittuntur ei peccata multa, quoniam dilexit plurimum. Ex quo intelligimus non nostrae solum esse potestatis facere quod velimus, sed et Dei clementiae, si nostram adjuvetvoluntatem. Santus Hieronymus, Dialogus Adversus Pelagianos, Liber Secundus

There are four emotions which trouble the race of men, two of the present, two of the future; two to good, and two to evil. There is sorrow, called in Greek λύπη, and there is joy, in Greek χάραν or ἡδονὴν, although many translate the latter by pleasure; the one of which is referred to evil, the other to good. And we go beyond good measure if we rejoice over such things which we should not, such as riches, power, honours, the misfortune of enemies, or their death; or, on the other hand, if we are wracked with grief because of present evils, adversity, exile, poverty, infirmity, and the death of family, all of which is forbidden by the Apostle; and again likewise, if we desire those things which we judge to be good, inheritances, honours, prosperity in all things, health of body, and the like, in the possession of which we rejoice and find enjoyment, or if we fear those things which we deem adverse. And according to the Stoics, Zeno, that is to say, and Chrysippus, it is possible for a perfect man to be free of these emotions, yet with the Peripatetics it is difficult and even impossible to do so, an opinion which has the agreement of all Scripture. Hence Josephus, the writer of the history of the Maccabees, said that the emotions can be subdued and ruled but not eradicated, and the five books of Cicero's Tusculan Disputations refer to these disputes. According to the Apostle, the weakness of the body and spiritual hosts of wickedness fight against us in the heavenly places. 1 And the same man tells us that the works of the flesh and the works of the spirit are manifest, and that they are contrary to one another, 2 so that we do not do what we would. And if we do not what we would, but what we would not, how can you say that a man can be without sin if he chooses? You see that neither an Apostle, nor any believer can perform what he wishes.'Love covers a multitude of sins,' 3 not so much sins of the past as sins of the present, that we may not sin any more while the love of God abides in us. Wherefore it is said concerning the woman that was a sinner, 'Her sins, which, are many are forgiven her, for she loved much.' 4 And this shows us that doing what we wish does not depend on our own power alone, but upon the assistance which God in His mercy gives to our will. 5 Saint Jerome, Dialogue Against the Pelagians, Book 2 1 Ephes 6.12 2 Gal 5.19 3 1 Pet 4.8 4 Lk 7.47 5 1 Jn 1

The Immaculate Way

ὁ θεός μου ἄμωμος ἡ ὁδὸς αὐτοῦ τὰ λόγια κυρίου πεπυρωμένα ὑπερασπιστής ἐστιν πάντων τῶν ἐλπιζόντων ἐν αὐτόν. Ὁ ἡμέτερος Θεὸς ἄμωμον ἔχει τὴν πρὸς αὐτὸν ἄγουσαν ὁδόν· αὔτη δέ ἐστιν ἡ ἀρετὴ, ἤν ὁδεύοντες διὰ μελέτης καὶ ἀσκήσεως, ἄμωμοι ἀποδειχθησόμεθα πρὸς αὐτὸν ἐρχόμενοι· μάλιστα δὲ ἄμωμος εἴη ὁδὸς Θεοῦ ὁ εἰπών· Ἐγώ εἰμι ὁδὸς καὶ ἡ ἀλήθεια καὶ ἡ ζωὴ. Διὰ ταύτης γὰρ τῆς ὁδοῦ πρὸς τὸν Πατέρα ἐλθεῖν ἔστιν. Τὸ λόγιον Κυρίου πεπυρωμένον, τῷ ἄδολον καὶ καθαρὸν εἴναι, ἤ τῷ πῦρ εἴναι θερμαῖον τοὺς μετέχοντας ἀναλίσκειν τὴν τῆς ὕλης ἀχυρμίαν. Ὑπερασπιστής ἐστιν πάντων τῶν ἐλπιζόντων ἐπ' αὐτόν. Οἱ ἐπιγνώμονες τῆς προσούσης αὐτπῖς ἀσθενείας, ὅτ' ἂν ἰσχυροτέρους φωράσωσι τοὺς προσπολεμοῦντες, ἐπὶ Θεὸν τὴν ἐλπίδα ῥίψαντες, ὑπέρμαχον ἔχειν αὐτὸν ἀξιοῦσιν, Πολέμησον, λέγοντες, τοὺς πολεμοῦντας με· καὶ οὕτως Θεὸς, τῇ ἑαυτοῦ ἀσπίδι ὑπερμαχεῖ αὐτῶν· κατὰ τὸ Ὅπλῳ κυκλώσει σε ἡ ἀλήθεια αὐτοῦ. Δίδυμος Αλεξανδρεύς, Εἰς Ψαλμους, Ψαλμος ΙΖ'

Immaculate is the way of my God, and the words of the Lord are tested with fire, He is the protector of all who hope in Him. 1 Of Our Lord is the immaculate  way which leads to Him. For that is virtue, which accurately and diligently following, brings us immaculate to appear before Him. Truly immaculate is the way of God, He who says, 'I am the way, and truth and life.' 2 For on this way one must go to the Father. And the speech of the Lord is fire, because simple and pure it is, or because fire warms whoever is near to that which devours matter. 'Protector He is of all who hope in Him.' Those aware of their own weak conscience, when they are assailed by the strong adversary , cling to God their hope, being worthy to have Him as fellow fighter, and they say, 'Assail those who assail me.' 3 And thus God with his shield defends them, according to which, 'With the armour of his truth he will surround you.' 4 Didymus the Blind, from Commentary on the Psalms, Psalm 17 1 Ps 17.31 2 Jn 14.6 3 Ps 34.1 4 Ps 90.5

Enduring Troubles

Ἐν παντὶ θλιβόμενοι, ἀλλ' οὐ στενοχωρούμενοι.  Ὅσον ἐπὶ τῇ πικρότητι τῶν περιεστηκόντων ἀπηυδήσαμεν ἂν καὶ ἀπωλόμεθα· ὅσον δὲ ἐπὶ τῷ παρακαλοῦντι Θεῷ, πάντα ἡμῖν πρὸς σωτηρίαν εὐμαρῆ. Κᾶν ἐν παντὶ οὖν πράγματι θλιβώμεθα, γενναιάζοντες οὐ στενοχωρούμεθα· κἂν ὡς ἀπόρους ἡμᾶς τινες ὑπολαμβάνωσι, διώκοντες καὶ ἀνατρέποντες, ἀλλ' οὖν ἡμευῖς ἐν ἄπασιν εὐποροῦντες οὐκ εξαπορούμεθα, οὐκ ἀπολλύμεθα, οὐ καταβαλλόμεθα. Ἀνατρεπόντων γὰρ τῶν πονηρῶν, στήκομεν ἁκλόνητοι· διωκόμενοι γενναιάζομεν, πορίμων ἡμῖν πάντων ὄντων πρὸς σωτηρίαν. Ἰστέον, ὅτι τὸ στενοχωρεῖσθαι ὁτε μὲν ταυτόν ἐστι θλίβεσθαι, ὁτὲ δὲ ἕτερον. Ὅταν γὰρ ἀμφότερα λέγηται, δηλοῖ τὸ μὲν θλίβεσθαι τὴν ἔξωθεν περίστασιν· τὸ στενοχωρεῖσθαι, τὸ ὀκλάζειν τῇ προαιρέσει καὶ λογισμῳ. Ὅταν δὲ μὴ ἀμφότερα λαμβάνηται, ἐκ παραλλήλου δηλοῦσι τὸ αὐτό. Δίδυμος Αλεξανδρεύς, Εἰς Την Δευτεραν Ἐπιστολήν Παυλου Αποσλολου Προς Κορινθίους

