Speaking The Truth

Quod dico vobis in tenebris, dicite in lumine: et nolite timere eos, qui occidunt corpus. Quo minus dicatis in lumine, quod audistis in tenebris. Vide quoniam non solum ille transgressor est veritatis, qui palam denegat veritatem, sed etiam ille, qui propter timorem eorum, qui possunt occidere corpus, tacet veritatem. Et quid dicam? Quia propter timorem mortis tacent homines veritatem, et propter miserum ventrem, et propter spem vani honoris, in conspectu infidelium tacent homines veritatem. Utputa, eunt homines ad convivium impiorum sacerdotum, et confugiunt ad patrocinium malorum haereticorum; fit sermo de fide: ille sacerdos impius, vel patronus, blasphemat veritatem tuam, quasi mendacium: fidem tuam, quasi perfidiam, ut aut seducat, aut vulneret conscientiam tuam, et faciat eam infirmam, etsi ad plenum capere non potuerit; tu autem etsi non denegaveris palam veritatem, tamen non contendis cum persona ejus, cujus panem inanem manducas, ut non perdas spem patrocinii, aut rapacitatis: veritatem, quam oportebat te libere defendere, tacens, confundis eam in conspectu inimicorum ejus, ut videatur a te tacente falsa quae vera est. Et quomodo non es tu proditor veritatis? Sed forte dicis: Si taceo veritatem ante adversarios, numquid consentio mendacio eorum? Dic mihi, si princeps aliquis imperatoris, videns civitatem Romanam ab hostibus expugnari, cum possit liberare eam, et neglexit defendere: num ipse videbitur tradidisse, quam potuit liberare, si voluisset? Sic et tu videns veritatem ab impiis expugnari, cum eam potuisses defendere, si loqui voluisses, tacens expugnasti, per hoc ipsum quod compassus es expugnari. Et si propter timorem eorum, qui occidunt corpus, tacere veritatem, sicut praesens scriptura testatur, impietas est: quomodo non sit impietas major, tacere veritatem propter miserum ventrem, et spem vani honoris, et meliorem facere gratiam panis et honoris quam gloriam veritatis Dei? Opus Imperfectum in Matthaeum, Homilia XXV Source: Migne PG 56.762

What I say to you in the darkness, speak in the light, and do not fear those who kill the body. 1 Do not refrain from speaking in the light what you have heard in the darkness. See that not only is he a transgressor of the truth who denies the truth but even he who on account of the fear of those who can kill the body is silent about the truth. What shall I say? Because of the fear of death men are silent about the truth, and likewise because of the wretched belly, and then they will not speak the truth because of the hope for vain honours in the sight of faithless men. It is as when men go to a meal held by impious priests, or they flee to the protection of wicked heretics, and a speech is made about the faith, and that impious priest or patron blasphemes the truth as a lie, and your faith as perfidy, so that he either seduces you, or wounds your conscience and weakens it, even if he was not able to seize it completely. And even if you do not deny the truth, however since you do not dispute with this person, whose vain bread you eat so that you do not lose the hope of his protection, or because of your rapacity, because you are silent about the truth you should gladly defend, you cast shame on it in the eyes of its enemies, so that on account of your silence it appears that the truth is a lie. How are you not a traitor to the truth? But perhaps you say, 'If I am silent about the truth before my enemies, do I consent to their lies?' Tell me, if a general of the emperor, seeing a Roman city assailed by its enemies, neglects to defend it when he is able to deliver it, shall he not be seen to have betrayed it, when he was able to save it if he wished? So you, seeing the truth attacked by the wicked, when you were able to defend it if you wished to speak, by your silence also attacked it, because you allowed it to be attacked. And if your silence regarding the truth is because of the fear of those who kill the body, so the present Scripture bears witness that it is wicked. And then how is it not more wicked to be silent because of the wretched stomach, or because of hope for vain honours, and to judge thanks for food and honour as better than the glory of the truth of God? Opus Imperfectum on Matthew, from Homily 25 1 Mt 10.27

The Father And The Son And Truth

Sed qui misit me, verax est. Videte quemadmodum Patri dat gloriam aequalis Filius Patri. Exemplum enim nobis praebet, gloriam dare Deo, gloriam Dei quaerere, non nostram: quasi diceret, O homo fidelis, si ego Filius Patris, aequalis Patri, consubstantialis Patri, coaeternus Patri, do gloriam ei, a quo sum: quomodo tu superbus es apud eum, cujus es servus? Multa, inquit, habeo de vobis loqui, et judicare; sed qui misit me, verax est, tanquam diceret, ideo verum dico, quia filius veracis, veritas sum. Pater veritas est, Filius veritas. Ait enim apertisime ipse Dominus, Ego sum via, et veritas, et vita. Ergo si Filius veritas, Pater quid, nisi quod ait, veritas? Qui me misit, verax est. Filius veritas, Pater verax est, sed non a veritate. Filius veritas, sed a Patre, quia Filius a Patre, non a seipso, et ideo ait alio loco: A meipso non veni, id est, a meipso non sum. Pater utique verax est, non participando veritatem, sed generando veritatem, quia Pater genuit Filium, qui de seipso ait: Ego sum via, et veritas. Cum autem dixisset Dominus Jesus: Verax est, qui me misit, non intellexerunt illi, quod de Patre eis dicebat; necdum habuerunt oculos cordis apertos, ut intelligere possent aequalitatem veracis et veritatis. Sanctus Beda, In Ioannis Evangelium Expositio, Liber I, Caput VIII Source: Migne PL 92.745c-746a