In every tribulation, but we do not anguish. 1 That is, in bitter circumstances we do not in despair wish to perish, but, on account of the consolation of God, everything tends to salvation for us. Even if, then, in everything we are troubled, yet resisting we do not anguish. And when as if destitute of all resource they think us, and they persecute and threaten us, we however in everything rich and not at a loss, are not overrun, nor are we cast down. For while the wicked try to overturn us, we stand unmoved, bravely resisting our persecutors, all we have supporting us to salvation. And let it be known that the word anguish has a different meaning to tribulation. When both words are placed together, tribulation signifies external aggression whereas anguish concerns hesitation in the deliberations of the mind. But when they are not used together they signify similar things. Didymus the Blind, Commentary on Second Corinthians, Fragment 1 2 Cor 4. 8

A Pope Laments His State

Quadam die nimiis quorumdam saecularium tumultibus depressus, quibus in suis negotiis plerumque cogimur solvere etiam quod nos certum est non debere, secretum locum petii amicum moeroris, ubi omne quod de mea mihi occupatione displicebat, se patenter ostenderet, et cuncta quae infligere dolorem consueverant, congesta ante oculos licenter venirent. Ibi itaque cum afflictus valde et diu tacitus sederem, dilectissimus filius meus Petrus diaconus adfuit, mihi a primaevo juventutis flore amicitiis familiariter obstrictus, atque ad sacri verbi indagationem socius. Qui gravi excoqui cordis languore me intuens, ait: Nunquidnam novi tibi aliquid accidit, quod plus te solito moeror tenet? Cui, inquam: Moeror, Petre, quem quotidie patior, et semper mihi per usum vetus est, et semper per augmentum novus. Infelix quippe animus meus occupationis suae pulsatus vulnere, meminit qualis aliquando in monasterio fuit; quomodo ei labentia cuncta subter erant; quantum rebus omnibus quae volvuntur eminebat; quod nulla nisi coelestia cogitare consueverat; quod etiam retentus corpore, ipsa jam carnis claustra contemplatione transibat; quod mortem quoque, quae pene cunctis poena est, videlicet ut ingressum vitae et laboris sui praemium amabat At nunc ex occasione curae pastoralis saecularium hominum negotia patitur, et post tam pulchram quietis suae speciem, terreni actus pulvere foedatur. Cumque se pro condescensione multorum ad exteriora sparserit, etiam cum interiora appetit, ad haec procul dubio minor redit. Perpendo itaque quid tolero, perpendo quod amisi. Dumque intueor illud quod perdidi, fit hoc gravius quod porto. Ecce etenim nunc magni maris fluctibus quatior, atque in navi mentis tempestatis validae procellis illidor. Et cum prioris vitae recolo, quasi post tergum ductis oculis viso littore suspiro. Quodque adhuc gravius est, dum immensis fluctibus turbatus feror, vix jam portum videre valeo quem reliqui, quia et ita sunt casus mentis, ut prius quidem perdat bonum quod tenet, si tamen se perdidisse meminerit; cumque longius recesserit, etiam boni ipsius quod perdiderat obliviscatur; fitque ut post neque per memoriam videat, quod prius per actionem tenebat. Unde hoc agitur quod praemisi, quia cum navigamus longius, jam nec portum quietis quem reliquimus videmus. Nonnunquam vero in augmentum mei doloris adjungitur, quod quorumdam vita qui praesens saeculum tota mente reliquerunt, mihi ad memoriam revocatur. Quorum dum culmen aspicio, quantum ipse in infirmis jaceam agnosco; quorum plurimi Conditori suo in secretiori vita placuerunt, qui ne per humanos actus a novitate mentis veterascerent, eos omnipotens Deus hujus mundi laboribus noluit occupari Sanctus Gregorius Magnus, Dialogi, Liber I

One day being excessively wearied with the troubles of worldly affairs in which business we are often bound far more than we should be, I sought a secluded place fit for lamentation, where every one of my occupations that displeased me might openly show itself, and that all things that are accustomed to inflict sorrow might be gathered together and present before my eyes. And thus having sat there gravely afflicted for a long while, Peter, my dearest son and deacon, came, a man whom, from his younger years, I bound closely to me in friendship, and as a companion in the investigation of Sacred Scripture. He, marking me beset by weakness of heart, said, 'Have some tidings come to you that cause you to grieve more than you are accustomed? ' To which I said, 'O Peter, the grief which I suffer every day is ever old through use and ever new by daily increasing. For my unhappy soul, belaboured with worldly business, reminds me of how it was when I was in the monastery, and how then all fallen things were beneath it, as much as it stood above all transitory things, and that it thought on nothing but heavenly things, and though enclosed in a body in contemplation it passed beyond the enclosure of the flesh. And as for death, which almost to all is grief, that very same as an entrance into life and as a reward of its labours it loved. But now, on account of my pastoral cares, my soul suffers the affairs of worldly men, and after so beautiful a rest, it is defiled with the dust of worldly deeds. And when it does go forth at the demand of many others to exterior matters, its desire for interior things on its return has lessened. Thus I do consider what I suffer and consider what I have lost. And looking on what I have lost makes what I now bear more grievous. For behold now I am tossed by the waves of a great sea and the ship of my soul is struck by the storms of a terrible tempest. And so when I recall my former state of life, I sigh as if looking back on a forsaken shore. And what grieves me yet more is that while I am borne off by the great waves I can now scarce see the port I left, for such be the downfalls of our soul, that first it loses that goodness it had, yet remembering what it has lost, and then, carried away farther, it forgets the good it has lost and no longer holds in memory what it did do. And so it is, as I said, that sailing farther on, we no longer see the harbour of peace from whence we departed. Sometimes also increase is given to my sorrow by remembering the lives of certain folk who with their whole soul abandoned the present world, whose eminence beholding, I also recognise my own infirmities and falls, many of whom did in a retired life please their Creator, who lest by the business of men they wear out their souls, the almighty God was unwilling they be occupied with the labours of this world. Saint Gregory the Great, Dialogues, Book 1

What to Seek

Μὴ τὰ πλάτη τοῦ βίου λίχνως μοι περιζήτει· μᾶλλον δὲ τὴν στενὴν, καὶ τεθλιμμένην ἀτραπὸν μαστεύειν βουλήθητι.   Ἅγιος Νειλος, Ἐπιστολὴ ΣΠ', Βιβλιον Πρῶτον, Φεβραριῳ Διακονῳ