But He who sent me is true. 1 Note how the equal Son gives glory to the Father. He gives it as an example for us to give glory to God and to seek the glory of God and not our own, as if He were to say, 'O faithful man, if I, the Son of the Father, equal to the Father, consubstantial to the Father, coeternal with the Father, give glory to Him from whom I am, how shall you be proud before Him, you who are his servant? 'Many things I have to tell you and judge,' He says, 'but He who sent me is true,' 1  as if He were to say, 'Therefore I speak the truth, because I am the Son of Him who is true, and I am the truth. The Father is truth, the Son is truth.' For the Lord openly says, 'I am the way and the truth and the life.' 2 Therefore if the Son is truth, what is the Father, unless, as He said, the truth? 'He who sent me is true.' The Son is truth, the Father is true, but not from truth. The Son is truth, but from the Father, because the Son is from the Father and not from Himself, and therefore in another place He says, 'I did not come from myself,' 3 that is, I am not from myself. So the Father is true, and not by participating in the truth but in generating the truth because the Father begat the Son, He who says about Himself, 'I am the way and the truth.' But when the Lord Jesus had said, 'He who sent me is true,' they did not understand that He spoke to them of the Father, for the eyes of the heart was not yet open, so that they were able to understand the equality of the one who is true and the truth. Saint Bede, Commentary on the Gospel of John, Book 1, Chapter 8 1 Jn 8.26 2 Jn 14.6 3 Jn 8.42

Wisdom And Knowledge

Μακρόθυμος ἀνὴρ, πολὺς ἐν φρονήσει· ὁμοίως καὶ ὁ λόγοις σοφίας παραβάλλων τὸ οὗς αὐτοῦ. Χωρὶς μνήμης Θεοῦ, γνῶσις ἀληθὴς εἶναι οὐ δύναται· ἐκτὸς γὰρ τῆς προτέρας, ἡ δευτέρα νόθος ὑπάρχει. Ἅγιος Μάρκος ὁ Ἐρημίτης, Περὶ Νόμου Πνευματικοῦ Source: Migne PG 65.924b

The long suffering man is a man of much thoughts and likewise with the one whose ear receives the words of wisdom. Without mindfulness of God, true knowledge is impossible, for without the former the latter is spurious Saint Mark The Ascetic, On The Spiritual Law.

Possessing Knowledge

Ό γνωστικὸς καὶ εἰδὼς τὴν ἀλήθειαν, οὐ διὰ μνήμης τῶν πραχθέντων, ἀλλὰ δι' ὐπομονῆς τῶν ἐπερχομένων ἐξομολογεῖται τῷ Θεῷ. Ἅγιος Μάρκος ὁ Ἐρημίτης, Περὶ Τῶν Οἰομένων Ἐξ Ἔργων Δικαιοῦσθαι Source: Migne PG 65.952d

Being knowledgeable and knowing the truth is not through the recollection of things done but in the confession of God in the endurance of present trials. Saint Mark The Ascetic, On Those Who Think Themselves Justified By Works

Seeing Miracles

...et nuntiaverunt in civitatem et in villas. Exierunt autem videre quod factum est, et venerunt ad Jesum. Hic ponitur consequens effectus miraculi ex parte civium regionis. Dicuntur autem hic tria: exitus videlicet ad probandum, veritatis probatio per visum et auditum, timoris irrationabilis perculsio ex veritate probata. De primo dicuntur tria: exitus ex auditu causatus, finis exitus qui est probatio per visum, et perventio exeuntium usque ad Dominum. Exitus autem de civitate et villis, exitum significat pristinee conversationis et societatis. Genes: Egredere de terra tua, et de cognatione tua, et de domo patris tui, et veni in terram quam monstrabo tibi. Cantic: O pulcherrima inter mulieres, egredere. Apocal: Exite de illa, populus meus. Videre quod factum est. Quia, ut dicit Horatius, Segnius irritant animum demissa per aures, Quam qua sunt oculis subjecta fidelibus. Job: Auditu auris audivi te, nunc aulem oculus meus videt te. Idcirco ipse me reprehendo, et ago poenitentiam. Joan: Jam non propter tuam loquelam credimus: ipsi enim audivimus, et scimus quia hic est vere Salvator mundi. Sic et nobis exeundum est a nobis, et nostris, ut videamus Dominum Jesum. II ad Corinth: Revelata facie qloriam Domini speculantes, in eamdem imaginem transformamur. Cantic: Egredimini et videte, filiae Sion, regem Salomonem, etc. Quod factum est. Quia interim in factis suis Dominus videtur, donec per speciem in futuro clarius perspiciatur. I ad Corinth: Videmus nunc per speculum in aenigmate. tunc autem facie ad faciem. Ad Roman: Invisibilia Dei a creatura mundi, per ea quae facta sunt, intellecta, conspisciuntur: sempiterna quoque ejus virtus, et divinitas. Sanctus Albertus Magnus Commentarium In Evangelium Lucam, Caput VIII Source: Here p570

...and they announced it in the cities and villages, and they went out to see what had been done, and they came to Jesus. 1 Here is set down the consequence of the working of the miracle on the part of the people of the region. And it speaks of three things, the going out, that is, for proof, and the proof of truth through seeing and hearing, and the blow of irrational fear from the proof of truth. Concerning the first of these three matters, the going out is caused by hearing and the aim of going out is proof by seeing, and the way of those going out is to the Lord. The going out from the city and villages signifies the going out from the old life and society, 'Go out from your land and your kin and from the house of your father, and come to a land which I will show you.' In the Song of Songs, 'Most beautiful among women, go out.' In the Apocalypse, 'Come out of her, my people.' 2 'To see what had been done.' Because as Horace says, 'What passes through the ear moves the soul less than what comes before the faithful eyes.' 3 In Job, 'With the hearing of my eyes I have heard of you and now I look on you. Therefore I blame myself, and I am penitent.' In the Gospel of John, 'Now we do not believe because of your words, for we ourselves have heard, and now we know that He is the Saviour of the world.' So even we must go out from ourselves and what is ours so that we might see the Lord Jesus. In the second letter to the Corinthians, 'Looking on the revealed face of the Lord's glory we are transformed into that same image.' In the Song of Songs 'Go out and see king Solomon, daughters of Sion.' 4 'What had been done.' Because the Lord is seen through His deeds until He is perceived more clearly in the future through His face. 'We see now in a mirror, in mystery, but then face to face.' In Romans, 'The unseen things of God are seen from the created things of the world, understood through what has been done, even His eternal power and Divinity.' 5 Saint Albert The Great, Commentary On The Gospel of St Luke, Chapter 8 1 Lk 8.34-5 2 Gen 12.1, Song 1.7, Apoc 18.14 3 Horace Ars Poe 180-1 4 Job 42.5-6, Jn 4.42, 2 Cor 3.18, Song 3.11 5 1 Cor 13.12, Rom 1.20