Do not eagerly seek out the broad things of life; rather be eager to seek the narrow and difficult way. 1 Saint Nilus of Sinai, Book 1, Letter 280, To the Deacon Febrarius 1 cf Mt 7.13

Peace and Quiet

Ἐν εἰρήνῃ ἐπὶ τὸ αὐτὸ κοιμηθήσομαι, και ὑπνώσω· Ὁτι σὺ, Κύριε, κατὰ μόνας ἐπ' ἐλπίδι κατῴκισάς με. Ἰδοῦ καὶ ἄλλο προνοίας εἶδος οὐ μικρὸν, τὸ εἰρήνης ἀπολαύειν τοὺς ἀνακειμένους Θεῷ. Εἰρήνη γὰρ τοῐς ἀγαπῶσι τὸν νόμον σου, καὶ οὐκ ἔστιν αὐτοῖς σκάνδαλον. Οὐδεν γὰρ οὔτως εἰρήνην ποιεῖν εἴωθεν, ὡς ἡ τοῦ Θεοῦ γνῶσις, καὶ ἡ τῆς ἀρετῆς κτῆσις, τὸν ἔνδοθεν τῶν παθῶν ἐξοικίζουσα πόλεμον, καὶ οὐκ ἀφιεῖσα αὐτὸν πρὸς ἑαυτὸν διαστασιάζειν τὸν ἄνθρωπον. Ὡς εἴγε μὴ ταύτης ἀπολαύοι τῆς εἰρήνης, κἂν ἐν βαθυτάτῃ εἰρήνῃ ᾗ ἔξωθεν, κἂν μηδεὶς πολέμιος αὐτὸν βάλλῃ, τῶν ὑπὸ τῆς οἰκουμένης πολεμουμένων πάντων ἐστὶν ἀθλιώτερος. Οὐ γὰρ οὔτω Σκύθαι, οὐδὲ Θρᾷκες, οὐ Σαυρομάται, καὶ Ἰνδοὶ, καὶ Μαῦροι, καὶ ὅσα ἄγρια ἔθνη πολεμεῖν εἰώθασιν, ὡς λογισμὸς ἀτοπώτατος ἐνδομυχῶν τῇ ψυχῇ, καὶ ἐπιθυμία ἀκόλαστος, καὶ χρημάτων ἔρως, καὶ προσπάθεια. Καὶ εἰκότως· ἐκεῖνος μὲν γὰρ ἔξωθεν ὁ πόλεμος, αὔτη δὲ ἔνδον ἐστὶν ἡ μάχῃ. Ὅτι δὲ τὰ ἔνδοθεν τικτόμενα τῶν ἔξεθεν προσβαλλόντων ἐστὶ χαλεπώτερα, καὶ μᾶλοον διαφθείρειν εἴωθε, τοῦτο ἐπὶ πάντων ἔστιν ἰδεῖν. Καὶ γὰρ καὶ ξύλου φύσιν σκώληξ ἔνδον τικτόμενος μᾶλλον διαφθείρει, καὶ σώματος δύναμιν καὶ ὑγείαν τῶν ἔξωθεν φυομένων τὰ ἔνδοθεν βλαστάνοντα νοσματα μειζόνως λυμαίνεται· καὶ πόλεις οὐχ οὔτως οἱ ἔξωθεν πολέμιοι, ὡς οἱ ἐμφύλιοι καταλύουσιν· οὕτω δὴ καὶ ψυχὴν οὐχ οὔτω τὰ ἔξωθεν προσιόντα μηχανήματα, ὡς τὰ ἔνδοθεν τικτόμενα νοσήματα λυμαίνεσθαι πέφυκεν. Ἀλλ' ἐάν τις τὸν φόβον τοῦ Θεοῦ ἔχων, μετὰ ἀκριβείας τοῦτον καταλύσῃ τὸν πόλεμον, καὶ κοιμήσῃ τὰ πάθη, καὶ τὰ θηρία τὰ ποικίλα ἐκεῖνα τῶν ἀτόπων λογυσνῶν ἀποπνίξας, μὴ ἐμφωλεύειν παρασκευάσῃ, οὗτος καθαρωτάτης καὶ βαθυτάτης ἀπολαύσεται εἰρήνης. Ταύτην τὴν εἰρήνην ἐλθὼν ὁ Χριστὸς ἐχαρίσατο· ταύτην καὶ ὁ Παῦλος τοῖς πιστοῖς ἐπηύχετο, καθ' ἑκάστην ἐπιστολὴν λέγων· Χάρις ὑμῖν καὶ εἰρήνη ἀπὸ Θεοῦ Πατρὸς ἡμῶν· ὁ γὰρ τὴν εἱρήνην ταύτην ἔχων, οὐ μόνον βάρβαρον καὶ πολέμιον, ἀλλ' οὐδὲ αὐτὸν τὸν διάβολον δέδοικεν· ἀλλὰ πάσης τῆς τῶν δαιμόνων φάλαγγος καταγελᾷ, καὶ πάντων ἀνθρώπων ἐστὶν εὐθυμότερος, οὐ πενίᾳ πιεζόμενος, οὐ νόσῳ καὶ ἀῥῥωστίᾳ βαρούμενος, οὐκ ἄλλω τινὶ τῶν ἀνθρωπίνων τῶν ἀδοκήτως προσπιπτόντων θορυβούμενος, δια τὸ τὴν ψυχὴν, τὴν δυναμένην ταῦτα μετὰ ἀκριβείας διαθεῖναι καὶ εὐκολίας ἀπάσης, ἐῥῥωμένην καὶ ὑγιαίνουσαν ἔχειν. Καὶ ἵνα μάθητε ὅτι τοῦτό ἐστιν ἀληθές· ἔστω τις βάσκανος, καὶ μηδεὶς αὐτῷ πολεμείτω· τί τὸ ὄφελος; Αὐτὸς γαρ ἑαυτῷ πολεμεῖ· παντὸς ξίφους ὀξυτέρους καθ' ἑαυτοῦ θήγων λογισμοὺς, πᾶσι τοῖς ὁρωμένοις προσπταίων, καὶ καθ' ἔκαστον τῶν ἐντυγχανόντων ἀνθρώπων τιτρώσκων ἑαυτὸν, καὶ πρὸς οὐδένα ἡδέως ἔχων, ἀλλὰ κοινοὺς πολεμίους πάντας ὁρῶν. Τί οὖν ὅφελος τῆς ἔξωθεν εἰρήνης τούτῳ, ὅταν αὐτὸς λυσσῶν καὶ μαινόμενος, καὶ κοινὸς τῆς φύσεως ὤν ἐχθρὸς, περιέρχηται, τοσοῦτον ἔνδοθεν φέρων πόλεμον, καὶ μυρία τόξα καὶ βέλη, μᾶλλον δὲ μυρίους θανάτους εὐχόμανος, ἤ ἰδεῖν τινα τῶν ὁμογενῶν εὐδοκιμοῦνται καὶ εὐμερίας ἀπολαύοντα; Πάλιν ἕτερος ὑπὸ χρημάτων ἐπιθυμίας κατεχόμενος, μυρίους πολέμους καὶ μάχας καὶ στάσεις εἰς τὴν ἑαυτοῦ συνάγει ψυχὴν, καὶ ἐν θορύβῳ καὶ ταραχῇ ὤν, οὐδὲ μικρὸν ἀναπνεῦσαι δυναταὶ. Ἀλλ' οὐχ ὁ τούτων ἀπηλλαγμένος τῶν παθῶν οὕτω διάκειται, ἀλλ' ἐν γαληνῷ κάθηται λιμένι, ἐντρυφῶν τῇ φιλοσοφίᾳ, καὶ οὐδεμίν ὑπομένων ἀηδίαν τοιαύτην. Διὸ δὴ καὶ ταύτης ἀπολαύων τῆς προνοίας Ὁ Προφήτης ἔλεγεν· Ἐν εἰρήνῃ ἐπὶ τὸ αὐτὸ κοιμηθήσομαι, και ὑπνώσω· δνλῶν, ὅτι τῷ μὴ ταύτην ἔχοντι τὴν εἰρήνην οὐδὲ ὁ κοινὸς λιμὴν  ἄπας ἀνέῳκται, ἀλλὰ καὶ οὕτος προσκεχωσται, ὁ του ὕπνου καὶ τῆς νυκτός.  Ἅγιος Ἰωάννης ὁ Χρυσόστομος, Εἰς Τον Δ' Ψαλμον

In peace I shall sleep and rest. Because you, Lord, alone in hope have established me. 1 Behold another significant type of providence, that those dedicated to God enjoy peace: 'For peace there is to the lovers of your law and not to them is scandal'  2 For there is nothing equal to the making of peace than the knowledge of God, and the possession of virtue, which casts the internal war of passions far from one's house, and it does not allow it to disturb a man. For certainly if a man does not enjoy this peace, even if there is perfect peace outside him, even if no enemy falls upon him, he is more wretched than those who are under assault in the world. For neither Scythian, nor Thracian, nor Sarmatian, nor Indian, nor Moor, nor any wild folk, are accustomed to bring so fierce a war as wicked thoughts are into the depths of the soul, uncontrolled lust, love of money, vehement attachment to things. And it is certainly so, for the first is an external conflict and the latter internal, and what is born within us, compared to those things that come from without, is more grievous, and they are accustomed to be more violent, which may be seen in everything. For wood having worms born within it is more corrupt, and the health of the body suffers more harm by disease which arises from within than by that which comes from without, and cities are not so much by external enemies than by civic enemies destroyed; and so even the soul is not so much by external machinations sickened than by that which is born from within bringing ruin. Yet if a man have the fear of God he may suppress this conflict utterly, and give peace to the passions, and suppress the various uprisings of unseemly thoughts, not allowing them to linger in his interior, and this one is most great in his enjoyment of peace. This is the peace Christ's coming has given, and for this Paul prayed for the faithful,saying in each of his letters, 'Grace to you and peace from God our father.' For he who has this peace, not only he need not take fright at barbarous enemy and the devil himself, but every cohort of demons he may laugh at, and he is of all men cheerful, not oppressed by poverty, nor by disease and ill health weighed down, nor perturbed by any unforeseen event which befalls men, because his soul has strength and health by which he is most eminently and easily able to manage and temper these things. And that this you might know this to be true: if some man is envious, and no one bring war upon him, what does it benefit? For he brings war upon himself, as if his thoughts were a sharp sword thrusting into his interior in everything which seems to offend him and in each thing which happens among men by which he wounds himself, and he has no delight in anything but he sees everything as an enemy. What then is the use of external peace, when he is furious and maddened, the enemy of our common nature, and bears within himself such an internal war and a thousand arrows and shafts, and prefers to suffer a thousand deaths rather than see anyone else who is like him held in high regard? Again another may be gripped by a desire for wealth, and so he incites innumerable battles, and brawls, and uprisings in his own soul, and endless tumults and troubles, and he has no time to breathe. But it is not so with the one who is free from such passions, he is not moved in such a manner, but in a tranquil port he resides, and he feasts on wisdom, and no trouble he bears. Whence the fruitful foresight of the Prophet says, 'In peace I shall sleep and rest,' which means that to him who does not have peace, it is not that the common port of all is not open, but that it is obstructed, even in quiet and night.  Saint John Chrysostom, Exposition of the Psalms, Psalm 4 1 Ps 4 9-10 2 Ps 118.165

An End Of Troubles

Haec dicit Dominus, si perfecti fuerint, et ita plures: sic quoque attondentur et pertransibit: afflixi te, et non affligam te ultra: et nunc conteram virgam ejus de dorso tuo, et vincula tua disrumpam LXX: Haec dicit Dominus regnans acquis multis, et sic dividentur, et auditus tuus non audientur amplius, et nunc conteram virgam ejus a te: et vincula ejus disrumpam.   Juxta litteram manifestus est sensus: Licet, inquit, robusti sint Assyrii, et fortitudo eorum numero augeatur cunctarum gentium: sic quoque angelo vastante, tondentur. Quomodo enim numerus capillorum acutae forcipi non repugnat: ita et numerus adversariorum Dei, facili succisione tolletur, et pertransibit Assur, vel esse desistet, sive, vastato exercitu suo, revertetur ad patriam, te sospitem dereliquens. Rursumque ad Judam et Jerusalem sermo dirigetur: Afflixi, te, et non affligam te ultra: non quod perpetuam securitatem polliceatur, sed illius tantum temporis, et ab illis hostibus a quibus tunc obsidebatur. Denique infert: Et nunc conteram virgam ejus, id est, Assyrii, de dorso tuo, et vincula tua disrumpam: vel per metaphoram potestatem ejus significans: vel certe, virgam qua percutere conabatur, et vincula quae captivis parabat: quanquam possit et obsidio clausae multitudinis pro vinculis accipi. Porro juxta LXX multo aliter est senus. Adhuc enim videtur adversus eos loqui, quibus supra dixerat: Quid cogitatis contra Dominum? Et: Ex te exibit cogitatio contra Domnium pessima, cogitans contraria. Haec ergo dicit Dominus regnans aquis multis, sive virtutibus, quae dicuntur aquae super caelos: et praecipitur eis, ut laudent Dominum: vel certe intellectibus et sapientiae et doctrinis Dei. Sicut enim flumina de ventre justi fluent, et fontes uberes in vitam aeternam, per varias multiplicesque sententias, quibus imperat sermo Domini: ita habent et haeresiarchae aquas sua, quibus imperant, et quae ex eorum primum fonte manarunt. Quod autem sequitur: Et sic dividentur, vel de coelestibus quae in supernis Deo serviunt virtutibus intelligi potest; quod unaquaeque in suo officio sit et ministerio, vel de multiplici varietate spaientiae. Ne quia dixerat, regnans aquis multis, confusus et indiscretus sensuum numerus putaretur: sed quod unaquaeque sententia divisos habeat inter se sensus et separatas materias propriasque ὑποθέσεις. Nam quod dicitur: Auditus tuus non audietur amplius, increpatio est in eos, qui adversus Deum contraria cogitaverant, quod ostensis sophismatibus et decipulis, quibus Dei populus irretiebatur, sermo eorum ultra non currat, nec suscipiatur a populis. Sed et hoc quod infert: Et nunc conteram virgam ejus a te, et vincula tua disrumpam, pro ipsis dicitur quibus fit comminatio, ut nequaquam caedantur a diabolo, et ei subjecti sint, quo auctore tanta excogitaverant atque confixerant. Conteretur ergo imperium ejus in eos: et vincula quibus peccantium animae ligabantur, disrumpentur a sermone Dei, dicente his qui in vinculis sunt, exite. Sanctus Hieronymus, Commentariorum In Naum Prophetam