Pilate And Truth

Pilatus interrogavit Jesum: Quid est veritas? et statim egressus est in praetorium. Fecit ergo quaestionem et non expsectavit responsium. Sic multi transitoro fervore ad Deum conversi vera bona desiderare incipiunt; sed eadem mentis mutabilitate iterum ad transitoria effusi, in mentis proposito non persistunt. Quaerunt ergo conversi per desiderium veritatis, sed non exspectans responsionem aversi per appetitum vanitatis Hugo De Sancte Victore, Miscellanea, Liber I, Tit CXXVI, Quod multi sola curiositate veritatem quaerunt Source: Migne PL 177.548a

Pilate asked Jesus: 'What is truth?' And immediately he went away to the praetorium. 1 Therefore he asked a question and did not hope for an answer. So it is that many who turn to God with a passing zeal begin to desire true goods, but then with shifting minds they fall away again to transitory things, unable to endure in the resolve of their minds. Therefore it is that those who have turned and asked with a desire for the truth, not hoping for a response, then turn away with an appetite for vanity. Hugh Of Saint Victor, Miscellanea, Book 1, Chapter 126, That many seek the truth only out of curiosity 1 Jn 18.38

Truth And Reward

Ἔστιν ὁ ἀλήθειαν λέγων καὶ ὑπὸ ἀφρόνων μισούμενος, κατὰ τὸν Ἀπόστολον· καὶ ἔστιν ὁ ὑποκρινόμενος καὶ διὰ τοῦτο ἀγαπώμενος. Ὅμως οὐδέτερον τῶν ἀνταποδόσεων τούτων πολυχρόνιον γίνεται, διότι ὁ Κύριος, ἐν ἰδίῳ καιρῷ, ἐκάστῳ τὸ δέον ἀνταποδίδωσιν. Ἅγιος Μάρκος ὁ Ἐρημίτης, Περὶ Τῶν Οἰομένων Ἐξ Ἔργων Δικαιοῦσθαι Source: Migne PG 65.957b

He who speaks the truth shall have the hatred of the mindless, according to the Apostle, 1 and he who lies shall be loved because of that. But neither of these rewards last for a long time, rather it is the Lord who to each in his own time shall give the fitting reward. Saint Mark The Ascetic, On Those Who Think Themselves Justified By Works 1 Jn 8.40

The Ways

Intrate per angustam portam, usque, Et pauci sunt qui inveniunt eam. Lata via est quae tendit ad saeculi voluptates, cujus inquisitione aut inventione opus non est, quia sponte se offerunt. Angustam vero viam omnes inveniunt, nec qui inveniunt statim ingrediuntur per eam, siquidem multi de medio itinere veritatis, saeculi voluptatibus capti, revertuntur. Sanctus Beda, In Matthaei Evangelium Expositio, Liber I, Caput VII Source: Migne PL 92.37c

'Enter through the narrow gate ...' up to '...there are few who find it.' 1 The way is wide that directs to worldly pleasures, in the acquisition and discovery of which there is no toil, but immediately they are set before one. Yet not all who find the narrow way immediately walk on it, for many, seized by worldly pleasures, turn aside from travelling on the way of truth. Saint Bede, Commentary on the Gospel of Matthew, Book 1, Chapter 7 1 Mt 7.13-14

Profitless Correction

Μὴ πειρῶ ἐλέγχων ὠφελεῖν τὸν ἐν ἀρεταῖς καυχώμενον, διότι ὁ αὐτὸς καὶ φιλενδείκτης καὶ φιλαλήθης εἶναι οὐ δύναται. Ἅγιος Μάρκος ὁ Ἐρημίτης, Περὶ Τῶν Οἰομένων Ἐξ Ἔργων Δικαιοῦσθαι Source: Migne PG 65.964a

It does not profit to upbraid one who is boastful of his virtues, since he can neither suffer correction nor love the truth. Saint Mark The Ascetic, On Those Who Think Themselves Justified By Works

Honey And Salt

Nec quidquam fermenti aut mellis adolebitur in sacrificiis; sed in omni sacrificio offeres sal. Mel in sacrificio prohibetur offerri, quai nihil voluptuosum et suave hujus mundi apud Deum placet, nihil quo non habeat aliquid mordacis veritatis. Unde paschalis agnus cum lactucis agrestibus et amaris manducabatur. Sal vero in omni sacrifico offertur, quia sale rationis et discretionis omnia debent condiri. Hugo De Sancte Victore, Miscellanea, Liber IV, Tit XVIII, Sal discretionis, non mel adulationis nec voluptatis, esse sacris adhibendum Source: Migne PL 177.708a

Neither leaven nor honey shall be burnt with the sacrifices, but with every sacrifice you shall offer salt. 1 Honey is forbidden to be offered in sacrifice, because nothing pleasurable and sweet of this world pleases God, nothing that does not have the bite of truth. Whence the Paschal lamb was eaten with wild and bitter herbs. 1 But salt is offered with every sacrifice, because everything should be established with the salt of reason and discretion. Hugh Of Saint Victor, Miscellanea, Book 4, Chapter 18, On the salt of discretion, and that the honey of adulation and pleasure is not to be allowed in sacred things 1 Levit 2.11,13 2 Exod 12.8