'These things the Lord says, 'Though they were great, even though so many, even so they will be cut off and pass. I afflicted you but I shall afflict you no more, and now I shall shatter his stick from your back and your chains I shall break.' The Septuagint has: 'These things the Lord says ruling with the many waters, and so they shall be divided, and your ears shall not hear any more, and now I shall shatter his stick from you and his chains I shall break.' 1 According to the letter the meaning is plain: It was allowed, it says, that the Assyrians became strong, and that their might exceed that of all the other nations, even so by the devastating angel they were cut off. As even the great number of hairs may not avoid the sharp pincers, so even the number of the enemies of God are easily cut off and taken away, and Assur he shall pass on, or, he shall desist, or, with his wasted army he shall return to his homeland, and you will be left unscathed. And again the speech is directed to Judah and Jerusalem: 'I afflicted you but I will afflict you no more.' It is not that perpetual safety is promised here, but only for a time and from those enemies by which they were besieged. Next comes: 'And now I shall shatter his stick,' that is, Assyria's, 'from your back, and your chains I shall break.' Either this is a metaphor for his power, or the stick with which he has tried to strike and the chains which he has prepared for captives; but whatever he may have tried to do, I give the end of the siege for a multitude of chains. However, according to the Septuagint the meaning is quite different. For it seems that against them it is spoken about whom it was said before this passage, 'Why do you think against the Lord?  And: 'From you will go out a most wretched thought against the Lord, plotting harm.' 2 These things thus says the Lord who rules with many waters, or powers, which they say are the waters above the heavens, and He commands them, that they praise the Lord, 3 certainly with understanding of the wisdom and the teaching of God. For as flow waters from the bosom of the righteous, 4 even abundant founts into eternal life, through various and many meanings the word of the Lord rules, and thus the heresiarchs have their own waters, by which they command, and which from the fount of them first flowed forth. And it follows, 'And so they shall be divided,' which is can be understood either as the high powers in the heavens serving God, each one in his office and ministry, or on account of the manifold variety of wisdom. Because he did not say, 'ruling with the many waters,' that this be thought to be a confused and indistinguishable mass of things, but that each among them has his different purpose and separate are his substance and hypothesis. Then it is said, 'Your hearing shall not hear any more,' which is a cry against those who have set their thoughts against God, that with its sophisms and deceptions, by which the people of God are entangled, their word will not go forth any more, nor will it be taken up by the people. But even this which is said: 'And now I shall shatter his stick from you, and your chains I shall break,'  about the same is said as a warning, that they shall not be slain by the devil and be subject to him, with which author such things they have plotted to do and struck. For He shall crush down his power upon them, and the chains by which they were binding the souls of sinners will be broken by the speech of God, saying to those who are in chains, come out! Saint Jerome, Commentary on Nahum  1 Nahum 1 12-13 2 Nahum 1. 11  3 Ps 148.4  4 Jn 7.38

Crowns and Victory

Corona victoriae non promittitur nisi certantibus. In divinis autem Scripturis assidue invenimus promitti nobis coronam, si vicerimus. Sed ne longum sit multa commemorare, apud apostolum Paulum manifestissime legitur: Opus perfeci, cursum consummavi, fidem servavi; iam superest mihi corona iustitiae. Debemus ergo cognoscere quis sit ipse adversarius, quem si vicerimus coronabimur. Ipse est enim quem Dominus noster prior vicit, ut etiam nos in illo permanentes vincamus. Et Dei quidem Virtus atque Sapientia, et Verbum per quod facta sunt omnia, qui Filius Dei unicus est, super omnem creaturam semper incommutabilis manet. Et quoniam sub illo est creatura etiam quae non peccavit, quanto magis sub illo est omnis creatura peccatrix? Ergo quoniam sub illo sunt omnes sancti Angeli, multo magis sub illo sunt omnes praevaricatores angeli, quorum diabolus princeps est. Sed quia naturam nostram deceperat, dignatus est unigenitus Dei Filius ipsam naturam nostram suscipere, ut de ipsa diabolus vinceretur, et quem semper ipse sub se habet, etiam sub nobis eum esse faceret. Ipsum significat dicens: Princeps huius mundi missus est foras. Non quia extra mundum missus est, quomodo quidam haeretici putant: sed foras ab animis eorum qui cohaerent verbo Dei, et non diligunt mundum, cuius ille princeps est; quia dominatur eis qui diligunt temporalia bona, quae hoc mundo visibili continentur: non quia ipse dominus est huius mundi, sed princeps cupiditatum earum quibus concupiscitur omne quod transit; ut ei subiaceant qui neglegunt aeternum Deum, et diligunt instabilia et mutabilia. Radix enim est omnium malorum cupiditas; quam, quidam appetentes, a fide erraverunt, et inseruerunt se doloribus multis. Per hanc cupiditatem regnat in homine diabolus, et cor eius tenet. Tales sunt omnes qui diligunt istum mundum. Mittitur autem diabolus foras, quando ex toto corde renuntiatur huic mundo. Sic enim renuntiatur diabolo, qui princeps est huius mundi, cum renuntiatur corruptelis, et pompis, et angelis eius. Ideoque ipse Dominus iam triumphantem naturam hominis portans: Scitote, inquit, quia ego vici mundum. Multi autem dicunt: Quomodo possumus vincere diabolum quem non videmus? Sed habemus magistrum, qui nobis demonstrare dignatus est quomodo invisibiles hostes vincantur. De illo enim dixit Apostolus: Exuens se carne, principatus et potestates exemplavit, fiducialiter triumphans eos in semetipso. Ibi ergo vincuntur inimicae nobis invisibiles potestates, ubi vincuntur invisibiles cupiditates: et ideo quia in nobis ipsis vincimus temporalium rerum cupiditates, necesse est ut in nobis ipsis vincamus et illum qui per ipsas cupiditates regnat in homine. Quando enim dictum est diabolo: Terram manducabis; dictum est peccatori: Terra es, et in terram ibis. Datus est ergo in cibum diaboli peccator. Non simus terra, si nolumus manducari a serpente. Sicut enim quod manducamus, in nostrum corpus convertimus, ut cibus ipse secundum corpus hoc efficiatur quod nos sumus: sic malis moribus per nequitiam et superbiam et impietatem hoc efficitur quisque quod diabolus, id est, similis eius; et subiicitur ei, sicut subiectum est nobis corpus nostrum. Et hoc est quod dicitur, manducari a serpente. Quisquis itaque timet illum ignem qui paratus est diabolo et angelis eius, det operam triumphare de illo in semetipso. Eos enim qui foris nos oppugnant, intus vincimus, vincendo concupiscentias per quas nobis dominantur. Et quos invenerint sui similes, secum ad poenas trahunt. Sanctus Augustinus Hipponensi, De Agone Christiano