Mercy And Truth

Puto et vias Domini vultis audire. Multum praesumere videor, si me illas promisero ostensurum. Legitur autem de ipso, quoniam docebit nos vias suas. Cui enim alteri crederetur? Docuit itaque vias suas, cum aperuit labia prophetae, ut diceret: Universae viae Domini, misericordia et veritas. Ita ad singulos, ita ad omnes communiter venit; in misericordia scilicet et veritate. Ubi enim multa jam fuerit de miseratione praesumptio, sed oblivio veritatis; non continuo ibi Deus. Sed neque ubi terror multus ex recordatione veritatis, nulla autem de memoria misericordiae consolatio. Nam neque veritatem tenet, qui misericordiam, ubi vere est, non agnoscit: nec vera esse sine veritate misericordia potest. Itaque ubi misericordia et veritas obviaverunt sibi, sese etiam justitia et pax osculantur; nec is abesse potest, cujus in pace factus est locus. Quanta audivimus et cognovimus (siquidem patres nostri annuntiaverunt nobis) super hac copula tam felici misericordiae et veritatis! Misericordia tua et veritas tua susceperunt me, ait Propheta, et alio loco, Misericordia, inquit, tua ante oculos meos est, et complacui in veritate tua. Sed et Dominus ipse de eo: Veritas mea et misericordia mea cum ipso. Sanctus Bernardus Claraevallensis, Sermo XI in Psalmo XC, De versu undecimo, Quoniam angelis suis mandavit de te ut custodiant te in omnibus viis tuis. Source: Migne PL 183.228b-d

I think you wish to hear of the ways of the Lord. I would seem to presume much if I were to promise to show them myself. But it is written concerning Him, that 'He shall teach us His ways.' 1 To whom else shall it be credited? Thus He taught His ways when he opened the mouths of the prophets, so that it was said: 'All the ways of the Lord are mercy and truth.' 2 As to each one, so to all in common He comes, that is, in mercy and truth. For where there is now much presumption of mercy but forgetfulness of truth, there is no abidance of God. And neither is there where there is much terror from the remembrance of truth but no comfort from the memory of mercy. For he does not hold to truth who does not know where mercy truly is. Nor is there true mercy without truth. Thus when mercy and truth have met together, justice and peace do indeed kiss. Nor can the former have been absent when by it the place of peace is made. How much we have heard and known, since our fathers announced it to us, 3 about this joyous bond of mercy and truth. 'Your mercy and truth has taken me up,' 4 says the Prophet, and in another place, 'Your mercy is before my eyes, and I have been pleasing in your truth.' 5 And the Lord says concerning such a man: 'My truth and my mercy are with him.' 6 Saint Bernard of Clairvaux, from Sermon 11 on Psalm 90, On the eleventh verse, 'Because He commanded His angels to guard you in all your ways.' 7 1 Ps 24.9, Micah 4.2 2 Ps 24.10 3 Ps 77.3 4 Ps 39.12 5 Ps 25.3 6 Ps 88.25 7 Ps 90.11

Judgement And The Way

Κρῖνον αὐτοὺς, ὁ Θεός· ἀποπεσάτωσαν ἀπὸ τῶν διαβουλιῶν αὐτῶν. Κατὰ τὸ πλῆθος τῶν ἀσεβειῶν αὐτῶν ἔξωσον αὐτοὺς, ὅτι παρεπίκρανάν σε, Κύριε... Τῷ ἁμαρτάνοντι λυσιτελεῖ μᾶλλον ὑπὸ Θεοῦ κριθῆναι, ἢ ἔξω εἶναι τῆς κρίσεως. Καὶ τὸ ἀπὸ μοχθηρῶν διαβουλιῶν ἀποπεσεῖν οὐ κακὸν τῷ ἀποπίπτοντι, οὐκ ἐρχομένῳ ἐπὶ τὸ μοχθηρὸν αὐτῶν τέλος· ὡς οὐ καλὸν τῶν κρειττόνων μὴ ἐπὶ τέλος ἐλθεῖν. Πάνυ δὲ χαρίεν, πῶς οὐκ εἴρηκε πόθεν ἔξωσεν, ἵνα μὴ τοῖς πολλοῖς σαφὲς ᾗ. Οἶμαι δὲ, ὅτι ἀπὸ τῶν ἀσεβειῶν αὐτῶν κατὰ τὸ πλῆθος αὐτῶν. Οὐ γὰρ ἀφ' ἑαυτοῦ ἐξωθεῖ ὁ Θεός τινας· Οἱ γὰρ μακρύνοντες, φησὶν, ἑαυτοὺς ἀπὸ σοῦ, ἀπολοῦνται. Κύριε, ὁδήγησόν με ἐν τῇ δικαιοσύνῃ σου ἕνεκα τῶν ἐχθρῶν μου, κατεύθυνον ἐνώπιόν σου τὴν ὁδόν μου... Ὁ προτιθέμενος ὀρθῶς φρονεῖν καὶ πράττειν, πολλοὺς ἐναντίους ἔχει. Εἰσὶ γὰρ καὶ ἄνθρωποι καὶ δαίμονες φθονεροὶ, λυπούμενοι ἐπὶ τοῖς ἀγαθοῖς τῶν κατορθούντων. Τοῦτο δὲ θεωρήσας καὶ ὁ προκείμενος οὐ τῇ ἑαυτοῦ δυνάμει δέδωκε τὸ ἀπομάχεσθαι τοῖς ἐπικειμένοις κατ' αὐτοῦ, ἀλλὰ παρεκάλεσε τὸν Θεὸν χεῖρα αὐτῷ ὀρέξαι σκεπάζου σαν αὐτὸν ἀβλαβῆ ἀπὸ τῶν τοσούτων καὶ τηλικούτων πολεμίων, φάσκων· Αὐτὸς, ὦ Δέσποτα, ὁδήγησόν με ἐν τῇ δικαιοσύνῃ σου· οὕτω γὰρ κατορθωθείη τὸ τὴν ὁδόν μου ἐνώπιόν σου κατευθυνθῆναι. Ὅτι οὐκ ἔστιν ἐν τῷ στόματι αὐτῶν ἀλήθεια, ἡ καρδία αὐτῶν ματαία. Τάφος ἀνεῳγμένος ὁ λάρυγξ αὐτῶν· ταῖς γλώσσαις αὐτῶν ἐδολιοῦσαν... Ἐχθρῶν ἐμποδιζόντων τὴν ὁδόν σου φανερωθῆναι ἐν ὀφθαλμοῖς μου, σὺ κατεύθυνον αὐτὴν ἐνώπιόν μου. Οἶδα γὰρ αὐτοὺς ἐν οἷς περὶ ὁδοῦ ἐπαγγέλλονται, μὴ ἀληθεύοντας, τῷ μὴ εἶναι ἐν τῷ στόματι αὐτῶν ἀλήθειαν, καὶ ματαίαν εἶναι αὐτῶν τὴν καρδίαν. Πάντα δὲ τὰ ἐκφωνούμενα ἐν τῷ λάρυγγι αὐτῶν νεκρά ἐστι, τῷ εἶναι αὐτὸν τάφον ἀνεῳγότα. Ἀλλὰ καὶ λελογισμένοι σόφισμά τινές εἰσιν οἱ λόγοι αὐτῶν. Ὠριγένης, Εἰς Ψαλμους, Ψαλμος E' Source: Migne PG 12.1172a-c