The crown of victory is not promised unless to those who struggle. In the Divine Scriptures continually we find a crown promised to us, if we conquer. But lest it take too long for many to recall these things, most manifestly in the Apostle Paul it says: The work completed, the course run, the faith kept, a crown of righteousness is ready for me. 1 We should therefore know who it is who is our adversary, him whom if we conquer we shall be crowned. He is the one over whom our Lord has been victorious, that even in Him remaining we might conquer. And certainly of God is virtue and wisdom, 2 and the Word through whom everything was made, 3 He who is the only Son of God, over every creature always unchangeably remaining. And because beneath him is every creature which has not sinned, how much more beneath him is every creature that is a sinner? Therefore, because beneath him are all the holy angels, much more beneath him are all the rebellious angels, of whom the devil is the prince. But because he ensnared our nature it is was right the Unbegotten Son of God himself take up our nature, that by it the devil might be conquered, and that he whom He always has beneath himself, He should make to be beneath us. He himself declares this, saying, 'The prince of this world is cast out.' 4 Not because he has been cast out from the world, which certain heretics think, but because he is outside of those souls who adhere to the word of God, and who do not love the world, of which he is the prince, for he rules those who delight in temporal things which this visible world contains, not because he is lord of this world, but because he is prince of their desires, by which they desire everything which passes; thus to him they are subject who neglect the eternal God and delight in things unstable and changeable. For the root of all evil is cupidity, which in its desires wanders from the faith, embroiling a man in many griefs. 5 Through this cupidity the devil rules over a man and he holds his heart. Such are all those who love this world. The devil is cast out when from the whole heart this world is renounced. So even is the devil renounced, who is prince of this world, when corruptible things are renounced, and pomp, and his angels. Therefore the Lord himself already bears the triumphant nature of man: 'Know,' He says, 'that I have conquered the world.' 6 But many say: 'How can we conquer the devil whom we do not see?' Yet we have a teacher, who thought it right to show to us how invisible enemies may be conquered. Concerning this the Apostle says, ' Putting off the flesh, despoiling the dominions and powers, faithfully triumphing over them in Himself'  7 There, then, the invisible hostile powers are conquered by us, where the invisible desires are conquered. And so that we conquer desires for temporal things in us ourselves, necessary it is that in us we conquer him who through desires rules a man. When it was said to the devil: 'Earth you shall eat,' it was said to the sinner, 'Earth you are and into earth you shall go.' 8 Thus the sinner is given as food to the devil. We are not earth if we are not eaten by the serpent. As even what we eat we convert into our own body so that the food be used in accordance with the body that we are, so by wicked ways, through evil and pride and impiety, a man is made like the devil, that is, similar to him, and subject to him, as our bodies are subject to us. And this is what it means to be eaten by the serpent. Whoever then fears that fire which is prepared for the devil and his angels, 9 let him work for the victory in himself. For those who oppose us without, within we conquer in the conquering of the desires by which they rule us. And those discovered to be like them, with them will be dragged off to punishment. Saint Augustine of Hippo, On The Christian Struggle 1 2 Tim 4. 7-8 2 1 Cor 1.24 3 Jn 1. 1-3 4 Jn 12.31 5 1 Tim 6.10 6 Jn 16.33 7 Col 2.15 8 Gen 3.14-19 9 Mt 25.41

An Enlargement of Heart

Cum invocarem, exaudivit me Deus iustitiae meae: cum invocarem, exaudivit me Deus, inquit, a quo est iustitia mea. In tribulatione dilatasti mihi: ab angustiis tristitiae, in latitudinem gaudiorum me duxisti; tribulatio enim et angustia in omnem animam hominis operantis malum. Qui autem dicit: Gaudemus in tribulationibus, scientes quoniam tribulatio patientiam operatur, usque ad illud ubi ait: Quoniam caritas Dei diffusa est in cordibus nostris per Spiritum sanctum, qui datus est nobis, non habet cordis angustias, quamvis extrinsecus a persequentibus ingerantur. Mutatio autem personae, quod a tertia, ubi ait, exaudivit, statim transiit ad secundam, ubi ait, dilatasti mihi, si non varietatis ac suavitatis causa facta est, mirum cur primum tamquam indicare voluit hominibus exauditum se esse, et postea compellare exauditorem suum. Nisi forte cum indicasset quemadmodum exauditus sit in ipsa dilatatione cordis, maluit cum Deo loqui; ut etiam hoc modo ostenderet quid sit corde dilatari, id est, iam cordi habere infusum Deum, cum quo intrinsecus colloquatur. Quod in persona eius qui credens in Christum illuminatus est, recte accipitur. Sanctus Augustinus Hipponensi, Enarratio in Psalmum IV

'When I called, the God of my righteousness heard me'  1 When I called, God heard me, he says, from whom is my righteousness. 'In tribulation You have enlarged me.' From the narrow ways of sorrow into the broad ways of joy You have led me. For, 'tribulation and narrowness is on every soul of man who is a worker of evil.' 2 But he who says, 'We rejoice in tribulations, knowing that tribulation works patience;' up to that place where he says, 'Because the love of God is spread about in our hearts by the Holy Spirit, which is given to us,' 3 has no narrowness of heart, although from without persecutors heap up trouble upon him. There is a change of person here, from the third person, where he says, 'He heard,' he passes at once to the second person, where he says, 'You have enlarged me,' which if it be not done for the sake of variety and style, makes one wonder why he first wishes to tell men that he had been heard, and afterwards address Him who heard him. Unless perhaps when he had declared how he was heard, in this enlargement of heart, he preferred to speak with God, that even in this way he might show what it is to be enlarged in heart, that is, to have God already infused in the heart, with Whom he might speak to within. Which is rightly to be understood as the person of him who, believing in Christ, has been enlightened. Saint Augustine of Hippo, Expositions on the Psalms, Psalm 4 1 Ps 4.1 2 Rom 2.9   3 Rom 5.3-5

Man and Change

Εἰς τὸ τέλος ὑπὲρ τῶν ἀλλοιωθησομένων, τοῖς υἱοῖς Κορὲ εἰς σύνεσιν, ᾡδὴ ὑπὲρ τοῦ ἀγαπητοῦ.  Φαίνεται μὲν καὶ οὕτος ὁ ψαλμὸς τελειωτικός τος ὣν τῆς ἀνθρωπίνης φύσεως, καὶ εἰς τὸ προκείμενον τέλος τοῖς κατ' ἀρετὴν βιοῦν προῃρημένοις τὴν ὠφέλειαν παρεχόμενος. Τοῖς γὰρ προκόπτουσι χρεία τῆς εἰς τὸ τελειωθῆναι διδασκαλίας, ἣν ὁ ψαλμὸς οὕτος παρέχεται, ἐπιγραφὴν ἐχων, 'Εἰς τὸ τέλος ὑπὲρ τῶν ἀλλοιωθησομένων.' Κεκρυμμένως δὲ εἶπεν, ὑπὲρ τῶν ἀνθρώπων. Ἡμεῖς γάρ ἐσμεν οἱ μάλιστα πάντων τῶν λογικῶν ἀλλοιώσεσί τε καὶ τροπαῖς ταῖς ἐφ' ἑκάστης ἡμέρας καὶ ὥρας σχεδὸν ὑποκεμενοι. Οὕτε γὰρ σώματι οὕτε γνώμῃ οἱ αὑτοί ἐσμεν ἑαυτοῖς, ἀλλὰ τὸ μὲν σῶμα ἡμῶν, ἀεὶ ῥέον καὶ σκεδανύμενον, ἐν κινήσει ἐστὶ καὶ μεταβολῇ ἢ ἀπὸ μικροῦ εἰς τὸ μεῖζον αὐξόμενον, ἢ ἀπὸ τοῦ τελείου πρὸς τὸ ἔλαττον συστελλόμενον. Οὐ γὰρ ὁ αὐτός ἐστι τᾠ ἀρτιγενεῖ παιδίῳ ὁ εἰς διδακελεῖον φοιτῶν ἤδη παῖς, καὶ πρὸς τὰς τῶν τεχνῶν καὶ μαθημάτων ἀναλήψεις ἐπιτηδείως ἔχων· ἕτερος δὲ πάλιν παρὰ τοῦτον ὁμολογουμένως ἐστὶν ὁ ἔφηβος, ἤδη τῶν νεανικῶν ἄπτεσθαι δυνάμενος. Καὶ παρὰ τὸν ἔφηβον ὁ ἀνὴρ ἄλλος τίς ἐστι καὶ στεῥῥτητι καὶ μεγέθει σώματος, καὶ τῇ τοῦ λόγου συμπληρώσει. Εἰς ἀκμὴν δὲ ἐλθὼν, καὶ τὸ στάσιμον τῆς ἡλικίας ἀπολαβὼν, πάλιν ἄρχεται κατὰ μικρὸν ὑφαιρεῖν πρὸς τὸ ἔλαττον, ὑποῥῥεούσης αὐτῷ λεληθότως τῆς τοῦ σώματος ἔξεως, καὶ τῶν σωματικῶν τόνων ἐλαττουμένων, ἕως ἄν, ὑπὸ γήρως κατακαμφθεὶς, τὴν εἰς ἔσχατον δυνάμεως ὑφαίρεσιν ὑπομείνῃ. Ἡμεῖς τοίνυν ἐσμὲν οἱ ἀλλοιούμενοι, καὶ σοφῶς ἡμᾶς τοὺς ἀνθρώπους διὰ τῆς φωνῆς ταύτης ὁ ψαλμὸς παρῃνίξατο. Οὐ γὰρ ἄγγελοι ἐπιδέχονται τὴν ἀλλοίωσιν. Οὐδεις γὰρ παρ' ἐκείνοις παῖς, οὐδὲ νεανίσκος, οὐδὲ πρεσβύτης, ἀλλ' ἐν ᾗπερ ἐξ ἀρχῆς ἐκτίσθησαν καταστάσει, ἐν ταύτῃ διαμένουσιν, ἀκεραίας αὐτοῖς καὶ ἀτρέπτου τῆς συστάσεως σωζομένης. Ἡμεῖς δὲ ἀλλοιούμεθα, κατὰ μὲν τὸ σῶμα, ὡς δίδεικται, κατὰ δὲ τὴν ψυχὴν καὶ τὸν ἔσω ἄνθρωπον, τοῖς ἀεὶ προσπίπτουσι πράγμαι συμμετατιθέντες τὰς διανοίας. Ἂλλοι μὲν γάρ ἐσμεν εὐθυμούμενοι, καὶ πάντων ἡμῖν τῶν κατὰ τὸν βίον κατὰ ῥοῦν προϊόντων· ἄλλοι δὲ ἐν τοῖς περιστατικοῖς καιροῖς, ἐπειδάν τινι τῶν ἀβουλήτων προσπταίσωμεν. Ἀλλοιούμεθα δὲ καὶ κατὰ τὰς ὀργὰς, θηριώδη τινὰ κατάστασιν ἀναλαμβάνοντες. Ἀλλοιούμεθα καὶ κατὰ τὰς ἐπιθυμίας, κτηνώδεις γινόμενοι διὰ τοῦ καθ' ἡδονὴν βίου. Ἵπποι θηλυμανεῖς ἐγενήθησαν οἱ ταῖς γυναιξὶ τῶν πλησίον ἐπιμαινόμενοι. Καὶ ὁ μὲν δολερὸς ἀλώπεκι παρεικάζεται, ὡς Ἡρώδης· ὁ δὲ ἀναιδὴς κύων προσαγορεύεται, ὡς Νάβαλ ὁ Καρμήλιος. Ὡρᾷς τὸ ποικίλον καὶ πολυειδὲς τῆς ἀλλοιώσεως ἡμῶν; Θαύμασον οὖν τὸν προσφόρως τὴν προσηγορίαν ταύτην ἡμῖν ἐφαρμόσαντα. Διόπερ δοκεῖ μοί τις τῶν ἑρμηνευτων καλῶς καὶ εὐθυβόλως τὴν αὐτὴν διάνοιαν δι' ἑτέρας προσηγορίας ἐκδεδωκέναι, ἀντὶ τοῦ,' Ὑπὲρ τῶν ἀλλοιωθησομένων,' εἰπὼν αὐτὸς, 'τοῖς υἱοῖς .' Τὸ ὠκόμορον τῶν ἀνθέων ἄξιον ἐνόμισε συγκρίνεσθαι τῷ ἐπικήρῳ τῆς ἀνθρωπίνης φύσεως. Ἐπειδὴ δὲ εἰς τὸν μέλλοντα χρόνον ἐγκέκλιται ἡ φωνὴ ( εἴρηται γὰρ Ὑπὲρ τῶν ἀλλοιωθησομένων, ὡς ὕστερόν ποτε τῆς ἀλλοιώσεως ταύτης ἀναφαινομένης ἡμῖν), ἐπισκεψώμεθα μήποτε τὸν τῆς ἀναστάσεως ἡμῖν δοθήσεται· ἀλλοίωσις δὲ ἐπὶ τὸ βέλτιον καὶ πνευματικόν ' Σπείρεται γὰρ,' φησὶν, ' ἐν φθορᾷ, ἐγείρεται ἐν ἀφθαρσιᾳ.' Ὅρᾷς τὴν ἀλλοίωσιν; ' Σπείρεται ἐν ἀσθενείᾳ ἐγείρεται ἐν δυνάμει. ' Σπείρεται σῶμα ψυχικὸν, ἐγείρεται σθμᾶ μνευματικόν· ὅτε καὶ πᾶσα ἡμῖν ἡ σωματικὴ κτίσις συναλλοιοῦται. Καὶ γὰρ καὶ ' Οἱ οὐρανοὶ ὡς ἱμάτιον παλαιωθήσονται, καὶ ὡσεὶ περιβόλαιον ἀλλάξει αὐτοὺς ὁ Θεὸς, καὶ ἀλλαγήσονται. Τότε καὶ ὁ ἥλιος ἔσται ἐπταπλασίων ἑαυτοῦ, κατὰ τὸν Ἤσαῖσν, καὶ ἡ σελήνη κατὰ τὸ νῦν ὑπάρχον μέγεθος τοῦ ἡλίου. Ἐπειδὴ δὲ οὐ πᾶσι γέγραπται τὰ λόγια τοῦ Θεοῦ, ἀλλὰ τοῖς ἔχουσιν ὦτα κατὰ τὸν ἔσω ἄνθρωπον, ' Τοῖς ἀλλοιωθησομένοις ἐπέγραψεν· ὡς οἶμαι, τοῖς ἑαυτῶν ἐπιμελομένοις, καὶ ἀεὶ διὰ τῶν γυμνασίων τῆς εὐσεβείας ἐπὶ τὸ μεϊζον προκόπτουσιν. Αὔτη γάρ ἐστιν ἡ καλλίστη ἀλλοίωσις, ἣν ἡ δεξιὰ χαρίζεται τοῠ Ὑψίστου· ἧς καὶ ὁ μακάριος Δαβὶδ ἐπῄσθετο, ὅτε, γευσάμενος τῶν καλῶν τῆς ἀρετῆς, τοῖς ἔμπροσθεν ἐπεξέτεινε. Τί γὰρ φησι; Καὶ εἶπα· Νῦν ἠρξάμην· αὔτη ἡ ἀλλοίωσις τῆς δεξιᾶς τοῦ Ὑψίστου. Ὥστε ὁ προκόπτων εἰς ἀρετὴν οὐκ ἔστιν ὅτε οὐκ ἀλλοιοῠται. Ὅτε γὰρ ἥμην, φησὶ, νήπιος, ἐλάλουν ὡς νήπιος, ἐφρόνουν ὡς νήπιος, ἐλογιζόμην ὡς νήπιος. Ὅτε δὲ γέγονα ἀνὴρ, κατήργνκα τὰ τοῦ νηπίου. Καὶ πάλιν γενόμενος άνὴρ, οὐχ ἴστατο τῆς ἐνεργείας, ἀλλὰ Τῶν ὅπισθεν ἐπιλανθανόμενος, καὶ τοῖς ἔμπροσθεν ἐπεκτεινόμενος, κατὰ σκοπὸν ἐδίωκεν ἐπὶ τὸ βραδεῖον τῆς ἄνω κλήσεως.' Ἀλλοίωσις οὖν ἐστι τοῦ ἔσω ἀνθρώπου ἀνακαινουμένου ἡμέρᾳ καὶ ἡμέρᾳ  Ἅγιος Βασίλειος ὁ Μέγας, Ὁμιλία Ἐις Τους Ψαλμούς, Εἰς Τον ΜΔ' Ψαλμον