Judge them, O God, cut them off from their thoughts. According to the multitude of their impieties let them be driven off, because they have exasperated you, O Lord... 1 It is of greater benefit for the sinner to be judged by God than to be outside judgement. To be cut off from depraved thoughts is not an evil that befalls them who thus do not come to the culmination of their evils, just as it is not good among better things not to attain their end. But it would be pleasing to know what he did not say, from what they were driven off, which may not be clear to many. I think it was from their evils and the multitude of them. For God does not drive off anyone from Himself. As he says. 'For they who withdraw themselves far from you, they shall perish.' 2 O Lord, lead me into your righteousness on account of my enemies, direct my way into your sight... 3 He who proposes to himself to think and act correctly, he shall have many to oppose him. For there are men and demons full of envy who are aggrieved by good things rightly done. When the Prophet perceives this, he does not depend on his own virtue to fight against those who stand against him, but he asks the Lord to stretch forth His hand so that he might escape for all such adversaries unharmed, saying, 'O Lord, lead me into your righteousness, for so it shall be that my way is guided into your sight.' Because there is no truth in their mouths, their hearts are a vanity, their throats open tombs, their tongues work wickedness... 4 When enemies impede your way, that it may it be obvious to my eyes, direct it into my sight. For I know they do not speak the truth concerning the things which they proclaim about the way, having no truth in their mouths, and their hearts are vain. Everything which their throat pronounces is death, because it is an open tomb, for their speech is replete with sophistry. Origen, Selecta On the Psalms, from Psalm 5 1 Ps 5.11 2 Ps 72.27 3 Ps 5.9 4 Ps 9.10-11

Choosing Truth

Ὁδὸν ἀληθείας ᾑρετισάμεν, τὰ κρίματά σου οὐκ ἐπελαθόμην. Τὸν στίκον τοῦτον ἐρεῖ μόνος ὁ καταφρονῶν μὲν τῶν βλεπομένων ὡς προσκαίρων, σκοπῶν δε τὰ μὴ βλεπόμενα ὡς αἰώνια, καὶ μόνα κυρίως ἀληθῆ, καὶ ἐπ' ἐκεῖνα σπεύδων. Οὐκ ἀληθείας γὰρ ὁδὸς, ἢν αἱρεῖται ὁ πραγματευόμενος τὸν κάτω πλοῦτον καὶ τὰς ἐπὶ γῆς δόξας. Ὁ οὖν ἐλόμενος ὁδεύειν, ὡς ἀποδεδώκαμεν, τὴν τῆς ἀληθείας ὁδὸν, οὗτος οὐκ ἐπυλανθανόμενος τῶν κριμάτων τοῦ Θεοῦ καὶ τῶν ἀνταποδόσεων αὐτοῦ τὸ τοιοῦτον πράττει. Ὁ φιλαλήθης καὶ μήποτε προφέρων ψευδῆ λόγον διὰ στόματος εἴποι ἄν· Ὁδὸν ἀληθείας ᾑρετισάμεν. Ἀλλὰ καὶ ὁ διαπαντὸς πρὸ ὀφθαλμῶν τιθέμενος τὰ τοῦ Θεοῦ κρίματα καὶ ἐπὶ πάσῃ πράξει μεμνημένος αὐτῶν ἐρεῖ· Τὰ κρίματτα σου οὐκ ἐπελαθόμην. Εὐσέβιος ὁ Καισάρειος, Ὑπομνηματα Ἐις Τους Ψαλμους, Ψαλμὸς ΡΙΗ´ Source: Migne PG 23.1369b-c

I chose the way of truth, I did not forget your judgements. 1 This verse is said only by the one who, scorning the things he sees as transient and looking to those things which are unseen as eternal, is eager only to contemplate things which are absolutely true. Certainly he does not choose the way of truth who pursues worldly wealth and mundane glory. He, therefore, as we have said, who chooses to travel on the way of truth and who is not forgetful of the judgements of God and His rewards, he does this. He who is a lover of truth and never bears the word of a lie in his mouth may say, 'I chose the way of truth.' And indeed he who always has the judgements of God before his eyes and is mindful of Him in every deed, he says 'I did not forget your judgements.' Eusebius of Caesarea, Commentary on the Psalms, from Psalm 118 1 Ps 118.30

Knowledge And Faith

Ὁ μὴ γινώσκων τὴν ἀλήθειαν, οὔτε ἀληθῶς πιστεύειν δύναται. Ἡ γὰρ γνῶσις κατὰ φύσιν προηγεῖται τῆς πίστεως. Ἅγιος Μάρκος ὁ Ἐρημίτης, Περὶ Νόμου Πνευματικοῦ Source: Migne PG 65.920a

He who does not know the truth cannot truly have faith, for according to nature knowledge precedes faith. Saint Mark The Ascetic, On The Spiritual Law.

Entering Through The Door

Qui non intrat per ostium. Quia sicut per ostium intratur in domum, ita per principia cujuslibet veritatis intratur in scientiam veritatis illius, et per principia fidei intratur in scientiam fidei, quae est de credibilibus : sicut sunt articuli fidei. Si ostium est, compingamus illud tabulis cedrinis, hoc est, principiis imputribilis veritatis, quae numquam excidunt: quia cedrus est imputribilis. Ideo praecepit Dominus, Sument de sanguine ejus, scilicet agni, et ponent super utrumque postem, et in superliminaribus domorum in quibus comedent illum. Quia principia fidei sunt de passione, et superliminaria sunt de deitate: quia fere omnia principia fidei sunt, per quae vere intratur in Christianam religionem, vel de passione, vel de deitate Christi. Scribes ea, scilicet mandata, in limine et ostiis domus tuae. Quia observatio mandatorum nulla est quae non principiis fidei confirmatur.. Sanctus Albertus Magnus, Commentarium in Joannem, Caput X Source: Here, p185

He who does not enter through the door... 1 Because as a house is entered through the door, so through the principles of the truth one enters into the knowledge of the truth, and through the principles of faith one enters into the knowledge of the faith, which concerns things to be believed, which are the articles of the faith. 'If a door, let us fashion there boards of cedar', 2 that is, the principles of incorruptible truth, which never decay, because cedar is incorruptible. Therefore the Lord commands: 'Let them take up the blood,' that is of the lamb, 'and place it on both doorposts and on the lintels of the house in which they eat.' 3 Because the principles of the faith concern the Passion, and the lintels Godhood, since almost all the principles of the faith, though which one enters into the Christian religion, are either of the Passion or of the Deity of Christ. 'Write these things,' that is the commandments, 'on the threshold and the doors of your house.' 4 There is no keeping of the commandments which the principles of the faith do not confirm. Saint Albert The Great, Commentary On The Gospel of St John, Chapter 10 1 Jn 10.10 2 Song 8.9 3 Exod 12.7 4 Deut 6.9

Truth And Freedom

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

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

Three Ways

Utinam dirigantur viae meae... Tres sunt viae: Via Dei, via hominis, via diaboli. Via Dei est veritas, via hominis est necessitas, via diaboli iniquitas. Via Dei et diaboli numquam flecti possunt, ut ad aliud tendant, quia nec via Dei mala, nec via diaboli bona aliquando esse potest. Via hominis mutabilis est, et ad diversa inflectitur; hoc est, vel ad viam Dei vel ad viam diaboli. Si enim necessitas intorquetur ad cupiditatem, et cupiditas ad iniquitatem, via hominis flectitur, ad viam diaboli. Si autem diriguntur ad mensuram, et mensura ad justitiam, via hominis directa est ad viam Dei. Propterea ait: Utinam dirigantur viae meae. Hugo De Sancte Victore, Miscellanea, Liber II, Caput LXIX Source: Migne PL 177.628b-c

O that my ways were directed...1 There are three ways: The way of God, the way of man, the way of the devil. The way of God is truth, the way of man is need, the way of the devil wickedness. The ways of God and the devil cannot be bent, so that they tend to something else, because it is not possible that the way of God is evil at any time, nor may the way of the devil be good. The way of man is changeable, and it is bent to different things, that is, either to the way of God or to way of the devil. If need bends it to excessive desire, and that to wickedness, the way of man is bent to the way of the devil. But if it is directed by moderation, and moderation to righteousness, the way of man is directed to the way of God. Therefore it is said, 'O that my ways were directed...' Hugh Of Saint Victor, Miscellanea, Book 2, Chapter 69 1 Ps 118.5

Eucharist And Unity

Sed Dominus nihil fidelium conscientiae incertum relinquens, ipsum illum naturalis efficientiae docuit effectum, dicens, Ut sint unum, sicut nos unum sumus, ego in his, et tu in me; ut sint perfecti in unum. Eos nunc, qui inter Patrem et Filium voluntatis ingerunt unitatem, interrogo utrumne per naturae veritatem hodie Christus in nobis sit, an per concordiam voluntatis? Si enim vere Verbum caro factum est, et vere nos Verbum carnem cibo dominico sumimus; quomodo non naturaliter manere in nobis existimandus est, qui et naturam carnis nostrae jam inseparabilem sibi homo natus assumpsit, et naturam carnis suae ad naturam aeternitatis sub sacramento nobis communicandae carnis admiscuit? Ita enim omnes unum sumus, quia et in Christo Pater est, et Christus in nobis est. Quisquis ergo naturaliter Patrem in Christo negabit, neget prius non naturaliter vel se in Christo, vel Christum sibi inesse; quia in Christo Pater, et Christus in nobis, unum in his esse nos faciunt. Si vere igitur carnem corporis nostri Christus assumpsit, et vere homo ille, qui ex Maria natus fuit, Christus est, nosque vere sub mysterio carnem corporis sui sumimus, et per hoc unum erimus, quia Pater in eo est, et ille in nobis; quomodo voluntatis unitas asseritur, cum naturalis per sacramentum proprietas, perfectae sacramentum sit unitatis. Non est humano aut saeculi sensu in Dei rebus loquendum: neque per violentam atque imprudentem praedicationem; coelestium dictorum sanitati, alienae atque impiae intelligentiae extorquenda perversitas est. Quae scripta sunt legamus, et quae legerimus intelligamus: et tum perfectae fidei officio fungemur. De naturali enim in nobis Christi veritate quae dicimus, nisi ab eo didicimus, stulte atque impie dicimus. Ipse enim ait, Caro mea vere est esca, et sanguis meus vere est potus. Qui edit carnem meam, et bibit sanguinem meum, in me manet, et ego in eo. De veritate carnis et sanguinis non relictus est ambigendi locus. Nunc enim et ipsius Domini professione, et fide nostra vere caro est, et vere sanguis est. Et haec accepta atque hausta id efficiunt, ut et nos in Christo, et Christus in nobis sit. Anne hoc veritas non est? Contingat plane his verum non esse, qui Christum Jesum verum esse Deum denegant. Sanctus Hilarius Pictaviensis, De Trinitate, Lib VIII Source: Migne PL 10.245b-247b