To the master, for those who shall be changed, for the sons of Core, according to the understanding, a song of joy. 1 It seems this Psalm pertains to the perfection of human nature, and for those who direct their lives according to virtue this initial wording will be useful to understand. For by advancement the work of teaching is brought to perfection, which this Psalm shows. Its superscription is: 'To the master, for those who shall be changed.' And cryptically here he says 'for men' when he says 'for those', for we most of all rational creatures each day and each hour are subject to variety and changes We do not remain the same in body nor in mind, but the body of ours is ever altering with unseemly excretions and ejections and with motions and shifts, and from little much grows and there is reduction from a more perfect state to an inferior one. For a boy who attends to teaching and is able to grasp arts and disciplines suitable for him, is not the same as an infant. And different again from the boy it must be admitted is the youth who is attending to the exertions of young men. And different to the youth is the adult man who is strong and great in his body and in possession of mature reason. But when a man has come to vigour and has reached a stable age, again, little by little, the strength of the body begins to pass away, and his power decreases, until old age bends him, and this last most troublesome difficulty he must endure. We therefore are those who are changed and so we men are well designated through the voice of this Psalm. For angels are not permitted to change. Not among them is there a boy, a youth, or an old man, but in that state in which they were created so they remain, their simple substance being preserved unchanged. We however are changed, according to our body certainly, as has been shown, and it is also so with our thoughts, for always meeting with other things, they are subject to change. For one thing we are when we are cheerful and everything in life goes well, and another thing we are in times of calamity when we we find ourselves among adversities. And we are changed by anger, assuming a wild state. And we are changed by concupiscence, being made like beasts, who are mad for lust for of neighbours' wives. 2 And to the cunning fox we are compared, like Herod, and to the shamelessness of a dog like Nabal of Carmel 3 Do you see the variety and diversity of our changes? Admire, therefore, the one who chose this most apt and convenient superscription. And it seems to me that one may read well and correctly this same meaning expressed with other words, when in place of 'For those who will be changed,' he says 'for the sons.' Certainly a flower which quickly withers may be thought most apt to be compared with the mortality of human nature. Because the voice directs to future time, ( because it is said, for those who shall be changed, as if later this change had been declared to us) let us consider the teaching of the resurrection indicated to us, in which change shall be given to us, change even into something better and spiritual. For what is sown, he says,corruptible rises incorruptible. 4 Do you see the change? What is sown in infirmity rises in power. What is sown as animal body rises as a spiritual body, when every corporeal creation shall be changed. Indeed the heavens like a vestment worn old and like a covering, God shall change and they shall be changed. 5 Then the sun shall be seven times greater, according to Isaiah, and the moon shall be the size as the sun is now. 6 And because the words of God are not written for everyone but to those who have ears having according to the interior man, the superscription is, 'For those who shall be changed.' which I think is for those who have care for themselves and who ever through exertions of piety improve more and more. For this is the best of changes, which the right hand of the Most High bestows, which even blessed David experienced when tasting the good of virtues, to things ahead extending himself. What did he say? 'And I say now I have begun, here is a change is the right hand of the Most High' 7 He who has made progress in virtue, is he not changed? 'For when,' he says 'I was a little boy I spoke like a little boy and I thought like a little boy and I thought like a little boy. When I became a man, I rid myself of childish things.' 8 And again when he became a man he did not make an end of action but ' forgetting those things behind, and to those things ahead striving, intent on the goal, for the prize, the higher calling '. 9 Therefore he is changed, when the interior man is renewed from day to day. 10     Saint Basil of Caesarea, Homilies on the Psalms, Psalm 44 1   Ps 44 2 2 Jer 5.8 3. 1 Kings, 25, 3 LXX 4 1Cor 15.42 5 Ps 101.27  6 Is 30.26  7 Ps 76.11 8 1 Cor 13.11  9 Phil 3.13-14   10 2 Cor 4.16