But the Lord leaves no doubt in the minds of the faithful, He has taught the effect of the operation of His nature , saying, 'That they may be one, as we are one, I in them and you in me, that they may be perfected in one.' 1 Now I ask those who bring forward a unity of will between the Father and the Son, whether Christ is in us today by truth of nature or by agreement of will. For if truly the Word has been made flesh and we truly receive the Word made flesh as food from the Lord, must we not believe that He abides in us naturally, He who, born as a man, took up the nature of our flesh now inseparable from Himself, and has joined the nature of His own flesh to the nature of the eternal Godhead in the sacrament by which His flesh is communicated to us? So we are all one, because the Father is in Christ and Christ is in us. Whoever then shall deny that the Father is in Christ naturally must first deny that either he is naturally in Christ or Christ in him, because the Father in Christ and Christ in us make us one in them. Therefore if Christ truly took to Himself the flesh of our body, and truly that man who was born from Mary is Christ, and we truly receive in a mystery the flesh of His body, and by this we shall be one, because the Father is in Him and He in us, how is a unity of will asserted when the property of nature received through the sacrament is the sacrament of perfect unity? One must not speak of the things of God in a human or worldly sense, nor by a violent and foolish preaching must an impious and perverse understanding be extorted from the soundness of the heavenly words. Let us read what has been written, let us understand what we read, and then fulfil the duties of perfect faith. Now concerning what we say about the truth of Christ's nature within us, unless we have been taught by Him, we speak foolishly and impiously. For He Himself says, 'My flesh is meat indeed and my blood is drink indeed. He who eats my flesh and drinks my blood abides in me and I in him.' 2 Regarding the truth of the flesh and blood there is no room left for doubt. For now by both the proclamation of the Lord Himself and our own faith it is true flesh and true blood. And these eaten and drunk make it so that both we are in Christ and Christ in us. Is this not the truth? Certainly it may happen that these things are not true to those who deny that Christ Jesus is truly God. Saint Hilary of Poitiers, On The Trinity, Book 8 1 Jn 17.22-23 2 Jn 6.55-56

True Vine, True Bread

Προσθετέον τοῖς εἰρημένης πῶς ἐστιν ὁ Υἱὸς ἀληθινὴ ἄμπελος. Τοῦτο δὲ δῆλον ἔσται τοῖς συνιεῖσιν ἀξίως χάριτος προφητικῆς τὸ Οἶνος εὐφραίνει καρδίαν ἀνθρώπου. Εἰ γὰρ ἡ καρδία τὸ διανοητικόν ἐστι, τὸ δὲ εὐφραῖνον αὐτὸ ὁ ποτιμώτατός ἐστι λόγος, ἐξιστῶν ἀπὸ τῶν ἀνθρωπικῶν καὶ ἐνθουσιᾶν ποιῶν καὶ μεθύειν μέθην οὐκ ἀλόγιστον ἀλλὰ θείαν, ἣν οἶμαι καὶ Ἰωσὴφ τοὺς ἀδελφοὺς μεθύειν ποιεῖ, εὐλόγως ὁ τὸν εὐφραίνοντα καρδίαν ἀνθρώπου οἶνον φέρων ἄμπελός ἐστιν ἀληθινή· διὰ τοῦτο ἀληθινή, ἐπεὶ βότρυς ἔχει τὴν ἀλήθειαν καὶ κλήματα τοὺς μαθητάς, μιμητὰς αὐτοῦ καὶ αὐτοὺς καρποφοροῦντας τὴν ἀλήθειαν. Ἔργον δὲ διαφορὰν παραστῆσαι ἄρτου καὶ ἀμπέλου, ἐπεὶ οὐ μόνον ἄμπελος ἀλλὰ καὶ ἄρτος ζωῆς εἶναί φησιν. Ὅρα δὲ μήποτε, ὥσπερ ὁ ἄρτος τρέφει καὶ ἰσχυροποιεῖ καὶ στηρίζειν λέγεται καρδίαν ἀνθρώπου, ὁ δὲ οἶνος ἥδει καὶ εὐφραίνει καὶ διαχεῖ, οὕτως τὰ μὲν ἠθικὰ μαθήματα, ζωὴν περιποιοῦντα τῷ μανθάνοντι καὶ πράττοντι, ἄρτος ἐστὶ τῆς ζωῆς, οὐκ ἂν ταῦτα γεννήματα λέγοιτο τῆς ἀμπέλου, τὰ δὲ εὐφραίνοντα καὶ ἐνθουσιᾶν ποιοῦντα ἀπόρρητα καὶ μυστικὰ θεωρήματα, τοῖς κατατρυφῶσι τοῦ Kυρίου ἐγγινόμενα καὶ οὐ μόνον τρέφεσθαι ἀλλὰ καὶ τρυφᾶν ποθοῦσιν, ἔστιν ἀπὸ τῆς ἀληθινῆς ἀμπέλου ἐρχόμενα, οἶνος καλούμενα. Ὠριγένης, Των Εῑς Το Κατά Ιὠάννην Εὐαγγέλιον Εξηγητικόν, Τομός Α', Κεφ KΘ´ Source: Migne PG 14.77d-80b

Let it be added to what we have said how the Son is the true vine. 1 This will be clear to those who understand, in a manner worthy of the prophetic grace: 'Wine gives joy to the heart of a man.' 2 For if the heart is the intellectual part, and what rejoices it is the Word, most pleasing to drink, which carries one off from human things, makes us feel inspired, and intoxicates us with an intoxication which is not irrational but Divine, with which, I think, Joseph cheered his brothers, 3 then it is understandable how He who brings wine to rejoice the heart of man is the true vine. And because of this He is the true one, because the grapes He bears are the truth, and the disciples are His branches, in imitation of Him bringing forth the truth as their fruit. It is less easy to set forth the difference between the bread and the vine, since He says that He is not only the vine but also the bread of life. But see that it may be that as bread nourishes and makes strong, and it is said to 'strengthen the heart of man,' 2 but wine pleases and cheers and mellows him, so ethical lessons, which bring life to the one who learns them and puts them to practice, is the bread of life but cannot correctly be spoken of as the fruit of the vine, while secret and mystical insights, which give joy and inspire, arising in those who delight in the Lord, those who desire not only to be nourished but to be joyous, because they come from the true vine, are called wine. Origen, Commentary on The Gospel Of Saint John, Book 1, Chap 29 1 Jn 15.1 2 Ps 103.15 3 Gen 43.34

Images And Truth

Εἰ ὁ νόμος ἐστὶ, κατὰ τὸν Ἀπόστολον πνευματικὸς, τὰς εἰκόνας ἐμπεριέχων τῶν μελλόντων ἀγαθῶν, φέρε δὴ, ἀπαμφίασασαι τὸ ἐπ' αὐτῷ κάλυμμα τοῦ γράμματος, ἐφηπλωμένην ἐπισκεψώμεθα γυμνῶς τὴν ἀκρίβειαν. Μίμημα τῆς Ἐκκλησίας ἐκελεύοντα δαιδάλειν Ἐβραϊοι τὴν σκηνὴν, ἵν' ἔχοιεν διὰ τῶν αἰσθητῶν εἰκόνα τῶν θείων προκαταγγέλλειν πραγμάτων. Τὸ γὰρ ἐν τῷ ὄρει παράδειγμα παρενεχθὲν, πρὸς ὃ βλέπων ἐτεκτήνατο τὴν σκηνὴν ὁ Μωῦσῆς, ἰδέα τις ἦν τῆς κατὰ τὸν οὐρανὸν οἰκήσεως ἀκριβὴς, ἦν ἡμεῖς τρανότερον μὲν τῶν τυπῶν, ἀμαυρότερον δὲ τῆς ἀληθείας θεραπεύομεν νῦν. Ἤλθε γὰρ ἀκραιφνὲς εἰς ἀνθρώπους, ὡς πέφυκεν, οὕπω τάληθὲς, οἱ μηδὲ βαστάσαι φέρομεν ἄκρατον ἐνταῦθα θεάσασθαι τὴν ἀφθαρσίαν, ὁπότε μηδὲ τὰς ἡλιακὰς φέρομεν ἰδεῖν ἀκτῖνας. Ἀλλὰ Ἰουδοϊοι μὲν τὴν σκιὰν τῆς εἰκόνος τρίτην ἀπὸ τῆς ἀληθείας κατηγγέλκασιν· ἡμεῖς δὲ τὴν εἰκόνα τῆς κατ' οὐρανὸν διοκήσεως ἐναργῶς ἑκθειάζομεν. Τὸ γὰρ ἀληθὲς ἁκριβῶς μετ' ἀνάστασιν δηλωθήσεται, ὁπότε πρόσωπον κατὰ πρόσωπον τὴν ἁγίαν σκηνὴν τὴν πόλιν τὴν ἐν οὐρανοῖς, ἦς τεχνίτης καὶ δημουργὸς Θεὸς, ἀλλ; οὐ δὶ αἰνιγμάτων καὶ ἐκ μέρους ἐποπτεύσομεν. Ἅγιος Μεθόδιος, Συμπόσιον Των Δέκα Παρθένων, Λογός Ε', Κεφ' Ζ' Source: Migne PG 18.109b-112a

If the Law, according to the Apostle, is spiritual, containing the images of good things to come, 1 come now, let us strip off the veil of the letter which is spread over it, and consider its bare and exact meaning. As a type of the Church the Hebrews were commanded to decorate the tabernacle, that by the means of sensible things they might announce beforehand the image of Divine things. For the pattern shown on the mount, 2 which Moses was to consider in fashioning the tabernacle, was a kind of accurate representation of the heavenly dwelling, which we see more clearly than by types, though more darkly than if we now saw the truth. For the truth has not yet come unmingled to men in their present state, who are not able here to bear the sight of pure immortality, just as we cannot bear to look on the rays of the sun. For the Jews declared that the shadow of the image was the third from the reality, but we clearly behold the image of the heavenly order. For the truth will be accurately made manifest after the resurrection, when we shall see face to face the heavenly tabernacle, the city in heaven, whose builder and maker is God, 3 and this not darkly and in part. 4 Saint Methodius of Olympus, Symposium of the Ten Virgins, Discourse 5, Chap 7 1 Heb 10.1 2 Exod 25.40 3 Heb 11.10 4 1 Cor 13.12